Bathroom Activities & Items That Support Future Potty-Training Success for Young Children:

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Bathroom routines are an important part of self-care skills for the developing child and an essential life skill of our daily lives as humans. Hygiene, using the toilet, and dental care are all parts of self care routines that carry heavy social and health implications for children and adults. When people think of bathroom routines, many immediately think of toilet training for the young child and the challenges that may come with that.

However, way before your child is even ready to be potty-trained, they benefit from getting familiar with the bathroom environment and other bathroom routines that build their awareness of what is expected during these routines. Exposure to all parts of bathroom routines can help children in a variety of ways. They learn how things, (such as sinks, soap dispenser, and toilets) work in the bathroom, and learning to use these things helps them to develop the essential motor skills that they will need to eventually complete bathroom routines independently. By establishing an awareness of bathroom routines, you can help your child to gain a solid foundation of awareness and self-confidence that will support their success with the milestone moment of toilet training as that time approaches.

Participation in bathroom routines supports children's self-care skills through repetitive practice and shared social interactions that are part of family life and eventually, life at school and beyond.

Here is a list of 6 activities, with product links, that are part of bathroom routines and will help your child to develop awareness and confidence:

1. Washing hands: Includes turning the sink on/off, retrieving soap, lathering soap in hands, rinsing hands in the stream of water, and drying hands. However, sinks are usually much higher than a young child can reach, so a secure STEP-STOOL can alleviate the physical demand on the adults in their care by eliminating the need to pick the child up. A FAUCET EXTENDER can help children access the sink independently for hand washing by moving the stream of water closer to your child's body, making it easier for them to stand in a balanced position and use both of their hands easily.

2. Dressing: Includes undressing in preparation for showers or baths, as well as undressing of lower body garments for using the toilet. When undressing, starting your child on how to put their dirty clothes into a LAUNDRY HAMPER teaches them the importance of taking care of their clothes, keeping their space clean, and helping mom or dad do part of the family laundry tasks!

3. Showering & bathing: Includes the ability to handle the sounds and feeling of water on the body, using soap to wash one's body (with assistance from adult), including washing and rinsing of hair. Learning to use a towel to dry the body and hair is also part of this routine. Some kids do not like water running over their face during hair washing, so a HAIR WASHING PROTECTION SHOWER CAP can work wonders for helping children ease into learning to have their hair washed without getting water or shampoo into their eyes. A BATH SPOUT COVER protects little bathers' heads from bumps on the faucet.

4. Brushing teeth: Building an awareness of one's teeth and importance of oral health is important and children can learn to place toothpaste on their toothbrush, brush back and forth on their teeth, use a cup to sip water and rinse out, and clean/dry their face.

5. Environmental Participation: Building a child's awareness and ability to use lights, fans, understand temperatures such as hot/warm/cold, and proper use of step stools or potty-training supports are all part of supporting your child to successfully access and utilize the bathroom environment.

6. Practice with Sitting on the Toilet: Sitting on the toilet can be a daunting task for young children. Adult toilets are high up for kids, and many times children need to be lifted and supported for balance in order to sit on a toilet. Even then, they may not feel physically secure which can hinder future potty training progress. Tools that improve the physical access and ease to the toilet such as PORTABLE POTTY TRAINING CHAIRS for kids, FOLDING TRAVEL POTTY SEATS, which make the seat smaller for kids and can be brought anywhere, or a POTTY TRAINING STEP STOOL are all items that can help children become more familiar and secure with getting on and off a toilet safely and independently.

From a very young age, a child's awareness of daily bathroom routines can grow by watching the adults around them, being taken by adults into the bathroom environments, and eventually, participating in those routines with adult assistance. When adults proactively engage their children through simple exposure of these routines, children are set up for future success with potty-training, because they have already developed a familiarity with bathroom environments and expectations for how to complete essential self care skills related to bathroom routines. When children are able to participate successfully in established bathroom routines, it makes the last, challenging milestone of potty training much easier!