Are you toilet training in your house?

I was speaking to a dad last week and toilet training was the topic in their household. Vomit and poo have got to be the least desirable characteristics of parenting.

Here are a few tips to make it a little easier to get through toilet training:

1. Start as you mean to go on

When I started toilet training my first child, her preschool teacher at the time said that when I decide my daughter is ready to have her nappy off – never put another one on. Scary as that sounds, we have never used pull ups, even at night and had minimal accidents. It makes sense that when you take the nappy off, you are training your child to go to the toilet when they feel the urge and if you confuse them with a pull up, they don’t know which way to go.

2. Make sure your child is really ready

Your child will know when they are ready. My youngest daughter toilet trained herself one week after her second birthday. It was not the most ideal time as we were on holidays in Disney World in Florida. Very determined, she decided she would wear her sisters undies and she didn’t want a bar of another nappy. It actually worked out fine as both my husband and I were there to run her to the toilet and leave the other two kids with either one. It would have been much harder if it was just me running with three little kids to the nearest toilet. It didn’t stop the nervousness when we were travelling on a bus or in the swimming pool. She didn’t have one accident, even over night.

3. Toilet train your child in summer

It makes sense. There are far less layers in summer and more time can be spent outside running around with no nappy on. Sheets dry more easily, mattresses can be aired and it is more comfortable for you and your child.

4. Don’t stress, it will happen!

How often have you known a child to go to Kindergarten in a nappy. It hardly ever happens. Children will be ready and it will happen and when it does, you not only save money on nappies (or diapers) but have less to carry around and more freedom to go places without nappy bins and nappy change stations.

A question I have been asked many times is whether to use a toilet or a potty. It will all depend on your child and the situation. I used a potty to start with, with my first but the other two had a role model so they wanted to use the toilet straight away. My youngest used a toilet insert as it was a wide toilet in America and the water is really high so the changes of her falling in were escalated! Sometimes a step is good, especially for little boys to learn to aim and shoot into the toilet.

Just remember, it will happen and best of luck!