Abstract
This research develops a context-sensitive understanding of infant toilet training that takes account of a diversity of influences on the phenomenon. Data are drawn from a qualitative study of everyday life in families with young children. Parents in 54 families living in Norway were interviewed about the everyday life of the family during their child’s first year of life, and two follow-up interviews were conducted with 15 families in subsequent years. A contrastive–comparative approach to the analyses takes account of the social actions, related to toilet training, in another cultural context in order to better grasp the taken-for-granted assumptions about toilet training evident in one’s own culture. The analyses identify the significance of cleanliness-related regimes in toilet training. The cleanliness regimes were adjusted for parents’ everyday life considerations, which involved parental wishes to relate to the child as an individual subject; take the child out in public spaces; share care between parents; and involve other persons in the child’s care. A developmental perspective on parental practices and everyday life considerations provides a broadened understanding about later toilet training in Western contexts.