Do you have questions about creating positive bathroom habits and routines? Ask toilet training expert Amanda Jenner - £200 voucher to be won

[LibbyMumsnet]

Please note, questions have been answered and the expert is no longer available to answer new questions.

According to toilet training expert Amanda Jenner, 73% of parents don’t think there is enough advice when it comes to toilet training*. During lockdown, there has been a huge increase of children losing their confidence when going to the toilet which has led to an increase of older children having more frequent toilet accidents in and out the home. With this in mind, Amanda will be here to answer your questions between 4th-8th January.

Here’s some more information on Amanda Jenner: “Amanda is known as The UK’s Toilet Training Expert. Throughout her career, she has worked closely with families and the education sector, giving advice and guidance during key stages of child development.
She hosts regular live clinics, debates and campaigns to help parents talk about their children’s toilet habits and behaviour throughout their early childhood."

Here’s what Andrex has to say: “Andrex® wants to help your family along its unique toileting journey with a little fun along the way. Over the next few months, we will be launching a series of tips, tools and advice to help you and your child grow in confidence, establishing healthy bathroom habits and routines. As we know those positive behaviours we develop as a child will last a lifetime.
We’re excited to join your family on this adventure.”

Whether you‘d like to know how you can teach your child healthy bathroom habits or you're concerned that lockdown has knocked your child’s confidence when using the toilet independently, ask Amanda your questions on this thread.

All who post a question (regardless of whether it is answered or not) will be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £200 voucher for the store of their choice (from a list).

Thanks and good luck!

MNHQ

Insight Terms and Conditions apply

*Survey conducted by Amanda’s Potty Training Academy

[yasmin0147]

Is night time training possible? Because with my 3 year old is toilet trained during the day but still uses a nappy at night.

[fishnships]

Me too for tips on teenage boys keeping the loo clean

[searchthesky]

I worry about my child not using the toilet all day as they don’t want to use the ones in comprehensive school that are dirty and lack privacy. Will this cause health problems later on?

[Estraya]

What do you suggest for a 2 year old who is perfectly capable of using the toilet but who sometimes chooses to wet themselves and just ignore it and carry on with what they're doing?

Also, how can you get older kids to remember to flush the toilet, other than sending them back to do it every time you catch them?

[Dav123]

DD is just coming up to 3 years old and is potty trained during the day. How do we get her to become dry at nights? If she wakes through the night (for any other reason) she is really difficult to get back to sleep, so I dread the thought of taking her to the loo when I go to bed, as some friends have suggested.

[Dav123]

DD randomly puts her hands down the loo. Why?! And how do I stop this?

[Asuwere]

Another who would like tips on getting teen boys to aim better and/or clean up after themselves.

[barricade]

Question:- For toddlers who refuse to using a potty, is it wise to bypass the potty training stage and go straight to using a toilet?

Thank you.

[Hopezibah]

My daughter is now 8 and although she potty trained really well (dry at night far quicker than my other two children and also in the day) she was suffering from an illness at the usual stage when kids learn to wipe their own bottom and even when her pain and joints improved, it feels like she missed that window of opportunity so we've been left with the situation that she won't poo at school and at home she still needs us to wipe for her as its become something that she is afraid to do herself. I'm not quite sure how to go about changing this habit without causing huge upset to her. Every time we've tried to explain that she REALLY needs to learn to do it now and tried to support her step by step, she might try on that one occasion but then becomes distressed the following times. Any advice would be hugely appreciated!

[chuichi]

My 3 year old willingly goes to the toilet every now and then, and always goes to the toilet for poo. But in between the toilet trips she still pees in her nappy pants. We've tried replacing the nappy pants with training pants so that she feels wet if she pees in her pants but that hasn't deterred her from peeing in her pants. Any suggestions on how to stop her from peeing in her pants please?

[PickledChicory]

Ds is newly 4. He toilet trained later at around 3years 3months. He totally cracked it by 3.5years and was also dry at night. As he was older and quite big for his age we went straight to the toilet and he even gave up the trainer seat recently. DS sits on the toilet and my husband thinks its mean I dont let him stand...but seriously I dont fancy DS aim! When should we transition to standing up wees and how can I help him?
Thanks

[quizqueen]

Are pull ups a waste of money? Surely, it's better to go 'cold turkey' and go straight into pants and put up with a few accidents.

[SingToTheSky]

How do you get a child used to having a final wee before bed? My 3yo is usually dry overnight but she won’t go unless she really needs to so sometimes falls asleep having not been in a few hours.

[FestiveStuffing]

@strawberry2017

DD is potty trained but any advice on how to make the transition from the potty to the toilet?

Yes, this. We have a little seat that goes on the toilet for DD but she just says no whenever I ask if she wants to use it.

[bud1]

Liu

[Mammyofonlyone]

Like a few others, we'd like advice for getting my 3 1/2 year old niece to poo in the toilet/potty. She cracked doing wees in a few days and is dry at night but refuses to poo anywhere but in a nappy. She will just hold it in rather than use the toilet so obviously we don't want to force her. Any advice would be welcomed by my sister.

[m0jit0]

My dd is fully trained during the day. She is sometimes dry at night but not usually. How can we encourage night potty training?

[Ladybird345]

How do you know when your little one is ready to start toilet training?

[nadaley]

My 2 year old DD is a withholder. After accidentally pooing in the bath at the beginning of the year she’s now nervous about going in the bath and will sit on the toilet at home sometimes but won’t actually go to the toilet. She refuses the potty too. We’ve been to the GP for Movicol in the summer after she was withholding poos for 5 days at a time when she was previously in a daily/ every other day routine before.

At playschool two days a week she’s been weeing in the toilet odd times following the lead of the other children but I’d appreciate some guidance on how to approach toilet training with her at home to make this as painless as possible for her. She’s 3 in Feb and will need to be toilet trained for whenever she gets a call up for school nursery.

[Timeforsinging81]

My 4 year old is beginning to have a dry pull up in the morning and is using the potty during the night. However he still has a couple of mornings each week where his pull up is saturated. I don't know whether to keep him in pull ups still or not at night? He's a deep sleeper so probably doesn't always wake up when he feels the urge to go!

[Montydoo]

DS 2 is terrified of the toilet (mainly because it was flushed whilst he was sitting on on when DS1 flushed - the horror)
He was happily going before then - I've tried reassurance, bribery, watching it flush - and how it looks - any tips to get his confidence back ?

[thingywotsit]

How do you get your child to use the toilet when needed and not leave it too late?

[welshmardymum]

My youngest (8) sometimes suffers from cystitis and after shes had it she is frightened to go to the loo which is the exact opposite of what she needs to do - any tips would be great!

[MadisonErin]

What is the ideal age to begin potty training ? My daughter is 2 at the moment.

[spaceghetto]

Is being dry at night something you can train?