Toileting

How to start training

The best place to keep a child potty is in the bathroom with the grownup’s toilet. If you have a downstairs toilet and an upstairs one its best to keep a potty in both so that your child has easy access to a potty wherever they are in the house. The best thing to do is try to make sitting on the potty a normal part of everyday life.

Encourage your child to sit on the potty after meals and having books or toys nearby to help them stay on the toilet. When they are digesting their food, it can make them feel like they need to poo so helping them associate that feeling with the toilet is a good step forward.

If you notice that your child has a poo at around the same times every day you could leave their nappy off at instead suggest to them that they go to the toilet. If they are upset about this then they probably aren’t ready for training so try again after a few weeks.

When you are able to recognise that your child knows that they are going to wee you need to start encouraging them to use the toilet. Its good to fuss over them when they are about to wee so that they know that its important that they need to use the toilet for having a wee.

Toilet training

Learning to use a potty or toilet is a huge milestone in your child’s development and does normally happen between the ages of 1 and 3, but remember, different children develop at different rates. Here are some tips for your child’s toilet training journey.

  • Look for signs that your child is ready to start using a toilet. This could be them showing an interest in toilets, staying dry for longer periods of time during the day or that they are uncomfortable while wearing a nappy.
  • Show your child toilets and how they should use them. Let them sit on it and tell them about it, this will make them more comfortable around it.
  • Try to create a routine for using the potty. Encourage them to use the toilet at certain times, like after meals and naps.
  • Praise your child when they use the toilet correctly, this will help them learn that using the toilet is the right thing to do.
  • Give them independence during their transition from nappies to the toilet such as letting them sit on the toilet and pull down their own pants.
  • It’s important to be patient with your child. There will be accidents but these accidents are not stepping back. Make sure you don’t show them that you are frustrated with them for having accidents or their development may be affected.
  • Make sure that routines with toilets and potties are kept to if anyone else looks after your child, for example grandparents or friends. Going off the routine can throw off your child’s sense of consistency.

Remember that every child is unique and the speed at which children learn to use the toilet can be different from child to child. Make sure you listen to your child’s cues and help them along their way to using the toilet properly.

Toilet hygiene

When your baby is learning to use the toilet, make sure that you teach them about good hygiene too. When they have been to the toilet for a wee or a poo, teach them to go and wash their hands afterwards. Its recommended that you teach them to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds, you can sing “happy birthday” to understand the length of time that they should wash their hands for.

You should also show them how to close the toilet lid and flush so that they know how to properly get rid of the germs in the toilet.

Encouraging your child to clean the toilet seat with a wipe is a good idea to keep teaching them the importance of hygiene.

Toilet training a disabled child

Children with a disability or children with a long-term illness can find it more difficult to learn to use the toilet. It will be challenging for both them and you but its important not to put it off.

Learn more about toilet training a disabled child on the Contact website (https://contact.org.uk/help-for-families/information-advice-services/health-medical-information/common-concerns/potty-and-toilet-training/).

Toilet training pants and pull ups

Disposable or washable training pants (pull-ups) can be really useful when you start toilet training your child and can give your child confidence when its time to stop using nappies and start using proper underwear.

These pants are not as absorbing as nappies so your child will be able to tell when they are wet more easily.

If you don’t think your child is ready to stop wearing nappies and they are finding it difficult to know when they have done a wee, you could try putting a piece of folded paper towel into their nappy as this will stay wet and they will know when they have done a wee.

Night-time toilet training

Its best to focus on toilet training in the daytime before you start putting your child to bed without a nappy. If their nappy is dry or only a little bit damp in the morning they are probably ready for night-time toilet training.

Teach them to use the toilet as the last thing they do before going to bed and one of the first things they do after waking up. Make sure that they are close to the toilet when they are sleeping so that they can get up to go to the toilet if they need it during the night. There are going to be a few accidents so waterproof sheets are a good thing to have when they are doing their night-time toilet training.

Like daytime toilet training, its good to give your child praise when they do well and go a full night without having an accident, but if things are not going well its important to not shame them and keep some nappies to hand in case you need to try again after a few weeks.

Bedwetting

Bed wetting is a very common thing to happen in the 1-3 age range. It’s important to remember that its normal and to be patient with your child. Here is some advice to consider.

  • Your child does not have the physical ability to control their bladder in their sleep yet. This is why bedwetting is common at night time.
  • Don’t punish or shame your child for wetting the bed. These negative reactions can cause anxiety and fear and can delay your child’s natural progression.
  • Support and reassure your child that wetting the bed isn’t their fault and it happens to all children.
  • You could use a waterproof mattress cover or protective bed pads to make the clean-up easier. This will also help keep a clean environment for your child.
  • Try to make sure they don’t have too much to drink in the last one or two hours before they go to bed. This will help reduce the likelihood of your child wetting the bed, and try to establish a routine where you take your child to the toilet once or twice before their bedtime, this will encourage the idea of going to the toilet before it is time to go to sleep.
  • It is always a good option to see a paediatrician if you are concerned with your child’s bedwetting.

Information and support

If you need to find more resources and advice on toilet training and bedwetting you can contact ERIC (http://www.eric.org.uk/).

You can call the ERIC helpline on 0808 801 0343 (Monday to Thursday 10am-2pm) or email through https://www.eric.org.uk/helpline.

You can also speak to your GP or health visitor for advice, they might refer you to a clinic.

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