By Raakhee Mirchandani for Elle Magazine

A few months ago, a friend said she potty trained her daughter in a single weekend. I myself was a few weeks into the toilet training ordeal with my own toddler, bribing her with everything from chocolates and Elmo videos to a selection of fresh-out-the-box toys, including a massive plastic Doc McStuffins veterinary clinic that took my husband an hour to put together. I briefly considered giving her $100 per toilet turd.