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Children, Early Years Education, Learning & Development, Parenting, Potty Training, Toddlers, Under-5s

Tips for Potty Training Tots

One of the key tasks all tots must face, in tandem with parents, is potty training. It’s something we all had to master as toddlers and therefore we know it’s 100% achievable — despite it sometimes seeming to be rather a challenge. Achieving success, though, will improve the quality of life for the child, the parent, and other guardians involved in the child’s care. Learning to master the use of the potty and later the toilet will also be a major boost to self-confidence and independence when the child is at nursery, preschool, and later school. With that in mind, today’s guide outlines our top tips for successful potty training.

First: Some Toileting Milestones

Appropriate timing for starting potty training varies from child to child and situation to situation. That said, the following are rough guidelines for the milestones for many:

Most tots stop doing number twos at night by the age of 12 months.
Between 2 and 3, some children become dry during the day.
By the age of 4, most are completely dry during the daytime.
By the age of 6, most are avoiding accidents during both the day and nighttime.
Some children, however, may still wet the bed at night beyond the age of 5.

Children cannot help occasional accidents and may indeed be upset by them. It’s essential, therefore, not to scold them or make a fuss about such incidents.

When Should You Begin Potty Training?

Children become ready for potty training at different times — every child is different in that respect, with some starting as early as 18 months and others not training until the age of 3. That said, the majority of little ones begin potty training between the ages of 2 and 3. There are some signs to look out for that will help parents decide when the time is right and we’ll look at those below.

One of the biggest clues that a child is ready to begin potty training is when they become obviously aware of what’s in their nappy. They may, for example, take a peak when being changed, or make it clear they are not comfortable when in need of a change. It could also be as simple as indicating that they are aware when they’re going to the loo in the nappy. Some children may show this by going somewhere quiet and more private when going. Others may do the opposite and make strong eye-to-eye contact with a parent as if to let them know that something is afoot! Such awareness may be key to starting potty training.

Children may also take a lead from parents/relatives or even other children:

A 2½-year-old, who had begun potty training, recently wanted to sit on the “big boy’s toilet” because he’d seen slightly older children doing so at nursery. This was a toileting turning point following what had been, until then, quite a challenging process. (Anecdote from a parent)

There are some practical considerations too. For example, quite a few parents will begin potty training in the warmer months of the year. At such times, there will be fewer clothes worn by children day-to-day, less, therefore, to wash if an accident happens, and likely a working washing line outside to dry everything on. So, by starting during the summer, you can cut down on the workload and potentially save on water and energy.

Encouragement

Ensuring children understand the language around toileting is helpful, of course. So, it’s healthy to help children learn the various terms involved, whether talking about a potty, wee-wees, or anything else. Learning appropriate words will empower children to ask for what they need, at appropriate times.

Getting them involved when shopping for toileting products may also give them a deeper interest in potty and toilet training. For example, they may like the look of a potty with a dinosaur on it, or perhaps one featuring their favourite TV character. Other children may like the idea of one of those potties that plays a song when it’s been successfully used.

If there are challenges, families can often get some great success using a reward system. When the youngster successfully uses the potty, they could be awarded a sticker on a colourful, fun-looking potty training chart. Such things are available commercially if you do a quick web search. Another type of reward to be used sparingly could be to award the child a piece of their favourite snack when successful. There’s no doubt this works as an incentive for some little ones.

Another method of encouraging toddlers to use the potty is to walk the child to the potty every 30 to 60 minutes to see if they’re ready to go. The length of time between visits can be gradually extended once that’s working. Visits to the potty are also wise before and after bedtime, following daytime naps, and immediately after mealtimes.

Potty Training/Toileting Aids

Various toileting aids may help with potty and toilet training. Examples include:

Potties with designs that are attractive to toddlers e.g. dinosaurs, licensed TV characters etc.
Musical potties where a sing-along song is activated on successful use.
Portable travel potties — some look like a child’s travel case.
Clip-on trainer seats, which attach to adult toilets.
Steps to help children reach trainer seats attached to toilets, also allowing them to reach the sink to wash hands afterwards.
Pretend toilets and potties that children can use to ‘toilet train’ their own dolls and toys. Such activities can greatly encourage little ones in their own toilet training.
‘Pull-ups’, which are somewhere between nappies and pants/knickers. These may be useful early on or when a child still has occasional accidents but no longer wears nappies.
Interestingly, toilet training-themed videos, books, games and songs can also be useful tools to encourage little ones when toilet training as they ‘normalise’ the process.

