PUTTING THEM ON THE POTTY
The approach to childcare has changed a lot in the past 15 years. Theemphasis is now heavily on the child and what the child wants to do. Butalthough there have been many improvements and research into the earlyyears, I can't help but wonder, has this child-centred approach gone toofar? What does it mean when it comes to potty training, for example?After all, a child cannot potty train itself.
The welfare of any child is paramount. But as parents we have all readthese books telling us to adopt a relaxed approach and avoid allconflict related to this age.
Potty training is not easy and requires consistency, patience and apositive attitude. Without these, any child will become stressed, nomatter what age they are.
A recent study from the University of Michigan found that 98 per cent ofchildren are trained by 36 months of age. Our own EYFS claims that youshould not start toileting until the child is at least 18 months old -the age most children were out of nappies in the 1950s.
So how and why did our grandmothers do this? The obvious answer is thatthe majority of children in the 1950s wore cloth nappies. Withdisposables nowadays being much more convenient there isn't a strongincentive to promote early potty training.
A further reason is that people used to associate toilet-training withgood mothering. Although we might turn our nose up at a child startingschool in nappies, we are just as likely to label a mother whose 20month-old is potty-trained as 'pushy'.
However, the main reason why potty training is delayed is lifestyle.With most women today working full or part time they simply don't havethe opportunity to spend their day potty training their child. And whatwas once the job of the mother has become the job of many. Fathers areno longer confined to the role of breadwinner and many children areplaced in nursery.
While individual circumstances will play a huge part in when a parentthinks their child is ready, there are many benefits to early pottytraining. Parents will be spared the huge expense of buying nappies. Achild who is out of nappies by two years will have the added bonus ofgaining their independence. Another benefit is simply not having nappiesaround the house or having to carry an entire bag filled with wipes andother accessories.
With so many benefits to early potty training, maybe we should look atwhat is best for the child.
Laura Gammons, Kettering
Our star letter wins 30 worth of books
LET'S REMEMBER THERE IS SUPPORT
On behalf of NICMA - the Childminding Association in Northern Ireland -I am writing to express my disappointment at the article promoting a newUK childminding association (3-16 September). I understand the need forcompetition within the sector, which can often be healthy, but I thinkthe promotion of such a new UK organisation can only undermine thesterling work that the three Childminding Associations in the UK havedone over the past 30-plus years.
NICMA represents a sector of more than 4,000 childminders acrossNorthern Ireland, has been established for 28 years and works veryclosely with all relevant government departments within the NI Executiveand statutory and voluntary bodies to support the development ofhigh-quality childminding. Indeed, the legislation and statutoryfunction of registration and inspection of childminding in NorthernIreland is quite different from the rest of the UK and thereforerequires a different approach in terms of meeting the sector's needs.The article suggests that no such support service currently exists andthat the new association will be filling a much-needed gap in theservice - nothing could be further from the truth.
The quotes - 'this kind of support has been missing and is long overdue'and 'there is a significant lack of information given to childmindersand often their voices aren't heard' - are particularly damaging.NICMA's Information, Advice & Vacancy service receives more than 20,000enquiries annually and is very much a 'one-stop shop' for allchildminding-related information. That is only one element of our work -we offer much more on behalf of childminders, families and ultimatelychildren in order to improve and enhance the service available tochildren and we will continue to do so.
Bridget Nodder, NICMA, Co Down
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