Toilet Training
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By ‘toilet training’ we mean helping a child learn to stay clean and dry. A child is
toilet trained when:
• He knows when he needs to shit or pee
(make stool or urinate) and has learned to
‘hold on’ so he does not go in his clothing
or on the floor (bowel and bladder
control).
• He tells people when he needs to do his
toilet,
or (if he is physically able) . . .
• he takes himself to a special place (pot,
toilet, latrine, or at least outside the house),
removes necessary clothing, ‘goes’, cleans
himself in the customary way, puts his
clothing back on, and does whatever may be
necessary to get rid of the waste.
‘Toilet training’ is important for the development of a child’s independence and
dignity. Yet it is very often neglected in disabled and mentally slow children. Often
we see children 5, 10, even 15 years old who are still in diapers (nappies) and who
are still completely dependent on their family for being changed and cleaned. This
situation is hard on both child and family. With a little instruction and encouragement,
we have found that many of these children have become ‘toilet trained’ in a few days
or weeks. Many could have learned years earlier.
The age when normal children become toilet trained varies greatly from child to
child. It also varies from place to place, according to local customs, what clothes
children wear (if any), and how much the family helps. With training, many children
can stay dry and clean by age 2 or 21/2. With little or no training, most normal children
learn to stay clean and dry by age 4.
Children who are developmentally slow, or physically disabled, are often late in
learning to stay clean and dry. This may be partly due to their disabilities. But often
it is because the parents have not provided the opportunity, training, and help
that the child needs. For example, one mentally slow deaf 10-year-old boy in Mexico
still depended on his mother to change his diapers. His mother had never seriously
tried to teach him and thought he could not learn. Yet with a little help from a village
rehabilitation worker, he became completely toilet trained in 3 days!
Handicapped children should be helped to become as independent as possible
in their toileting. With help, most mentally slow or disabled children can become
completely toilet trained by ages 3 to 5.
Of course, children with severe physical disabilities may always need help with
clothing or getting to the pot. But they can learn to tell you when they have to go, and
do their best to ‘hold on’ until they are on the pot.