It's potty time! Around 18 months – 2 ½ years, your child should be ready to take on toilet training. Then, once a child reaches 3 or 4 they should begin using the toilet. This marks an enormous step in independence.
Here are a few tips to ease the process:
- Make it fun! It doesn't have to be serious or stressful, so lighten the mood with songs or games. Invite their favourite toys to join them—you can even make a toy potty for their toys too.
- To encourage your child to use the toilet, try either getting them to play with no pants on, or putting their pants underneath the nappy, so they can feel when they've wet them. This is especially important because many nappies are so good at absorbing, toddlers can't always feel when they've had an accident.
- For boys, you can make toilet time more interesting by putting shaving foam in the toilet so they have something to aim for. Alternatively, for a little father and son bonding, you could get him to copy his dad.
- If you have a little girl, make sure they are wiping from front to back to prevent infections. While UTI’s are uncommon in young children, they are notably more likely to occur in girls than boys.
- Buy them some cool undies! The more personalised the process is, the more enjoyable it will be. Likewise, if you get your child a potty in their favourite colour or decorate it with stickers, it may encourage them to use it.
- Get a solid schedule. Make sure they know the process of going to the toilet; how to know when it's time to go and how not to miss.
- If sleeping through the night without a nappy is causing trouble, simply put them in a nappy or pull up and gradually wean them back off. Additionally, try not to let your little one drink too much before bedtime so they are more likely to last through the night.
Hatch has a large variety of products including underwear and potty’s, to encourage and facilitate the toilet training process. We recommend the Nuk Potty which comes in three colours (pink, blue and grey) and is a great option, to begin with.