More Tips for Potty Training Success

Only start potty training when your child shows signs that they’re ready. (See the When Should You Begin Potty Training? section above for details).
It’s best to start during a quiet time, so there are no distractions.
Set a potty training schedule and try to stick to it, so you’re consistent in your message.
Try to ensure that your potty training schedule does not conflict with your child’s existing routines.
Make potty training fun! (See the Encouragement section above for ideas).
Let your child choose their own potty at the store.
Buy more than one so you have one in each bathroom/cloakroom and a travel potty.
Keep a potty in the bathroom and encourage your little one to use it (or initially even just sit on it) when you pay a visit yourself.
Reward your child when successful. Sticker books using fun stickers and a colourful toileting chart can work wonders, for example.
Praise your child and their output – it will encourage them.
Accidents will happen but don’t make a fuss when they do. Potty training needs to be as stress-free as possible for little ones.
Last but not least, remember to encourage good hygiene in your toddler, through handwashing etc.

We hope that our potty training tips are useful and help your child transition smoothly. As we said before, success will lead to more self-confident, independent, and happy children. What’s more, it will also improve the quality of life for parents and caregivers.

An Outstanding Childcare Service in Central Lancashire

We are an outstanding nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley

We are an outstanding nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, near Chorley and offer babies and children under five the very best start in life in a warm, nurturing, home-from-home environment. We also support a range of Government-funded hours and childcare schemes for eligible families. If you’d like to explore a possible childcare place for your child in perhaps the best nursery in Central Lancashire, please get in touch:

Apply Today Book a Tour Message Us 01772 696288

As well as being perfectly located for babies and children under five in Clayton-le-Woods (PR6) and Chorley, Little Acorns Nursery is also convenient for those requiring childcare in nearby towns and villages. These include Clayton Brook, Clayton Green, Thorpe Green, Pippin Street, Buckshaw Village, Whittle-le-Woods, Farington, Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Euxton, Leyland and Penwortham.

15th April 2024/by Mark

Chorley, Clayton-le-Woods, Early Years Education, Learning & Development, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Pre-School, Pre-Schools, Progress Check at 2

The ‘Progress Check at Two’ – Rough Guide

Every 2-year-old attending registered childcare settings in England is subject to what’s known as a ‘Progress Check at 2’. Today we explain what it entails, who is involved and how it benefits little ones. Here’s our rough guide to the Progress Check at 2:

What Exactly is the Progress Check at 2?

The ‘Progress Check at 2’ is, as the name suggests, a complete progress check for children who have reached the age of two. It should be completed before their 3rd birthday and appraises their progress in all the key areas of their learning and development. It’s actually a part of the continuous assessment that goes hand-in-hand with the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). Amongst other things, the EYFS governs the learning and development curriculum that’s in place for children attending officially-registered childcare/early years education settings in England. It is appropriate to check that all is well in such areas, particularly at this critical age, and we’ll explain why later in this guide.

The ‘Progress Check at 2’ is Not the Same as the ‘2-Year Review’ — But They’re Linked

The Progress Check at 2 should not be confused with the Healthy Child Programme’s 2-Year Review that 2-year-olds also undergo around the same age. While the ‘Progress Check at 2’ looks at the child’s learning and development progress and is the topic of today’s guide, the separate ‘2 Year Review’ is more about the child’s health and wellbeing and is undertaken by healthcare professionals like health visitors. They will look at things like overall health, immunisation uptake, physical and mental health and development, overall wellbeing and support levels from parents, carers or guardians.

Although the two reviews are different, there are definite areas of cross-over, so it makes sense for both reviews to align and feed into each other. It’s therefore useful for them both to be undertaken at a similar time, in tandem if possible. In this way, a 360 degree picture can be put together to give a complete, all-round, holistic view of the child at this milestone age. In so doing, any issues can be picked up early, so that suitable measures or interventions can be put in place to improve things for the particular child under review. For this reason, parents, guardians or carers of 2-year-olds are encouraged to allow the sharing of information*, pertaining to their child, between the various professionals involved in each of the two reviews.

Ofsted inspections will also check to ensure that Progress Checks at 2 are undertaken in an appropriate way at childcare settings. They also recognise the benefits of these progress checks aligning with the separate, more health-based, 2-Year Reviews.

