Learning control from 2 to 3 years

While it is likely that your child has already shown signs of both muscle control and has an awareness of urination and bowel movements, it is also possible that she hasn't. If this is the case, don't worry. The procedure for helping your child to understand her bodily requirements is the same, no matter what age she starts.

If, however, your child has gained some control, you'll find that she'll continue to improve during this year. It has been shown that by two-and-a-half years old approximately 90 per cent of girls and 75 per cent of boys have complete bowel control and even go to the lavatory alone. However, the same study showed that more than half the children of that age were still wet at night, although they could go without a nappy during the day.

Learning to stay dry at night

Bladder control at night comes last of all. It is often not possible for a two-and-a-half year old child to hold urine for much longer than four to five hours, and it is often much less than that. The signal to start leaving off the night-time nappy is when she wakes up with a dry nappy regularly. When this happens, leave off the nappy, but take the child to the potty and encourage her to empty her bladder before she goes to sleep. Leave a potty beside the bed and suggest that she use that if necessary during the night. Do leave a night light on so that she can see what she's doing and be prepared to give any assistance if necessary.

It's a big step for your child to stop relying on you and to take responsibility for using the potty herself. Encourage your child as soon as she shows any signs of taking this responsibility because it is important that you help and that she feels a sense of confidence.

Be prepared for accidents, but never get upset by them. You can minimize the amount of work by:

• Protecting the mattress with a rubber sheet, putting your usual sheet on top.


• Putting a small rubber sheet on top of the child's ordinary sheet, with a half sheet over that. If there's an accident you can quickly remove the half sheet and spare the rest of the undersheet.


• Making sure that night wear is free of zips so that your child can take down her clothes without any trouble.


• Avoiding any confrontation by not forcing your child in any way. Gentleness and understanding invariably pay off.

Tips

• Whenever you travel, make sure that you have a potty with you so that your child can go under any circumstances without having to wait. Put the potty on the floor in the back of your car so that you can stop anywhere along the road instead of having to worry about finding a public lavatory in a hurry.

• If she sits down and can't do anything, turn on the taps; this works for babies as well as adults.

• If you keep star charts for different accomplishments, keep one for each success.

• If you have a potty in the bathroom, you and your child could go to the lavatory at the same time.

• Let your child accompany you to the lavatory at an early age so that she can learn from watching you. This works particularly well with boys.

• Tell your child quite firmly and sympathetically that accidents will always be ignored and forgiven, and that she's not to worry about them.

• Get a potty well before you think your child will need it. You can explain why it is there and that when she is old enough she'll be able to use it. This may give your child an incentive to have a go.

• Be wary of flushing the lavatory when your child's with you - many are frightened by the noise, and by the fact that “part of them” is being taken away.

Dr Miriam Stoppard

New Babycare
Copyright © 2009 Dorling Kindersley
Text copyright © 2009 Miriam Stoppard

Posted 03.11.2010

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