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Potty training. Sleepless nights. Temper tantrums. Some of these more challenging moments of parenthood now are being outsourced.

The Chicago area has no shortage of self-proclaimed experts willing to step in — for hundreds of dollars — and teach your toddler to use the toilet, your newborn to sleep through the night or help you and your partner navigate some of parenthood’s rougher patches.

Those in the parenting consulting business say their services are fueled by need. With more two parent-families working outside the home and fewer extended family networks available to help, the stigma of asking for help is disappearing.

“It is outsourcing, but it’s no different from going to a doctor and asking their opinion,” said Wendy Sweeney, a pediatric nurse and mother of six who operates Booty Camp, a potty-training business, out of her West Chicago home. “I’m just a mom who helps other moms. This is something I’m able to do.”

While Sweeney has seen the occasional parent pay the $250 Booty Camp fee and send a nanny to camp with the camper, she said it’s a “huge misconception” that parents are paying her so they don’t have to do the job themselves.

“The parents are very involved in the class,” she said. “We ask that they have nothing major planned for three days after the class so the kids have time to master it. This is really so parents can clear their schedules so the kids know they don’t have to rush.”

Amy Donohue attended Booty Camp on Oct. 19 with her son Connell, 2, and daughter Emerson, 4. Donohue said she has been trying to potty train Emerson, who has special needs, for two years without success. Her pediatrician suggested trying Sweeney’s camp.

“It was grueling, no doubt, but they were both successful,” said Donohue, who lives in Chicago. “In the last few weeks, I can say officially they are trained.”

A working mom, she said she plans to return to Booty Camp with son Sullivan, 5 months, when he is older.

“If I were not working, I think I learned enough where I could take it and train him,” she said. “Because of the ease and being able to knock it out in a weekend, I think I’ll probably go back to her.”

Parents happy with Sweeney’s Booty Camp have hired her to work as a parent coach. She charges $125 an hour for a home visit, or $75 an hour for a phone consultation.

“Parents are smarter if they find somebody that is good at something and use that resource,” she said.

Dr. Ari Brown, an Austin, Texas-based pediatrician and author of the popular books Baby 411 and Toddler 411, said pediatricians dole out the same advice as pricey consultants for the cost of a routine office visit.

“I can give advice, but if the parent doesn’t follow through with it and then they sit there and complain there’s a market for it,” she said. “These are opportunists, people who will come into your home and do it for you.”

Brown said while she doesn’t think hiring a consultant is the “worst thing ever,” she believes parents benefit from heeding doctor’s orders.

“We don’t get a formal education in parenting — that’s not new,” she said. “I think it’s just the reality that people have noticed this is a market that is untapped and people are capitalizing on it.”

Hans Lonnroth, owner of Oak Brook-based the Sleeping Child, is one of those capitalizing on the need parents and their children have for a good night’s sleep. A social worker who charges between $195-$225 to guide your child to bed, Lonnroth said his work load has increased mostly due to word-of-mouth from satisfied parents and doctor referrals.

“People know if you have a plumbing problem you know to look for a plumber,” he said. The same, he said, can be true of an infant who wails at bedtime or is refusing to make the transition from a crib to a bed.

Lonnroth began his sleep-consulting business after hiring a sleep trainer to help his son. He said with sleep-deprived parents and children, “There’s a lot of desperation.”

“The first three months of having an infant, the sleep is very fragmented,” he said. “After that it really takes a heavy toll on the family. At that point people think I need to get this taken care of.”

Sarah Zematis, mother of Leo, 2, and Ralph, 7 months, said Leo was a perfect sleeper, resting for hours at a stretch. Ralph, at 5 months old, was more of a night owl, waking up every half hour.

After a week of that, Zematis called her pediatrician, a lactation consultant and other mothers, two of whom recommended Lonnroth.

“I think with babies mothers are expected to know everything, and there are so many things both mothers and fathers don’t know,” she said. “You can read as many books as you want but when you’re sleep deprived it doesn’t make any sense.”

After a consultation and followup phone calls with Lonnroth, Zematis said, “Everybody is much happier.”

Krista Bray of Chicago recently started Kid-sulting, a one-stop shop for issues ranging from sleep to bathroom training to being successful with early education. Bray charges $150 for an in-home session lasting between one and three hours. She recommends between two and four sessions, and said she believes hardworking parents are going to make her business work.

“Moms are more outspoken,” she said. “We want the best for our kids. If that means asking for a little bit of help, that’s what they’re going to do.”

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