Potty Training is a big milestone in both parent and toddler’s lives.  It is not an easy process. and some may find it easier than others, it really does depend if your toddler is ready, and of course, if the parent is ready!

Potty training has had a significant presence in the media recently amid reports from the Association of Teachers and Lecturers that the average age of potty training in the UK has dramatically increased to children now starting primary school not fully trained, alongside the detrimental effects large quantities of nappies are having on our environment too. Did you know the UK gets through around 3 billion nappies, weighing about 700,000 tonnes every year?

Tops are proud to be part of the Potty Training Academy, working together to get little ones successfully out of nappies when the time is right, with a fun and easy learning programme for nursery and at home!

My Potty Training Academy training system supports you as a parent/carer, along with the toddler whilst they master this key stage in their development. It provides a consistent and fun approach to toilet training that can be adopted with ease both at home and in any child care environment. A consistent training programme used at home and nursery is the key to successful potty training.

To begin with

Before starting to potty train it’s important that your child is showing interest in the potty or toilet.

It is only possible to train a child to use the potty or toilet when their body is ready. It is only when a child’s nerve endings have matured and the messages are being sent on a regular basis from the brain that they are able to feel the urge that informs us we need to use the toilet. Never force a child to try and train before you see some of the key signs. Training your child too early can damage their confidence and be scary for a young child.

Introducing the toilet or potty:

* When changing their nappy sit them on the toilet / potty.

* Encourage use of the toilet / potty before and after bath time.

* Leave the potty in the same room so they are comfortable with it being around.

* Use songs and stories. A good book is ‘I want my potty’ by Tony Ross.

* Ensure that you establish key words with the child and the nursery such as wee-wee

* When toilet training boys decide if you want them to stand up to urinate or to sit down, it can be confusing to do both.

When you have decided to start potty training the best way is to just go for it. Put them straight into pants. Pull-ups are fine for a long journey. Most children feel uncomfortable with wet or soiled pants.

Going for it!

*Make sure they know where the potty/toilet is.

*Get the right equipment i.e. potty, toilet training seats.

*Take the child to the toilet every 20 minutes at first to see if they want to go, try not to ask them as they are likely to just say no if they are engrossed in a good activity and then have an accident when they forget to go.

*Make it fun.

*Introduce a reward system.

*If the child has had an accident don’t make a fuss. Just say “never mind it doesn’t matter.”

Home and Nursery differences

*Sometimes a child does really well at home but not so good at nursery. To avoid this please ensure that a potty training handover is completed and effective communication is given to the staff daily. Some of the problems that occur are:

*Not wanting to use the nursery potty. You can always bring one from home as long as it has a lid.

*Being too engrossed in activities they forget to ask when they need to go, or that they are having too much fun!!

* Remember children usually achieve dryness in the day but it is some time before they master night time control, so they may need to use a nappy when they sleep.

If after a few months and your child is still not dry throughout the day you might want to give it a break for a while. Sometimes the nerve endings take time to make secure connections which enable the child to feel the urge to go to the toilet, if this happens to your child do not worry it is normal just wait a while and then try again. You may want to still offer the potty during nappy changing times and bath time.

When you feel it is the right time for your child to start please arrange to speak to a member of staff in your child’s nursery and collect our toilet training booklet.