Navigating Potty Training Transition for Kindergartners: Tips for Success

there’s a huge difference between potty trained at home
and potty trained for school
start school for the first time in kindergarten
they’ve been potty trained for at least two years
and then all the sudden the first week of school
they’re having accidents on the carpet
they’re having accidents at center time
even on the playground there’s two big parts of this
there’s the first one is advocating that you have to the bathroom asking
having the teacher prompt
usually in the first week
the teachers prompting every hour okay
it’s time to try to use the restroom
and having them say yes because if they are doing a preferred activity
like say
it’s their turn on the swings
and they haven’t had the swings all week on the playground
why would they choose to go to the bathroom
really making it a priority is number one
either asking or saying yes
I need to use the restroom
and No. 2 is being comfortable in that bathroom
sometimes the toilet flush is really loud compared to the one at home
sometimes they’re nervous about the door
most kindergarten and TK
or pre k classrooms have a bathroom inside the classroom
so they don’t have to leave
we had two bathrooms inside the classroom that the door shut
ours didn’t lock but I’ve heard that some do lock from the inside
so it’s getting familiar with the flesh sound
with closing the door with waiting your turn
it was really common for us to have accidents on the carpet
the first two weeks of school
even though the kids obviously know how to use the restroom
the last little disclaimer is
you want them to be in clothes
that they’re used to getting on and off themselves
so like overalls
for example could be tricky if a kid doesn’t know how to do it
and teachers are not allowed to help with that in most cases
please know you’re not alone
and this happens in the first couple weeks
they’re excited they don’t wanna take the time to go to the bathroom
and they’re gonna learn how to advocate for that
and how to take the breaks that they need to take
and I also think it’s on the teacher to prompt them a bunch
and say yes all the time the first couple weeks of school