Toilet training can often be an extremely challenging and stressful time for both parents and children. It certainly was for me, perhaps more so because I had twins. One who was happy to give it a go and the other who was not! And the one who was not, convinced her sister to stop using the potty. I ended up in tears.
The average age for a child to be potty trained is age three and a half. This puts parents under pressure to achieve this milestone before their children start kindy. Toilet training will be a longer, more difficult process for some compared to others. Positive reinforcement will help.
Picture books, rhymes, reward charts and games can all help you with your toilet training journey. Good luck!
BOOKS
Poo Poo Bum Bum Wee Wee
Written by Steven Cowell and illustrated by Erica Salcedo
This funny, rhyming picture book will encourage toddlers to use the toilet with confidence. It might even help to make toilet training fun! A catchy tune (“Poo poo, bum bum, wee wee” is the toilet song) and bright comical pictures make it appealing to toddlers. The poos even have silly faces. This picture book was written in consultation with parents to break down all the stages of using the toilet into easy steps, including how to wipe and handwashing. And there is even the inclusion of a dad on the toilet too. Because everybody poo poos, and everybody wees!Â
Super Pooper and Whizz Kid: Potty Power!
Written by Sabrina Moyle and illustrated by Eunice Moyle
What do you do when you’ve got to go? This board book is a practical and funny guide to toilet training featuring two masked heroes, a dog and a cat wearing superhero capes and underpants. Super Pooper and Whizz Kid aim to get toddlers excited about using a potty and also cover some of the basics of using a potty. The narrative is playful, and the bright illustrations are full of humour. Whizz Kid’s pee-pee dance is very funny, the dance children do when they feel the need to go. Toddlers will want to become ‘Pooperheroes’ just like Super Pooper and Whizz Kid. Then they can start wearing big boy and big girl underpants. And there’s an underpants dance too!
I Want My Potty!
Written and illustrated by Tony Ross
The Little Princess is learning to use a potty. She doesn’t want to wear nappies anymore, because nappies are “Yuuech!” After some failed attempts she learns to use her potty successfully and the royal household tell her how clever she is. But at the end of the book the Little Princess doesn’t make it to her potty on time and has an accident. This can be used to illustrate that all children, even princesses, have accidents as they learn. The illustrations of the red-faced princess racing to her potty and using it are quite comical. And the clear message is that “the potty’s the place!”
SONGS
The Toilet Song
Are you ready to take the toilet challenge? Enjoy the Wiggles toilet training song.
The Potty Song
This catchy tune is accompanied by a cheerful and upbeat video that makes going to the potty fun.
A Crafty Idea
Other Crafty Ideas
Other ideas include a rocket to the moon, a mermaid to a treasure chest, a fairy to a magic wand and a baby dinosaur to his mum or dad. The possibilities are endless. Choose something that appeals to your little one. Simply attach the desired image to a clothes peg and move it along the chart each time your child successfully uses the potty or toilet.
- 3 or more sheets of coloured cardstock – blue or green
- 1 sheet of white cardstock
- Train template
- Crayons or markers
- Scissors
- Clothes peg
- Craft sticks
- Glue and/or tape
- Cotton wool (optional)
- Print the train template onto some white cardstock.
- Colour in using markers or crayons.
- Tape or glue 3 or more sheets of the coloured cardstock together longways.
- Create railroad tracks over the coloured card by gluing craft sticks over the top using the image as a guide.
- Cut out the train.
- Glue 3 cottonwool balls to the clothes peg to create a smoke cloud (optional).
- Glue the train to the inside of the clothes peg.
- Make it clear which is the end of the track – you could put a gold star at the end or a finish line.
- Each time your child goes on the potty, the train gets to move forward on the track.
- When the train reaches the end of the track, your child is rewarded in some way.
