POTTY TRAINING

Potty training is an important milestone for toddlers and young preschoolers. The process of learning to recognize when they have to go, getting to the bathroom on time, unfastening clothes, wiping, refastening clothes, flushing and washing hands is quite long. This is not a simple process. It takes a lot of patience on the part of everyone involved - parent, teachers and most importantly, the children.

Signs your child may be ready to use the toilet are an awareness of what is happening, the ability to communicate, and the motivation to be out of diapers. Children should stay in diapers until potty training has progressed to the point of just a few accidents. The more accidents that are in the classroom, the more difficult it is to keep it sanitary.

We will continue to encourage those children beginning toilet training by giving them the opportunity to visit the bathroom. To introduce the children to the potty, we have them sit down on the toilet for a short period of time to get used to the idea of sitting there. We repeat this every so often. Using the toilet is a skill that takes most toddlers several months to figure out.

If your child is consistently using the toilet, please try to avoid "onsies" as these can make it more difficult for children to get out of and can be frustrating if your child is in a hurry. Unless your child is consistently using the toilet and staying dry, please do not use "Pull-ups," the time required to completely undress and redress your child after wetting or soiling takes away from the daily activity and programming. Elastic waist paints, regular t-shirts and beltless pants make toilet training easier and more successful for your child.

We have a large number of children toilet training and it is time consuming to undress and redress a child. Following these guidelines will make toilet training a more positive and rewarding experience for your child and allow us adequate time for our activities and outside play. Criteria for wearing underpants is staying dry and being able to ask to use the toilet. Of course a few accidents are expected, but continued accidents will require the return to diapers. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions regarding this policy. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation!