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Campaign to support children and families with toilet training ahead of starting school

 

 

Children’s charity ERIC has launched a new campaign to support children starting school in September to get ready to use toilets independently, and to remove some of the stigma associated with toilet training.

The children’s bowel and bladder charity offers training and support to education and early years professionals, and a helpline for families.

ERIC said it has seen a rise in the number of parents contacting its helpline for advice in recent weeks, particularly from parents whose children are due to start school next term.

Some children are still in nappies or need a nappy to poo.

According to ERIC, the knock-on effects of the pandemic and cuts to essential services are contributing to this issue.

They also said that  toilet training can be more difficult now than in previous generations, due to many social and economic factors affecting families, and a lack of local continence services and advice to help people who are experiencing problems.

Later toilet training can hide continence issues, such as constipation, which can have a big impact on children and their families, from missing out on days out and socialising to attending school.

Many find, through speaking to an advisor, that there may be constipation which needs to be diagnosed and treated before toilet training, the charity said.

Its summer campaign invites children and parents to ‘board the Toilet Train’ by signing up to the charity’s online challenge that will help them prepare for school. Families will receive information and advice to support them in their journey.  

ERIC will also supply resources through pre-schools, nurseries and libraries.

The charity’s friendly mascots, Wee and Poo, will be out on the road at select locations throughout the summer, along with their expert ‘poo nurses’ to speak directly with children and their carers about their potty-training journeys.   

Juliette Rayner, CEO of ERIC, said, ‘The longer-term impact of the pandemic and cuts in recent years to many services have resulted in a lot more pressure on families and the professionals who support them, and this is affecting outcomes for children.  

‘There are many contributing factors that can impact a child's ability to be toilet trained before school, and there is often a great deal of stigma and shame associated with it. ‘As a charity, our aim is to offer a judgement-free source of advice and information to ensure that as many children as possible receive the support they need to be toilet trained for school.  

‘We hope that as many families as possible will hop aboard the Toilet Train this summer and we’ll be here to support them every step of the way.’

A survey by Kindred² on school readiness, published earlier this year, found that school staff are spending two-and-a-half hours a day, on average, supporting children with issues to help them be developmentally ready for school, such as toilet training, or dressing themselves after using the toilet. The same report found just 50 per cent of parents think they are solely responsible for toilet training their child, while 21 per cent of parents think children do not need to be toilet-trained before starting Reception.  

  • Sign up for resources from ERIC's campaign here

 



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