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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Train me how to potty train!

3 replies

thattravelphotographer · 01/04/2023 15:42

About to embark on this over the Easter holidays with my 2.5 year old and I'm thinking the worst (I'm envisaging it being like having an Andrex puppy in the house...)

Please share any tips or nuggets of wisdom!

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
mathanxiety · 01/04/2023 16:20

My biggest tip is make sure your child is really ready - dry for long stretches during the day, and at night.

Also - verbal enough and aware enough to tell you she needs to pee.

Willing and excited and looking forward to being a dry pants girl.

When you get started, practice with a doll. Doll gets a drink, and a few minutes later, the doll tells you she needs to pee. You say, 'We need to leave our game and hurry to the loo!' and you hurry there, take off doll's underpants, sit her on the loo, make a peeing sound, and then wipe and flush and congratulate the doll on keeping her pants dry. High fives for the doll should be part of the practice. Practice a lot, using the script. Then work on poo.

If the LO is willing to join in, let her.

When it's well and truly her turn, stay home. Do not leave the house for any reason for at least three days. Spend these days training and getting in constant practice.

Dress LO in underpants and a top. Give plenty to drink, so she gets a lot of practice all day every day. Have her help you mop up any little accidents, put wet undies in the washing machine, etc.

Remind occasionally to check if her undies are still dry. High five if so. No big deal if not.

I'd advise to not turn back once you start - line the bed with thick towels and don't put on nighttime nappies. Don't offer a drink within two hours of bedtime.

If there are interested relatives, they can be phoned to relate the news that LO is a dry pants girl once the new habit has been established.

thattravelphotographer · 01/04/2023 16:31

@mathanxiety these are all great ideas, thank you. Everything online is all very textbook stuff, but this is exactly the sort of ideas I am after. Love all of these.

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mathanxiety · 01/04/2023 18:12

Hope it works out!

I'd also advise not to use a potty. If you can buy a little soft, clip-on, toddler-size seat to go on the loo, do that, and get a sturdy step stool for climbing on with.

If you do use a potty, aim to move to 100% loo use within a couple of weeks. Maybe leave the potty in the bedroom for first thing in the morning or nighttime use.

It's a shame to have to deal with loo aversion if the new habit is established on the potty. Though if this happens, you can sprinkle coloured tissue paper or confetti in to make it look like the end of the rainbow, or offer a little bribe.

Hopefully, she's seen you using the loo and has a rough idea of how it works.

Just a note - using the loo is one of the first skills you'll ever explicitly teach your child, and it can be a reminder to you, the teacher, of your limitations and the fact that your child is a completely separate little human, with her own ideas and quirks. You can feel very powerless over the entire process. It's a good idea to keep a little diary of your own feelings as you take this first crazy trip together.

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