Tips for toilet training children.

Think ahead, buy a large, comfortable, easy to clean potty well before the baby is old enough to use one. That way when the time comes the potty will be a recognisable part of life.

The correct time to begin potty training is when your child can understand the basic instructions and is able to stay dry for a few hours at a time, which shows they have some bladder control. This is usually at the age of about two years, although parents who wait until a child is nearly three often find that training works faster.

Begin by putting the youngster on the potty after eating or drinking. Don’t worry or nag your child is nothing happens, but give lots of praise and attention when it does.

When a child is well used to a potty, it’s ready to stop wearing nappies. Choose a time when you don’t have to go out much and, if possible, when the weather is warm enough to spend time in the garden, where accidents will be less messy. Dress the child in lined trainer pants without a nappy and put him on the potty every hour. Don’t fuss if the pants get wet, but give lavish praise when the potty is used.

Be prepared for toilet training to take time: getting upset will only make things worse. Be unstinting with encouragement, and make the child proud of his progress by putting up a calendar chart where you can stick a star each time he uses the potty successfully. Being allowed to watch parents or other children using the lavatory can also help, or hearing a running tap while sitting on the lavatory. You may even be able to find books with pictures of children using the potty.

If a child who is dry during the day still cannot get through the night, leave a potty next to the bed and suggest using it on waking during the night. Alternatively, gently wake the child and put it on the potty just before you go to bed yourself. Protect the mattress with a plastic covering under the sheet.

When your child is more than two years old, buy a trainer seat to fit your lavatory and a toddler step to help reach it. Teach children how to wipe themselves; it’s particularly important for girls to wipe from front to back so that they don’t spread bowel bacteria.

Toilet trained children may start to wet their beds again if something upsets them – the arrival of a new baby, or starting at a new school, for example. Go back to using a plastic sheet over the mattress and talk kindly to the child about the problem and what may be causing it, but don’t fuss. Stick stars on a special calendar chart for every dry night. See the doctor if the problem persists: there may be a urinary infection.