Helping Your Little One Succeed at Preschool

If your child is in the midst of learning how to use the toilet, you could be concerned about sending him or her to daycare during this time. However, you probably can't just stop sending your child to daycare, so you could be wondering if there is anything that you can do to make things easier for your child's daycare teachers while also helping your son or daughter learn to use the toilet. Luckily, these tips can help:

1. Be Prepared for Accidents

Accidents can still happen with children who are just learning how to use the toilet, even if they are doing well at home. This can be especially true in a daycare setting that isn't quite as familiar and when your child might not be getting as much attention as he or she gets during one-on-one time at home. Because of this, it's important to be prepared for any accidents that might happen. You may want to continue sending your child to a daycare in training pants for right now. If your child is mostly doing well with potty training and if he or she has transitioned to wearing more traditional underwear, you may want to send an extra pair of underwear and an extra set of clothing, just in case.

2. Talk to Daycare Staff Members

It's always a good idea to communicate with the staff members at your child's daycare, but it's especially important to talk about it while your child is being potty trained. Then, you can talk to the daycare workers about your child's progress at home and can get progress updates about what happens at daycare. Additionally, you can learn a little more about how the daycare handles potty training. For example, your child might be required to wear training pants until he or she is fully potty trained for sanitary reasons.

3. Make Sure Your Child is Dressed in Easy-to-Remove Clothing

Right now, your child might not realize that he or she has to use the toilet until it's urgent. If his or her clothes are difficult to pull down, then this can make the difference between a successful potty session and an accident. Additionally, your child's daycare worker might not want to fuss with a lot of buttons and zippers when there are other children who need supervision. Therefore, when choosing clothing for your child to wear to daycare while potty training, consider outfits that will make things easier, such as pants with elastic waistbands or dresses.