Is Your Child Ready for Toilet Training?

There are many different factors to look at when talking about toilet training and toileting readiness.

Judy Benz Duncan, Occupational Therapist

For a child to be considered “toilet trained,” it means that the child can get on and get off the toilet, manage their clothes before and after using the toilet, wipe themselves, flush the toilet, and wash their hands. When all of these happen without help or supervision, then you can officially say your child is “toilet trained!”

Toilet training is an ultimate goal, but in reality may take years of trial and error, practice, practice, practice, and more practice. For children with sensory processing disorders, the whole process can take even longer, and be filled with stress, anxiety, fear, and lots of frustration.

When looking at the skills and other factors involved in being able to toilet, we need to consider:

Balance (for getting on/off the toilet, sitting balance, and balance for rotating body to wipe self and in standing for clothing management)

Hand Coordination and Manual Dexterity (gross and fine motor skills, for clothing fasteners, use of toilet paper including tearing off the roll and using, ability to use door handle or latch to enter/leave the bathroom)

Body Awareness (understanding their body parts, recognizing the need to “go”)

Range of Motion of Body / Trunk (the ability to move their body in order to adequately wipe themselves, reach for the toilet paper, manage their clothes)

Cognition (understanding what toileting is about, understanding the process and basic sequence of toileting needs, being able to connect the feeling of needing to “go” with going to the bathroom on time)

Language and Verbal Skills (being able to express the need to use the toilet, or in the beginning to let you know that they have wet or soiled their clothing)

Sensory Awareness (Learning to feel when their bladder is full or when they need to use the toilet, or when their clothing or diaper is wet / soiled)

Basic Dressing Skills (being able to pull down / pull up clothes in order to use the toilet, able to manage clothing fasteners)

Learning to be independent with toileting may take years. Toileting is a complex task to achieve and it is important to praise your child for even the smallest of gains throughout the whole process.

This series on toilet training will take you and your child through all the various tasks and activities involved in learning to use the toilet properly and consistently.

CLICK and Go!

CLICK and Go! Toilet Training Readiness Checklist

CLICK and GO! Ideas for Reducing Toilet Anxiety and Fear

CLICK and GO! Toileting and Hygiene – Hand Washing