Congratulations, you have been monitoring your child’s potty training readiness signs and feel they are ready to start the potty training process! But are you worried that there might be a disconnect between what you do at home and what goes on while your child is at daycare? Let’s talk about it!
Before you even begin the potty training process at home, I would encourage you to have a conversation about potty training with your daycare center. You can schedule a parent teacher conference, connect with them via email, or set up a time to talk over the phone.
It’s important for you to initiate this communication with your child’s caregivers so that you are all on the same page from the beginning of this process.
Here are some things you might want to discuss:
- Have they already started the potty training process at school with your child?
- If you use rewards at home, will you want rewards used at daycare? Will the daycare even allow their teachers to provide your child rewards based on their policies?
- Are there specific strategies the daycare typically uses that they find to be the most successful so that way you can incorporate those strategies in your home?
- Does your daycare have a “structured potty schedule” meaning they only offer potty time opportunities at a certain time such as before nap, after nap etc. or do they try to follow the child’s individual toileting needs?
- If they follow a specific schedule, can they provide you a copy of that schedule?
- Do they have a potty training policy handbook with specific guidelines they are required to follow?
- Can they provide you a daily progress report of any accidents or successes your child has had?
- Can they show you what bathroom your child will be using?
- Does the daycare ever make the decision to put the child back in diapers or pull-ups once the potty training process has been started if your child has an accident?
Now that you have had an opportunity to have a conversation with your child’s teacher, what else can you do?
Next time you drop off or pick up, you can take your child on a “tour” of their classroom bathroom. Having their parent(s) by their side will allow the child to feel a sense of comfort and security as they get ready to start this new journey.
Some additional things to keep in mind:
- Make sure you and your child’s daycare communicate with one another and they don’t start the potty training process without informing you.
- Inform them when you have started the potty training process.
- Continue to make your expectations clear with the daycare in order to avoid any miscommunication.
Finally, keep in mind to thank your child’s daycare teacher(s) for their cooperation during your child’s potty training process and show them some appreciation. Having healthy communication between both parties will help make your child’s potty training experience a positive and successful one.