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Potty Training through history
Read more: Potty Training through historyFor thousands of years of human history, babies began to learn toileting skills from birth and typically reached toilet independence by the age of 12 months. So what changed? How did we get to 2026 where many parents haven’t even started to potty train until the age of 3 and with 1 in 4 children…
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How to help your child learn to wipe properly when toilet training
Read more: How to help your child learn to wipe properly when toilet trainingMany parents ask me at what age children are capable of wiping themselves independently. Knowing how to wipe effectively after a poo is a skill many parents leave until later to teach, and as a result they often find themselves helping to wipe for longer than is really necessary. So how and when should you…
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Toddler diarrhoea: are loose poos a sign of a problem?
Read more: Toddler diarrhoea: are loose poos a sign of a problem?Occasionally I hear from parents who are worried because their toddler seems to have regular loose poos, sometimes several times a day. Nappies look messy, stools may contain undigested food, and it can feel like something must be wrong. Sometimes this turns out to be Toddler Diarrhoea, also known in the medical literature as chronic…
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Potty Skills Falling Apart at Nursery? Here’s Why
Read more: Potty Skills Falling Apart at Nursery? Here’s WhyMany parents tell me their child is fully potty trained at home, but at nursery or preschool they have constant accidents or withhold. They hope the situation will resolve but don’t know what to do to change things. They can’t understand why it’s only happening in those places. Here’s what I tell them.
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Can AI potty train your child?
Read more: Can AI potty train your child?From asking ChatGPT for a potty training plan, to using Alexa, Google Assistant, or Siri to prompt your child, Nurse Rebecca Mottram explores the concept of AI tools for potty training and whether they can be trusted to give parents the evidence-based guidance needed for supporting their children through this major developmental milestone.
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Prompting to use the potty
Read more: Prompting to use the pottyWhen your child is first learning to listen to their body signals, working in partnership with you can help them to get their wees in the potty. Nurse Rebecca Mottram explains the difference between prompting and overprompting to help you to support your child to become toilet independent and self initiate using the potty,.
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Why Does Potty Learning Sometimes Look Worse Before It Gets Better?
Read more: Why Does Potty Learning Sometimes Look Worse Before It Gets Better?A family comes to me for support. We explore their child’s unique temperament, development and the emotional and practical factors shaping what’s happening with potty learning. I help them understand the patterns driving the behaviour, and together we create a clear, child-centred plan to shift those patterns and unblock progress. Families usually leave feeling calmer,…
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Play, Potty Ducks, and the Power of Evidence: How Toys Can Support a Research-Led Approach to Toilet Learning
Read more: Play, Potty Ducks, and the Power of Evidence: How Toys Can Support a Research-Led Approach to Toilet LearningIf you’ve spent any time on my website, you’ll know I very rarely review products. My work is firmly grounded in research, clinical experience, and child development, not in promoting gadgets. But every now and then, something crosses my path that genuinely aligns with the evidence in a meaningful way. Potty Duck is one of…
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The Nappy-Free Debate: An impossible ideal or a realistic goal?
Read more: The Nappy-Free Debate: An impossible ideal or a realistic goal?For most parents, nappies are both a convenience and a necessity, especially for those who are also working parents. However, we are increasingly aware of the environmental impact of disposable nappies. Many parents have turned to the idea of a nappy-free baby – but is this even possible or realistic? Is it madness?
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A Poo in the Bath (and how to handle it)
Read more: A Poo in the Bath (and how to handle it)When Mr Poo appears as if from nowhere, in the bath, understanding why it happens and how to respond calmly makes all the difference between a funny story for later, or a memory that sets potty training back says Nurse Rebecca Mottram.