focus NAPPY CHANGING & TOILET TRAINING
When you’ve got to go... Nappy changing and toilet training could provide a great footfall generator for many retailers.
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or every child born, around 6,000 nappy changes could take place during the time prior to an infant being fully toilet trained! With that in mind, its little wonder that this is a growing sector and fortunately we have a plethora of products available that are designed to assist when it comes to nappy change time and toilet training. Products that fall into this category are extensive. Parents will look at a whole host of items which will include: changing mats, changing stations, changing bags, nappy wipes, nappy bins, nappy sacks, nappy creams, potties, portable potties, infant toilet seats, step stools – the list can be quite extensive. Once parents are ready to ‘put the nappies’ on hold and focus on toilet training, which is a key milestone for little ones, manufacturers recognise that confidence in a product in this area is crucial. How a child learns to potty train through the various stages is different from one child to another. Some will be encouraged through the use of ‘pull ups’, whilst others will be enticed by the clever positioning perhaps of a loved licensed character onto a product. Then there will be those who want to imitate ‘mum or dad’ and use a potty that mimics that of a full size toilet. We highlight a number of products that are available to order now that can greatly assist parents with nappy changing and toilet training.
COFFEE BREAK
A great pottytunity! Author and toilet training expert, Winnie Benson, gives us her views on potty training. What do you feel are the main anxieties for parents with regard to potty training?
This would definitely be ‘School Readiness’! This is a topic that almost every parent I meet brings up. They are very much concerned that their child may not be accepted into school if they are not toilet trained. All schools require children to be toilet trained before they are due to start, although we are currently dealing with a national crisis, where 70% of children are starting school not having basic hygienic skills such as being able to use the toilet by themselves.
Is there an average age when a child might be ready to ‘ditch the diaper’?
An interesting question… The answer lays with the parent who is responsible for toilet training the child. As crazy as it may sound, children can begin toilet training right from birth! Those children whose parents start off the potty training process when their child is still an infant, can have their child completely potty trained within the first year of their life. This process is common and works well in undeveloped communities outside of the western world. On the other hand, toddlers can give their parents obvious signs such as tugging at the diaper, but it’s all down to when the parent is ready to start off the toilet training process.
How do products assist in relation to this?
There are so many products on the market, which parents need to be mindful of. Product such as ‘Pull-Ups’/Nappy Pants are a big no-no in my books! They are all still diapers… Same products, different packaging! These products make toilet training much harder, increasing the age of when a child could be diaper free. They are built to make children feel dry, when it should be the opposite, thus making the whole process very difficult and encourages laziness for both the parent and the child.
Do parents turn to the internet for information?
Indeed, they do. The Internet can come with many cowboys (and girls) who provide misleading information about toilet training. Parents should pay more attention to potty training experts like myself, or parents from a much older generation - such as their child’s grandparents, or even great grandparents (my favourites)!
What are the retailer benefits to stocking products that are related to this category?
All grown up Award winning potties available from Summer Infant.
You are an author of a book which offers helpful advice, what was the inspiration behind this?
Web: www.sumrbrands.com
Web: www.PottyTunity.com
The thought of potty training tends to fill most parents with dread, however potty training doesn’t have to be a chore, in fact it should be celebrated, this is an important milestone. The Award Winning Summer My Size Train and Transition Potty helps little one’s transition from My Size to Real Size, with a removeable training seat that fits on a real size toilet.
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Retailers are very much part of the toilet training process. The decisions that we make as parents lay upon the options that are presented to us. Though ultimately, we have the buying power. I think that retailers need to consider the needs of children more than the wants of parents. They still have a share of the pie even when focused on stocking products that promote healthier children.
My children. All of whom we started toilet training very early on. The twins from 3 months old and the baby of the family from 2 months old. They are all healthy and didn’t acquire any extra limbs along the process! Ha Ha Ha – just kidding. I had always been questioned about how I had achieved such results with them all, then asked to help toilet train other people kids, provide tips and so on. So, I decided to just write a book, explaining the process from its’ roots, thus was born POTTYTUNITY and as they say, the rest is history!
nursery today
Nappies etc.indd 1
07/02/2020 16:18