Not to bring too much scientific data into it. It is true that black parents spend more time on practical child maintenance rather than reading, encouraging 'happiness' (whatever that is), etc., because they are frequently working 2 or 3 jobs to make ends meet. It isn't the ethnicity - you find the same thing in other races that are in the same situation - but economic necessity. They don't have money to spend on paper diapers and time to spend on washing cloth ones all the time.
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Name : Alexandra Castle, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 53, City : Raleigh, State : NC Country : United States, Occupation : Psychologist, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I have been told that this is primarily a function of economics. Diapers are expensive and the sooner the child is out of diapers, the sooner that expense disappears.
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Name : Ed25559, Gender : M, Race : Hispanic/Latino (may be any race), City : Aurora, State : IL Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, It doesn't matter what a person does to train their children. Until a certain synapse takes place in the brain it won't happen. I trained my daughter in 10 minutes. She was 25 months old. She had no accidents and didn't go through months and months of 'potty time'. People were asking me for months when I was going to start. Ha, I waited until she had a grasp of the process and bing da da ding...10 minutes. Don't waste your time or your child's.
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Name : Jack, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : North African/Castillian Spanish, Religion : Jewish, Age : 53, City : Phoenix, State : AZ Country : United States, Occupation : Medical, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I've noticed this phenomenon in the practice of breastfeeding as well. Black women tend to either not breast-feed altogether or will stop breast feeding far sooner than their white counterparts. There is a stigma among our race that having your infants/toddlers hang on to too many crutches of dependence is stifling to their growth and progression. Pacifiers, bottles, breast-feeding and diapers are 4 areas that we tend to want to rid our children of as early as possible because not only do they weigh the parent down, they weigh the child down. Having a 3-yr old still hooked on a pacifier or bottle is like having a 3-yr old hooked on crack. They throw tantrums and are hard to handle if they feel like they absolutely have to have their bottle when they should be well on to other developmental stages in life. I guess we also think it's hard enough for black kids to progress in America so why keep them attached to unnecessary 'baby things'. Perhaps it's a tiny bit selfish of the parent to want to get rid of the appendage of a diaper bag or of having to go through those 1,000 extra steps needed to change a diaper as opposed to pulling up and down some underwear, but why would any mother really want her child hindered far beyond the reasonably necessary time period? We (black mothers) tend to want our children far less dependent on us as soon as possible because sometimes life has a way of happening and we don't want to leave behind dependent children. It all boils down to when you're getting ready to leave the house in the morning to take your child to daycare, I'd rather have to think to myself, 'Did I remember to put my child's panties on,' instead of, 'Did I remember to pack the diapers, the wipes, the ointment, the powder, the plastic bag, the changing pad, etc.' Haste in this case is not waste, but hassle-free time-management at its best.
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Name : Raquel, Gender : F, Age : 31, City : Houston, State : TX Country : United States, Black children develop much faster than white children: muscle development, coordination, etc. Black babies sit up, crawl and walk earlier than white babies. It is only natural that they should be able to be potty-trained at an earlier age than white babies.
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Name : Fenster, City : Toronto, State : NA Country : Canada, i think white women tend to rely more on book knowledge than knowledge handed down generations. The American Pediatric Society had stated that there is a stage in development when the child's brain and body have sufficient awareness and control to master this task. trying before this time is a waste of effort not to mention being hard on the child. you are asking them to do something they cannot do consistently and punishing them for something they cannot help. all three of my children were potty trained in less than a week. it kept me from having to sit on the side of the tub for long spells. the average age according to the apc is 2 years 6 months for girls, and 2 years 9 months for boys
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Name : Robin R., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Disability : none i know of, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : New Thought Movement, Age : 51, City : birmingham, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : laboratory tech, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I don't think this is a black or white thing. It's very common in Europe and the former Soviet Union to potty train early (12 months or so). This could be because diapers are expensive and laundry facilities for cloth diapers are less widely available (definitely an issue in the former Soviet Union), or it could be a matter of custom. According to the 'What to Expect' books, though, this early potty training is really just a matter of parents training themselves to recognize when the kid needs to go and parking him/her on a toilet in time to avoid accidents. For what it's worth, I personally favored late potty training (3.25 years for my sons) because they were better equipped physically to 'hold it' if there wasn't a toilet nearby and they were already able to dress and undress themselves, wash their own hands, etc.
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Name : Kate, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 34, City : Columbia, State : MD Country : United States, Occupation : Diplomat, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, I think white parents potty train late because they put the kids in child care while they are working. Black parents, or at least one of them, are home to train the child.
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Name : Miss-Letile, Gender : F, City : Grand Rapids, State : MI Country : United States, I don't know if your answer was meant to be cute or if you were serious; either way, it was stupid. As the mother of one son (and I have ONE job and am by no means encased in poverty) I can tell you why my son was thoroughly potty trained by the age of two. Simply put, it is NASTY and UNHEALTHY to allow a toddler to walk around in diapers soaked with urine, and loaded with feces. Any mother who allows her toddler to continue defecating and urinating in diapers/pull ups a second longer than necessary, is trifling.
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Name : Rhonda-P-Outlaw19814, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 44, City : Laurelton, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, Potty training too early is not good for anyone concerned. If the kid's nervous system is ready it will be fast and easy; if not, it's likely to be traumatic in ways that may take years to reveal themselves. It is not so much a matter of synapses as someone mentioned, but of myelination. Without proper myelination the child does not have the control to truly control himself. (If you want to see someone without myelin, look at a person with MS) Regarding dependency, many white people (including myself) believe that children need a stage in which they feel very secure in having their needs met before they start to express their independence and challenge themselves at their own pace. This is backed up by both psychological studies and cross-cultural research. Be Kind, for everyone
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Name : AmyM, Gender : Female, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 42, City : Philadelphia, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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