The Significance of Age 2

The age of two is a significant one, hence both reviews taking place at this age. It’s a key age where the levels and progress of each child’s learning, speech, language, cognitive, physical, social and emotional development are becoming much more clear. Optimising each area as early as possible will pay long-term dividends for children, so it is a great moment to check that everything is heading in the right direction.

Areas of Focus in the Progress Check at 2

The three ‘prime’ areas of the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum are also the core focus areas of the Progress Check at 2. Hence, the checks will look to see how well the child is progressing primarily in their:

Communication and Language;
Physical Development;
Personal, Social and Emotional Development.

Having said that, the early years professionals who undertake the progress checks are at liberty to also report findings in other areas of the child’s learning and development should they deem it appropriate. For example, they may also include a summary of the child’s progress in the remaining 4 (‘specific’) areas of the EYFS curriculum. As anyone familiar with the EYFS will know, these are Literacy, Mathematics, Understanding the World and Expressive Arts & Design.

Who Undertakes the Progress Check at 2?

The Progress Check at 2 is a joint undertaking between the child’s early years/childcare provider, their parents, guardians or carers and, where appropriate, their health visitor too. Once complete, a written summary of the progress check will be provided to parents, or carers/guardians, as appropriate.

Identifying Support Areas Where Needed

The core idea behind the Progress Check at 2 is to discover whether progress is at expected levels for the child’s age and development.

Using the findings of the progress check as a kind of benchmark for each individual child at that age, children can then be supported in any ways that will help optimise their progress going forwards. By sharing the findings with parents, any ongoing support that the child needs can also continue at home as well as at nursery, pre-school or other childcare setting that they attend.

Once identified, any strengths can be further enhanced and any areas of concern can be mitigated through extra help and support if needed. An example would be where an area of specific educational need or disability has been identified in the child. In such cases, the childcare provider’s Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo) will become involved along with any other health professionals or specialists* if required. Together, they would put in place a support plan of measures that are most likely to help the child in any areas in which they are struggling. Such a plan will include both strategies and specific activities that will be designed to help the child, whether that’s at nursery, at home, or both.

Preparing Children for School

Through implementing the progress check and setting up support so early in their lives, children are more likely to overcome areas where they were struggling by the time they start school. This avoids them being held back at such a crucial milestone. Without such measures, they could otherwise have a bad start at school and this could lead to a detrimental domino effect in their education and development going forwards. As you can see, the Progress Check at 2 is therefore incredibly important — and a powerful tool to help little ones thrive.

Outstanding Childcare Services at an Outstanding Nursery in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley

If you’d like to give your child the very best start in life, choose an award-winning nursery/pre-school and one that’s ranked as an outstanding nursery by Ofsted. Little Acorns is just such a nursery and even has its own Forest School. With all of this, it’s hard not to consider it the best childcare service in Clayton-le-Woods, Clayton Green, Clayton Brook, Chorley, or indeed Central Lancashire. Register for a nursery place or contact us to arrange a guided visit. You and your little one can then see Little Acorns for yourselves. We’re on hand to answer any questions too. Please choose a button to take the first step:

Apply Today Book a Tour Message Us 01772 696288

* ^{Except where it is required by law, information sharing with third parties only takes place when permission has been granted by the child’s parents, carers or legal guardians (as appropriate).}

15th September 2022/by Mark

Activities for Children, Childcare, Chorley, Clayton-le-Woods, Early Years Education, Education, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting, Pre-School, Pre-Schools, Reading

SUPER-CHARGE Your Child’s Education Through Reading

Last year, we wrote a detailed post outlining why every parent should be involved in their child’s education. There’s one particular area, though, that merits its own stand-alone article and that’s reading with your child. Reading with children is incredibly important — and a powerful way to absolutely super-charge their education. Let’s take a look.

Studies show that reading with your under-five can boost their language skills by a staggering 20%.

A 40 year study^∞ of pre-school children found enormous positive benefits when children regularly read with a parent or carer. Preschoolers were seen to gain a boost, incredibly, of the equivalent of 8 months. That’s remarkable given that the average age in the study was just 3¼. Particular benefits were clear to see in several areas, including:

Understanding (‘receptive language’);
Use of vocal grammar and vocabulary (‘expressive language’);
In the understanding of word structure and ‘pre-reading’ skills.

