Potty Training at St Osmunds Preschool
If you think your child is showing signs of being ready for toilet training, the first step is to discuss this with your child’s keyperson. Your will be given a pack and advice from either Nicole or John on the best ways for you to support your child at home that mirrors the way we support at preschool.
Secondly, make sure you have all the right equipment. For example, if your child is using the toilet you’ll need a step for your child to stand on. You’ll also need a smaller seat that fits securely inside the existing toilet seat, because some children get uneasy about falling in. At preschool we have different types of seats and you can bring your child’s potty in with them.
Finally, it’s best to plan toilet training for a time when you don’t have any big changes coming up in your family life. Also, toilet training might go better if you and your child have a regular daily routine. We can discuss with you what our routines are at preschool to match your routine at home.
Here are some tips for getting ready:
- Teach your child some words for going to the toilet – for example, ‘wee’, ‘poo’ and ‘I need to go’.
- When you change your child’s nappy, put wet and dirty nappies in the potty – this can help your child understand what the potty is for.
- Let your child try sitting on the potty or the small toilet seat to help them get familiar with the new equipment.
- Let your child watch you or other trusted family members using the toilet, and talk about what you’re doing.
- Once or twice a day you might want to start putting trainer pants on your child – this helps them understand the feeling of wetness.
- Make sure your child is eating plenty of fibre and drinking lots of water so they don’t get constipated. Constipation can make toilet training harder.
Once you start, toilet training might take days, weeks or months. The key is to not push your child, and let them learn at their own pace – they will get the hang of it when they are ready. And if your child doesn’t cooperate or seem interested in toilet training right now, just wait until they want to try again.