One in four children not toilet-trained before school, charity warns
By Shannon Pite
One in four children due to start school in September are not toilet trained, the children鈥檚 bowel and bladder charity ERIC has warned.
According to a report by early years charity Kindred, school staff are diverting 2.5 hours a day, on average, away from teaching and towards supporting children who are not toilet-trained. The report also found that 50% of parents think they are solely responsible for toilet-training their child, while one in five parents think children do not need to be toilet-trained before starting reception.
, CEO of ERIC, said: 鈥淭he longer-term impact of the pandemic and cuts in recent years to many services have resulted in a lot more pressure on families and the professionals who support them, and this is affecting outcomes for children.
鈥淭here are many contributing factors that can impact a child鈥檚 ability to be toilet trained before school, and there is often a great deal of stigma and shame associated with it. As a charity, our aim is to offer a judgement-free source of advice and information to ensure that as many children as possible receive the support they need to be toilet trained for school.鈥
ERIC has launched a new campaign, All Aboard the Toilet Train, that aims to help more children get ready to use the toilets independently at school. More information about the campaign is available .