Potty training is something some of us parents dread starting with our children. This may be down to not knowing how to teach our child whilst also not knowing how long it will takes.
All children are unique and take to toilet training differently.
Read on to discover tips from Anne Killops, also known as The Gentle Nanny.
How Do You Know When Your Toddler Is Ready For Potty Training?
There was coverage in the news recently that 1 in 4 children are not toilet trained by the time they start school and teachers were spending a third of their day supporting these children! The average age was around 2.5 years that most people started; you may find some are ready earlier or slightly later than this. If you suspect your child has additional needs, you may find their journey may take longer.
There’s no rush to potty train your child as they need to be ready, have some form of bladder control and understand what is going on to make this time easier for you all.
Signs That Your Child Is Becoming Aware Of Their Body
These are signs that your little one may be getting a little bit closer to being ready, so keep an eye out for them (and keep them in mind when having conversations with them too).
- Your child may pause mid-play to fill their nappy
- They may tell you what they are doing or after they have done a wee or poo.
- Your child may go and hide, to do a wee or poo in their nappy so no one can see them.
- They may ask to sit on the toilet or potty (If you already have one in the house)
- Your child may have times during the day where their nappy is dry before then doing a wee in it.
Preparation To Start Toilet Training
Introducing the idea of starting to use their potty will make the eventual starting go a bit smoother. Here’s some of my advice:
- Talk to your child and tell them they are going to start doing their wees and poos on the potty now that they are older.
- I always recommend starting off using a potty unless your child wants to use a seat on the toilet. A potty is closer to the ground and may feel less scary for your child to sit on.
- A potty can be of different shapes and sizes but our children’s bottoms are also different so you may need to try a few to see what fits well.
- Take your child out to the shops to buy a few essential items to get you both started with toilet training. I would suggest the following: Pants, stickers, story books on toilet training, potty, toilet seat and a portable potty.
- I would leave a potty in rooms that your child spends time in, so they get used to seeing a potty around and then they can also explore this item.
Time To Start Potty Training
When it’s time to get started with potty training, there’s a few tips I have to help the process go a little smoother.
- When teaching your child to develop this skill you need to be calm, patient and consistent with it all.
- I recommend staying in the house for three days to get your child started with their toilet training and then its less stress for you both if there are lots of accidents. This may not work if you have school runs, but ideally concentrate as much as you can on getting some success on the potty.
- Praise your child when they sit on the potty regardless if they manage to do anything, there are several ways you can do this. Give them a high five, tell them how clever they are and clapping and smiling, a cuddle and a kiss, or maybe make up a song and do a silly dance.
- As their excitement slows down, a reward may help and encourage them to sit on the potty and try for a wee etc. This could be a pasta jar, sticker chart, extra screen time or a small piece of chocolate.
How To Manage Everything Else While Potty Training
There’s a few things you can do outside of that allocated ‘potty time’ that can help to encourage them to use the potty when they need to go:
- When your child gets up on the first day, you may want to wait for them to wake up and have breakfast before removing their nappy.
- Remove their nappy and pop them on the potty, your child may only sit there for a few seconds before declaring they have finished. Praise your child for trying and then let them go play.
- You can leave the bottom half of their body naked or just pants if your child prefers.
- Give it 30 minutes then offer the potty again, then repeat throughout the day.
- After three days you may be able to offer the potty every hour instead of 30 minutes. Then you can stretch the time you offer the potty to an hour and half, then two hours if you feel your child can go that long. But every child is different and the frequency of their toilet habits can change.
- Children’s behaviour and mannerisms can change when they are needing to use the potty, watch them for the three days at home and you will notice their signs that they need to use the potty. This could be pausing mid play, squatting, pausing mid-sentence, fidgety, running around more so than normal, unable to sit down.
- If your child still has a day time nap, then pop a sleep nappy on them and explain why you have done this. You will do this for the night time sleep as well. For children to be dry when they sleep, they need to develop a hormone and this development varies for each child.
Common Pitfalls Of Potty Training
These are great to keep in mind when you have those tough days. So don’t despair when you want to throw the potty out the window! Here are my tips:
- It can be very normal for toilet training to be a complete disaster, give it a few days to a week and if it isn’t going well then stop, put your child back in nappies and try again in a few months.
- It is perfectly normal for your child to sit on the potty, do nothing then get off and then wet themselves.
- This is the same for a poo, having a wee and a poo is a different sensation and they may pick up the skill of having a wee before a poo on the potty.
- Your child may be very excited to start potty training but it’s common for them to start getting bored of it or refusing to try, this is where you may introduce a reward or an incentive.
Thank you to Anne – The Gentle Nanny
If you have any concerns over your child and their toilet training, this website is super helpful and contact your doctor or health visitor for further help.
This blog is written by Anne Killops, also known as The Gentle Nanny. She is a qualified Nursery Nurse, a Nanny, a mum, a certified sleep coach and maternity nurse. With a background in childcare of nearly 30 years’ experience, during this time she became a mum to two lovely boys and realised how hard it is for mums to navigate all aspects of raising our children. During her time in childcare she has toilet trained a large number of children. The Gentle Nanny began a few years ago to help support parents during the fourth trimester period, gentle sleep coaching and meal support. Meal support covers weaning, fussy eating and feeding your children. She also advises on potty training and behaviour. Read more on her Facebook or Instagram.
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