Washable trainer pants are recommended once you have removed daytime nappies. Disposable pull-ups feel like a nappy to your child and can slow progress because they absorb wetness without your child feeling it. Washable trainer pants provide some protection while still allowing your child to feel wet — which is part of the learning process. Waterproof seat covers can protect furniture and car seats without affecting your child’s training.

No. Children with additional needs or disabilities have the same bladder and bowel development as other children their age. An early start often makes the whole process more straightforward, because toilet-related routines are introduced before other behaviours become established. Ask for an occupational therapy assessment if specialist equipment would help your child feel safe and secure on the potty or toilet, and for a referral to a bladder and bowel service if progress stalls.

Clean up with the minimum of fuss. Take your child to the potty or toilet, remind them calmly that is where wee and poo go, and then move on. Avoid both praise and punishment for accidents — a matter-of-fact, relaxed response helps your child learn most quickly. Accidents are a normal and expected part of the learning process, particularly in the early weeks.

Night dryness cannot be taught in the same way as daytime training — children cannot learn to hold on while they are asleep. Most children become dry at night naturally within a few months of achieving daytime dryness. You can support this by ensuring good daytime fluid intake, stopping drinks an hour before bed, and encouraging a toilet visit at bedtime. Do not wake or lift your child to use the potty during the night. Bedwetting in children over 5 who have been daytime-dry for at least six months is called enuresis — speak to your GP about assessment and support.

Up to one third of all children have an underlying bladder or bowel problem — the most common being constipation. If your child continues to have frequent accidents, or you find it very difficult to catch wees and poos in the potty or toilet, ask your health visitor or GP for a referral to a children’s bladder and bowel service. Waiting longer is rarely the answer, and most underlying conditions are treatable once identified.

Yes. It is important that your child learns they can use the potty or toilet wherever they are. Take your child’s own potty seat and step with you so they can use familiar equipment — this builds confidence in new environments. Ask everyone who looks after your child to follow the same approach, including the same words, routine and equipment, so your child receives consistent messages wherever they are.