Azrin and Foxx Method: Toilet Training in Less Than a Day?

The method at a glance

Starting ageThe method expects a ready child from 20 months. Children under 25 months did less well.
How longThe promise is less than a day. In the original study training took 3.9 hours on average, followed by days of consolidation.
Parent's roleLeads, shows on a doll and practises with the child. A whole day of full attention.
RewardsYes. Praise for every step and, in the original version, something nice to eat.
ResearchA small original study and the only direct comparative study. Toilet training research is weak overall.

What is the Azrin and Foxx method

The method was developed by psychologists Nathan Azrin and Richard Foxx in the 1970s. It comes from behavioural psychology, learning through repetition and praise. Their book Toilet Training in Less Than a Day came out in 1974. The original study describes 16 components. These are the main ones:

a doll that drinks and wets: the parent shows the whole routine on it, then the child leads the doll to the potty and praises it,
the child drinks more, to have more chances to practise,
the parent regularly prompts a try on the potty and asks “are your pants dry?”,
praise for every step,
after an accident the child goes to the potty and practises the routine again. This is called positive practice.

Today the method lives on mainly in therapy for autistic children and reworked into various 3 day approaches.

How toilet training in less than a day works, step by step

Beforehand. Your child shows signs of readiness. The method expects an age from 20 months, and you set aside a whole day at home.
The doll. You show the whole routine on the doll. Your child then leads the doll to the potty and praises it. You repeat it until your child understands the steps, usually within an hour.
Drinks and prompts. Your child drinks more and you regularly prompt a try on the potty. You often ask whether their pants are dry.
Praise. Every step your child manages gets praise.
Accidents. Your child goes to the potty and practises the routine. This is where the method differs most from today's advice.
After that. Days of consolidation follow. So it is not all done in one day either.

What the research says about the Azrin and Foxx method

The original study by Foxx and Azrin (1973) followed 34 children. Training took 3.9 hours on average, and in the following week the children had 97% fewer accidents. But the study was small, and the children were over 20 months and selected.

Butler (1976) taught the method to the parents of 49 children in classes. Overall it worked for 77% of the children. Children under 25 months did less well; for older children it was 93%.

A review for the US government agency AHRQ (2006) rates toilet training research as very weak overall. No method has strong evidence. Yet both the child-oriented approach and the Azrin and Foxx method work for most typically developing children. The only direct comparative study found fewer accidents with Azrin and Foxx.

Criticism of the Azrin and Foxx method

I want to be honest here, because the criticism is serious:

Tantrums. For some children the method is too intense, and some of them have more tantrums. When your child is struggling, it is better to step back.
Disapproval after accidents. The authors advised showing verbal disapproval after an accident. Experts criticise this today.
Drilling. Learning through repetition and rewards is questionable for healthy children. Moving intensive training from therapy to an ordinary two-year-old without changes makes little sense.
Age. The method works less well under 25 months, even though “one day” is often promised even for one-year-olds.

Who the Azrin and Foxx method suits, and what to take from it

It can suit you when your child already shows signs of readiness: stays dry for an hour or two, notices and says they are peeing, is curious about the toilet and can pull their trousers down. The potty readiness quiz helps you see whether the body is ready.

Better to wait when your child is under 25 months, when your family is going through a big change, or when the practice upsets your child. You do not need to buy a doll; your child's own cuddly toy will do.

The Potty Training Game takes only the demonstration on a cuddly toy and the praise from this method: in the game “Potty buddy”, your child teaches their friend.

Night is a different chapter. A dry night cannot be trained, it comes by itself. When your child is older, you can gently encourage them.

What I would keep

showing it on a doll or your child's own cuddly toy
your child leading their friend to the potty
praise for every small step
a kind question: “are your pants dry?”
a calm day at home with full attention

What I would leave out

disapproval after an accident
compulsory practice after every accident
food as a reward
starting before your child is ready
the promise “done in one day”

From preschool

In a room full of toddlers I see every day how much they love teaching their cuddly toys what they are only just learning themselves.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Azrin and Foxx method work?

According to the AHRQ review (2006), it works for most typically developing children, just like the child-oriented approach. But the original study was small and toilet training research is weak overall. Children under 25 months did less well.

Can you really potty train in one day?

In the original study training took 3.9 hours on average. But days of consolidation follow and accidents still happen. It is safer to see that day as a start.

What age suits toilet training in less than a day?

The method expects a ready child from 20 months. But Butler (1976) found that children under 25 months did less well. Follow the signs of readiness rather than age.

What should I do after an accident with the Azrin and Foxx method?

The authors advised verbal disapproval and practice at the potty. Experts criticise the disapproval, and I would leave it out. An accident is part of learning; calmly change your child and carry on.

Is night part of the Azrin and Foxx method?

The method is about daytime. A dry night cannot be trained, it comes by itself. When your child is older, you can gently encourage them.

I am not a paediatrician or a child psychologist. If your child has tummy pain, holds in poop or you see blood in pee or poop, please see a doctor. Here you get an honest overview of the method with sources. We sell you nothing and the choice is yours.

The Azrin and Foxx method: can you potty train in one day?