Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. You might be in the situation where your little one has mastered using the toilet/potty in one environment quicker than the other – this might be at home but it could be at nursery! Toilet training is something that can take time as it is all about biology, timings and developmental stages…but we also need to take into account the environments your little one spends time in.

If a child is worried or anxious about anything this may cause the body to tense which in turn can make going to the toilet challenging. It can lead to ‘holding’ either, or both, wee and poo until they are in an environment where they feel relaxed, or, in some cases, when they are put into a nappy for nap or bedtime.

Everyone has different experiences. For some their little one is quite happy to use the toilet or potty at nursery, but refuses to at home, or they are great at home but refuse to go at nursery! I am going to look at some of the reasons why this might be and give you some strategies to help.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. Have you tried potty training but stopped because your little one didn’t seem ready or things were not progressing? This can be disappointing, especially if you have built up to the moment and when you felt that your little one was really ready. Don’t worry or despair though as this is something that lots of parents/carers experience with their little ones for various different reasons.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. The important thing to remember is that under the age of 5 it is completely normal for some children to not be dry through the night. Try not to worry about this as for most children this will develop by the time they are 5.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. This has to be one of the main questions I get asked a couple of weeks after a parent feels that their little one has mastered potty training. There is a quiet confidence that you get when you have had several days or weeks without any accidents, but then suddenly it is like you have gone back to when you first started potty/toilet training; your little one is having accidents and in some cases they don’t seem to be worried or upset by it, if anything some can seem to find it funny.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. This is one of the most common questions that I get asked in relation to toilet training. The process of learning to use the potty or toilet is individual to each child, some seem to take a couple of days and others might take that little bit longer to master it…often doing a poo is what holds them back.

Written by Claire Burgess, Family Consultant. *If your child is constipated it is important to get this checked out by your GP to ascertain what might be causing this and then looking at what needs to happen next. If it is put down to constipation because of normal reasons like diet, fluids etc then some of the points below should be of some help!