A parenting expert sparked a heated debate when she revealed how she charges mothers and fathers £500-a-day to potty train their children.
Amanda Jenner, a mother-of-three, appeared on This Morning today to debate the issue of professional potty trainers after an advert posted online by a mother from Surrey went viral yesterday.
Amanda explained that potty training remained a parenting taboo but that it was a real issue for parents across the country.
However mother-of-one Nilufer Atik, who also appeared on the show, argued that the Surrey couple were being ‘neglectful’ and argued it was ‘disgusting’ that they could not make the time to teach their daughter themselves.
Debate: Amanda Jenner, right, who charges £500 a day to potty train children and mother Nilufer Atik, left, debated the issue of professional potty trainers on This Morning today
Criticism: Parents blasted those who turned to professional help, branding them ‘lazy’
Dozens of viewers agreed and took to Twitter to blast those who use professional potty trainers as ‘lazy’.
One wrote: ‘Sorry If you have no time to potty train your child … don’t have kids.’
Another posted: ‘When you have a child you make a commitment to teach your child, don’t be lazy, spend time potty training your own children.’
The issue made headlines yesterday after the post by the mother from Surrey went viral online.
Dividing opinion: Nilufer claimed it was ‘lazy’ for parents not to be present while their child was being potty trained. Amanda, right, said some parents were desperate for help
In an advert that made headlines yesterday, a mother explains how she and her husband, who live in Surrey, have struggled to train their toddler to use the toilet due to their ‘busy careers’
Posting on childcare.co.uk, the working mother revealed how she and her husband have struggled to train their three-year-old daughter to use the toilet due to their ‘busy careers’ and were offering £50 an hour for 10 hours of training a week for professional help.
She added that they will offer a ‘handsome bonus’ if they manage to get their daughter trained before her in-laws arrive for Christmas.
Speaking on This Morning, Amanda explained that parents often phone her ‘in tears’ because they are so desperate for help.
Backlash: Dozens of viewers criticised parents who use services like Amanda’s
‘They’re not being lazy, they’ve tried everything and they don’t want their child to go to school in a nappy,’ she explained.
While Nilufer said she had ‘no issue’ with Amanda and agreed that some parents do need help, she argued that the parents who posted the online advert were ‘neglectful’.
She said: ‘It is the parents’ responsibility and job to potty train their child,’ she said.
‘Basically, what this couple is asking for comes across to me as neglectful and quite frankly it’s disgusting… I work, I would never be too busy to teach my child a fundamental life skill.
‘Being a good parent is not just loving your child, and providing for them financially, being a good parent is about teaching that child fundamental life skills like going to a toilet.’