Receptive language skills were seen to benefit the most and that’s important — after all, understanding and comprehension of words and meanings are keys to potentially huge growth in many other areas a child’s early years education. Indeed, lacking such abilities has also been shown to really hold children back in terms of later social and educational ability, with poorer outcomes when they’re older.

A Special Boost for Children from Lower Socio-Economic Backgrounds

Interestingly, under-five children who came from disadvantaged backgrounds were shown to benefit even more than those who didn’t. For this reason, reading with parents/carers has been proposed as a possible way to close the performance deficit often seen with children from such backgrounds. It may well represent a perfect solution to even up the playing field.

“Receptive language skills – the ability to understand information – are positively affected when pre-school youngsters read with someone who cares for them.”

Read With Children, Not Just To Them

That’s an important factor. Reading to children is all very well and will have benefits, for sure. However, reading with children takes the potential benefits to a whole new level and that’s why it’s the kind of approach we use at Little Acorns Nursery. Parents and carers should also involve their children in the reading. Getting them to interact with what’s being read will also make the reading process fun and interesting for them. For example, explaining what things mean, asking them questions about the story or topic and commenting on their answers. Sometimes get them to repeat words correctly and show them how those words and sounds are made up on the written page. Getting them really involved interactively will make reading both fun and educational. By doing so, you will show them how reading works and you will also be more likely to instil in them a love of reading as they grow older. That is like educational gold dust.

Instilling a love of reading in children is like educational gold dust.

Little Acorns Nursery — Outstanding Early Years Education for Under-Fives

At Little Acorns, we know the value of reading with children under our care and take every opportunity to do so. We make it fun and interactive in the knowledge that it will help give them a huge boost in their early years education. In so doing, they’ll become more school-ready by the time they leave us at the age of 5 and join reception year at school. It’ll also give them the tools to absolutely thrive and enjoy better outcomes in their school lives and beyond.

Little Acorns is an award-winning childcare provider with an outstanding Ofsted rating. As such, it represents the best nursery and pre-school in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley and the Central Lancashire area. If you’d like your baby or child to go to the very best childcare setting available, please get in touch:

Arrange a Nursery Visit Send Us a Message Call: 01772 696 288

12th May 2022/by Mark

Childcare, Chorley, Chorley Nursery, Clayton-le-Woods, Early Years Education, Education, Nurseries, Nursery, Parenting

Why Every Parent Should Be Involved in Their Child’s Education

Compelling evidence shows that there are enormous benefits for children when parents are closely and proactively involved in their education. Indeed, parents can be thought of as key to their children’s success, if they support children’s education in the right ways. We’ll go through exactly what that means, along with some of the many benefits, in this article.

During the earliest years of schooling … students with active parents are almost twice as likely to succeed. (Pinantoan)

Additional research also concluded that children are statistically far more successful in school when their parents “invest time and place value on their children’s education.”

So, How Can Parents Help?

Children will benefit in a multitude of ways when parents involve themselves in the child’s education. That involvement can take many forms …

Choose the Right Setting

Researching and choosing a high quality nursery, pre-school, school and higher education setting, rather than simply accepting the ‘default’ choices, is incredibly important in its own right. Parents should be proactive when selecting educational and developmental settings for their children. Education settings need to be a good fit, of course. Also, though, they need to have good reputations, great feedback from previous and existing students and parents, an excellent track record and so on. If choosing a nursery, for example, is it rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted? Does it have its own ‘Forest School’ where children can benefit from the natural world as well as having great facilities indoors? Are staff high quality, engaging and proactive when it comes to helping children to absolutely flourish, in every way? Parents of successful children will have checked all these things out in fine detail before making a choice.

Engaging With Staff

Parents of successful, grade A students, will generally also have engaged with staff at nursery/pre-school and school. That includes at parents’ evenings, of course, but parents should also be fully abreast of their child’s progress at every point in between. Parents and staff need to talk and feed back to each other about each child under their care and, indeed, that’s exactly what we do at Little Acorns Nursery. This, and a personal development progress folder for every child, is all part of the EYFS curriculum at the nursery in fact. In this way, parents and staff can each see the bigger picture and identify where successes are happening for the child, or where more work is needed — including at home.

Help at Home

Armed with detailed knowledge of their child’s progress, strengths and weaknesses at pre-school, nursery or school, parents are then in a position to really help children at home. Where there is a weakness, the parent can help with extra guidance, knowledge and encouragement. The child in question can then more easily strengthen their skills and knowledge, making strong subjects even stronger whilst allowing weaker subjects and skills to catch up. In this way, and in tandem with education staff, every child can achieve personal bests in every single area. That’s amazing when you think about it.

