Have we got worse at toilet training our children compared to our mother's day? According to my mother we have. “You and your brother were toilet trained both night and day by the time you were 2,” she says. So if this is true – how did she do it?
Many mums I talk to are telling me the same story; that their mothers preach about this generation of toddlers that breezed through the toilet training stage before the magical age of 2. You only have to look at the parenting chat forums to see that this is no longer the case. Pages and pages of desperate mums seeking the holy grail of toilet training success! So where are we going wrong? Or where are our toddlers going wrong? Or are our parents just……. wrong?
An interesting theory is that ‘new and improved’ is not always better. Modern-day nappies are very efficient at drawing away that horrible wet feeling from the skin, making the wearer more comfortable. That seems to be marketing gold for the nappy companies. But compare this to our early childhood (before we were 2!) where it was cloth nappies all the way. When the cloth got wet, you knew all about it. How many family photos have you seen with your nappy hanging somewhere down by your knees! So is this the answer?
I read somewhere, a toilet training tip that has really stuck with me “dryness is the goal. Going in the toilet is a bonus, but dryness is the goal” So if dryness is my new goal instead of tinkles in the toilet, shouldn’t we at least give our toddlers a clue as to what is dry and what is wet?
I’m no expert, and I’m not saying this would work for everyone, but it's definitely something to think about. Maybe our mums did know what they were doing?
We have some reward charts to help your little one get there with toilet training