Author: sue

NIGHT TIMES
The ‘normal’ toddler will be night trained somewhere between 18months and 8 years
Try waiting until your child (asks to go without) or has dry nappies first thing in the morning before trying without a nappy overnight
Offer the potty or toilet just before bed time
Offer the potty or toilet first thing in the morning
Don’t give them a drink just before bed
PULL—UPS
You do not have to use Pull-ups.
They can help but they can also slow down toilet training because they hold the wee so cleverly that your child may not even know they are wet.
They can also be difficult to pull up and down.
If you want to get your child out of Pull-ups you can try the following:-
Put them in pants – they will probably not like feeling wet or dirty
Praise and reward - use stickers and a chart to reward them for using the toilet and/or for wearing pants
Tell them how grown up they are!
“look pants, just like mummy’s / daddy’s”
Carry spare pants with you
Try starting at a weekend or when you have more time
Put them in clothes that they can easily pull down
Tell their teacher or other people who care for them what you are doing
Don’t get cross
Be consistent
Keep positive

WANT TO KNOW MORE?
If you want more support with Potty training or you have any questions contact your own health visitor.

Children only become toilet trained when
they are ready!

TIPS FOR
POTTY
(TOILET)
TRAINING

Potty training
is about helping children gain
control of their body functions.

The ability to control bladder and bowel functions is as individual as each child so try not to compare your child with others.
For a child to become toilet trained they need to have conscious control over their bladder and bowel – they need to be able to recognise the signs that they need a wee or a poo.
Most children gain voluntary control between 18 and 36 months
READY?
Are you ready?
choose a time that’s good for you – not when you’re moving house or starting a new job!
Are they ready?
Do they know when they have had a wee or a poo?
Do they show you they want to go…?
Can they pull clothes up and down by themselves?
Do they prefer clean nappies?
Praise your child when they tell you they need changing
Are there longer gaps between wet nappies?
You can encourage this by changing nappies regularly
Learning to use the potty
is not usually fast or consistent

squat

point
to
their
nappy

pull faces

hold their private parts

pace around

say “wee” “wet” “poo”

grunt

HOW?
Decide when you want to start
Talk about what you are doing
Remember patience and praise
Leave the empty potty around for your
child to discover
Let them see you use
the toilet
Let them sit on the potty with their clothes on
then try with just a nappy on
then after you’ve taken a dirty nappy off
Try offering the potty after a meal
or before a bath
or first thing in the morning
Remember to wash your hands and get them used to washing their hands too!
Other things to do…
When you change their nappy talk to them about the nappy and what’s in it.
Start training in the warmer/drier weather so they can run around without a nappy
Choose clothes that are easy to pull down – no fiddly buttons
Give them a small reward (maybe a sticker) for using the potty
Say how grown up and clever they are

What type of potty?
It doesn’t have to be big or flash – a cheap small potty which you can move around quickly and easily will do just as well if not better than a ‘throne’!
Have more than one potty – so you don’t have to move far
DON’T
Don’t force them to use the potty
Don’t make them wait if they ask for the potty
Don’t make them sit on the potty for too long
Don’t tell them off if they do have
accidents
— accidents are normal and will happen
When something happens in the potty
(which may just be due to luck)
give them lots of praise
REMEMBER
A toddler’s short attention span means they are easily distracted
–keep the steps simple and repeat them
Don’t rush
– sometimes the later they learn
the quicker they will learn
Don’t get cross with potty training
-if it’s stressing you out
leave it a few weeks and try again.