A friend tells me that at her child's nursery, they have to be in nappies until they are fully independent - going to the toilet unprompted, undressing and redressing on their own, and wiping themselves. Her child didn't train until 3.5 so it wasn't an issue for them since by then the motor skills were present.
But DD trained, substantively (by which I mean occasional accidents and she needs reminding sometimes), at just after 2. No way on earth she could wipe herself at 2 - anecdotally, most of my friends say they assist until at least 3, sometimes 4, yes? And she'd struggle with trickier clothes, as well, although I suppose one could just dress children in easy-access stuff for a while. My friend concurs - says that no child in the 2yo room wears underwear, and only half of the 3yo room do. So it's not until the 4s that they all wear underwear.
So the nursery says it's all about fostering independence, teaching children to take responsiblility for the entire process, etc. They just basically provide the child-sized toilet/sink, and leave them to it. This is what my friend approves of, that it's teaching responsibility and independence.
In contrast, I think it's actually cruel to make a child wear a nappy for longer than they have to. Of course they're necessary evils for most of us who haven't the time and inclination to hold out babies over potties or whatever the EC crowd do, but they're cumbersome, get in the way of playing freely, they're hot and sweaty and don't let the skin breathe, and they're just generally no fun at all to wear.
And it wouldn't actually make the carers' lives any easier, since it means they're changing nappies (involving far more wiping!) for longer than they'd have to otherwise. So it's clearly actually a philosophy thing, not a laziness thing. Is there a long term benefit I'm missing, here?
So. AIBU?
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AIBU?
Potty training at nursery: no underwear until 'fully independent'
39 replies
Tortoiseonthehalfshell · 18/07/2011 02:09
OP posts:
VelveteenRabbit ·
18/07/2011 08:11
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