Toilet Learning Policies

We'll Help With Toilet Learning

We believe that parents should be their child's first helpers with toilet learning, but when you think your child is ready to start at child care we will jump in to help. If you need help getting started, check out our toilet learning tips and tricks! Once your child has been using the toilet at home for several weeks we'll try at child care. If your child shows no interest, is fearful, or has too many accidents toilet learning will be put on hold until we decide together that he/she is ready to try again. We will encourage your child to use the toilet throughout the day, however children are often more easily distracted while at child care than they are at home so it is important for your child to be comfortable using the toilet at home before we try here.

Here are some guidelines to help us work together to minimize frustration and maximize success:

• Toilet learning needs to be started, encouraged and continued at home.
• Decide before you start toilet learning what terms you will use for the toilet, urine and feces. We use "potty, tinkle, and poop" but what you use is up to you, and we will use your choice of words with your child. Families of boys also need to decide if boys will start out sitting or standing. Remember to tell us what you decide!
• Dress your child in loose clothing that he/she is able to manage easily and independently. Pants or shorts with all-elastic waists are the best choices. Please avoid overalls, jeans with snaps and zippers, shirts with snaps between the legs, belts, tie waistbands, tights, and tight-fitting clothing. Dresses may also be a problem if your child can't see to pull down her underwear or can't pull the back of the dress up enough to avoid sitting on it.
• Once you begin toilet learning avoid the use of diapers during the day. Disposable training pants (Pull-ups) may be a good choice during the first few days unless your child considers them no different from diapers.
• Use cloth training pants instead of disposable ones after the initial week or so. Most children learn more quickly while wearing cloth pants because they feel very different from diapers and they help the child become more aware of being wet. Thick training pants are available with a plastic outer layer and without the outer layer; these are a better choice than thin underwear for the first stages of learning.
• Diapers or pull-ups can be used for naps and at night if necessary but try getting the child up once during the night to use the bathroom for a few nights before using pull-ups.
• Please have your child wear some type of cloth training pants - not disposable training pants - at home for a full week before bringing your child to child care in cloth pants.
• During toilet learning please keep three complete sets of clothes, including socks, and one extra pair of shoes at child care every day. Remember to label all items of clothing.
• Consider telling your child will be told "It's time to go potty now" instead of asking. Asking the child if he/she wants to go to the bathroom only gives him/her to opportunity to say "no".
• Since the gate to the kitchen may be closed for safety, your child will be encouraged to tell us when he/she needs to use the bathroom until he/she can open the gate. Having your child tell you when he/she needs to use the bathroom at home will reinforce this habit.
• Due to health and sanitation concerns, licensing rules prohibit us from rinsing out soiled clothes. Soiled and/or wet garments will be put in a plastic bag for you to take home and launder.

We've helped many children with toilet learning, so if you need help getting started don't be afraid to ask, and make sure to check out our toilet learning tips and tricks!