Parents can read with children (that’s a crucial area and will be the topic of a future post). That’s like gold dust in itself and has been shown to boost language skills by a staggering 20% all on its own.

Parents can help children with homework too, of course. They can explain things that the child is perhaps confused or unclear about, in an unrushed, relaxed home environment. Parents can work through their approach to finding answers to questions and explain how they arrived at those answers. This, too, is like gold dust to an otherwise struggling child. It’s one of the reasons why the human race itself has come such a long way — through shared information.

Parents can also help children to understand things like spelling, grammar, punctuation, pronunciation, phonetics and suchlike. With an adult available, many things can be clarified for the child. Parents can also, of course, spot test children in an informal way, to check that new information is being taken in and understood. Sometimes, of course, a child will need to read, or be told something, several times before it ‘sticks’ in their memory — and that’s fine.

Children who are given moral support and encouragement at home will be happier as well as being higher achievers. So, it’s not about being strict; it’s about support. The staff, children and parents are all part of a team that is working towards a shared goal.

In this way, every child can achieve personal bests in every area.

Parents should set aside an area in the house for the child to study in. It could be a quiet room somewhere, or an area of the child’s bedroom perhaps. Wherever it is, it should be peaceful, with no distractions, and contain everything the child needs to accomplish their studies, with somewhere for the parent to sit too. Somewhere safe and comfortable to sit, perhaps a desk when they’re older, some child-safe stationery items, paper and suitable light source, for example. Children will become used to using such an area to study in, with all the tools they need at their disposal so, in time, will find working easier and natural there.

The Benefits of Parental Support in Education

“Students with … parents operating in supportive roles are 52% more likely to enjoy school and get straight A’s than students whose parents are disengaged with what’s going on at school.”
(Pinantoan)

So, studies and data all point to children being higher achievers when parents are actively involved in their education. What else, though? What other benefits are there?

• The extra help they receive in core topics like English and Mathematics has a knock-on effect of helping them in every other topic.
• Learning topics and skills more thoroughly also helps to better prepare them for tests and to achieve better grades.
• With their better grades and higher achievement rates, children are likely to go on to better schools and universities, with a wider choice of courses available to them.
• In turn, that ultimately leads to better careers as adults, with higher rates of pay.
• Children with parental support in education are less likely to be stressed or anxious.
• They are often more confident individuals, with higher self-esteem.
• In turn, they are often happier individuals and therefore have a better quality of life.
• Everything they learn through this more rounded approach to education helps to improve other soft skills like critical thinking and problem-solving. It can also give them a good insight into the benefits of teamwork and cooperation with others.
• It’s also a great way for parents and children to form closer bonds and a feeling of mutual support. Indeed, that’s all a key part of a healthy family life.

So, it’s clear to see that close parental involvement in children’s education leads to a myriad of benefits for the child, with far-reaching and profound consequences. Improved outcomes is the really big hitter, of course. And those improved outcomes range across a huge swathe of the child’s life stretching from education and development right into adulthood, careers, wealth and quality of life. It’s nothing short of life-changing. Not many things in life can boast that kind of enormous impact, when you think about it.

At Little Acorns Nursery in Chorley

As mentioned earlier in this article, Little Acorns Nursery adheres to the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) curriculum for babies and children aged up to five. In recognition of the importance of parental involvement in children’s education, a key part of that is regular liaison between staff and parents, so each is kept up-to-date on progress in every area of the child’s learning and development. A Personal Development folder is maintained for every child and both staff and parents have access to records therein. Indeed, parents are encouraged to add their own notes about their child’s progress at home. All this builds a bigger picture and ultimately means the child will receive a more rounded education, with all the benefits that will bring them.

Little Acorns Nursery is rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted, is a Forest School and was also the sole winner of best ‘Individual Nursery Award’ in the NMT Nursery Awards 2020 — an incredible win out of all the nurseries in the UK. If you would like to discuss the possibility of your baby or child attending the very best nursery or pre-school, we’d love to hear from you. Our nursery is based in Sheep Hill Lane in Clayton-le-Woods, Chorley in central Lancashire (PR6 7JH). Spaces are limited, so do get in touch while some are still available (choose a button below; many thanks).