Potty training a child at home is already a tricky task. Adding daycare potty training to the mix can be a nightmare. Fortunately, all it takes to keep the nightmare at bay is finding the right balance. Basically, you and the daycare teachers need to be on the same page, because potty training your child will be a group effort. Here are some handy tips for achieving the balance you need!
Trust the Teachers
Parents are naturally protective of their children. And as a guy, you might even feel more protective than others. However, the first step of daycare potty training is to learn how to trust your child’s daycare teachers. The bottom line is that they have way more experience than you will with this. This is one of the reasons that any scheduling and other plans should be created with the help of those teachers. This is a win-win for you because their insight will help you get this right the first time. Additionally, you will start off on the right foot with the teachers. This is a much better approach than showing up and giving them potty training techniques, which are likely to be wrong anyway.
Develop a Game Plan
You need a game plan when your child is potty training at daycare and home. And, like we said, you need to develop it with the help of your child’s teachers. This plan should cover what potty training techniques you will be doing at home (and for how many days) and what you need the teachers to try to do at school (and for how many days). For example, you may
have a plan where you let them go to the bathroom with bottoms completely off in the days leading up to school. Then, send them with pull-ups just in case there is an accident (and to see how they’ll react to using the potty in a new place). And you’ll need to know when to put your kid in underwear, but you should work out a strategy for the child wearing pull-ups for naps and potentially wearing them for bedtime at home. It really is that simple. Develop a plan together, make sure everyone understands their part, and be willing to make necessary adjustments to your potty training techniques.
Pack Changes of Clothes
Here’s a simple bit of advice that a lot of fathers manage to forget during daycare potty training: Pack a change of clothes! It may sound defeatist, but you should assume the possibility that your kid will have an accident at school. For maximum safety, send your child to daycare with a minimum of two changes of clothes. And while we’re talking about it, make sure the clothes they wear and the clothes you pack are easy to get on and off. This includes the shoes. The daycare staff might not be thrilled if your kid’s footwear is impossibly tight and difficult to remove.
Study the Report
Here’s the part you’ll be more comfortable with: data analysis. This is where and how you see how well your plan is working. The daycare will most likely give some kind of report about the potty training each day. If they don’t, then ask them to provide you with information about when your child went potty, whether they went number one or number two, and if there were any accidents. This report can be as simple as a conversation the teacher has with you. This step is crucial in daycare potty training, though, to figuring out your child’s patterns and helping to make going to the potty a comfortable part of their everyday routine.
Additional Potty Training Resources:
Potty Training in Daycare How to Work as a Team for Potty Training in Daycare
