Dictionary

potty chart en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈpɒti.tʃɑːt/ (UK)
• /ˈpɑdi.t͡ʃɑɹt/ (US)
• (US) audio

Etymology

From potty (“a small, usually plastic, chamber pot used to toilet-train young children”) + chart (“a tabular presentation of data; a table”).

Meanings

1. A calendar chart that tracks a child's progress during toilet training.
   • I'll get to count the time I put in just hanging around – waiting for my baby daughter to finish playing in the bubbles of her bath – for the toddler to wet so he can get a star on his potty chart. 1984 April 18, Sharon Morrey, “What did I do today? Don't ask!”, in American Fork Citizen (Tidbits), page 2:
   • A potty chart is better as a child-directed activity than as a parent reward system because it gives your child personal ownership over his success. An external expectation to "earn" stickers or "potty stars" can create the same power struggles as token rewards and praise. 2007, Karen Deerwester, The Potty Training Answer Book: Practical Answers to the Top 200 Questions Parents Ask, Sourcebooks, →ISBN, page 165:
   • H&S Hardware Store will present baby with a porcelain sanitary diaper pail and Schottenstein's Department Store, a potty chart. 1959 January 8, “Bradley J. Hafey Is First 1959 Baby Born In The South Side”, in South Side Leader, volume VII, number 42, page 1:
   • Establish routine based on timing for individual child. Initially, a potty chart may be helpful. Note different mannerisms of child's expressing needs. 1972 April 14, East San Gabriel Valley School, An Educational Program for Multi-Handicapped Children, Los Angeles County Superintendent of Schools Communications Center, page 94:
   • Success sticker charts, or potty charts, work really well for toilet training and really help kids to feel special! You can buy 2 big, blank poster boards at the store — have each twin choose a distinct color — and hang the posters in a central location of your home where everyone can see them clearly. 2010, Shelly Vaziri Flais, Raising Twins: From Pregnancy to Preschool, American Academy of Pediatrics, →ISBN, page 136:
   • After I completed my tasks Spider Dick would place a happy face sticker in the color of my choosing on a repurposed child's potty chart that he had named Alma's Chart of Eternal Happiness. 2023, Chelsea Bieker, Heartbroke (Science-fiction), Catapult Books, →ISBN, page 11:

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