Toilet-Training Guidelines

Children enrolled in the 3K and 4K programs at Oxford Early Childhood Center must be toilet trained before attending preschool. Children must wear underwear. A child having accidents daily would not be considered toilet-trained. Please note that wearing pull-ups is not considered toilet-trained.

Why do children have to be toilet trained before they begin preschool?

• There are strict standards for changing and disposing of wet or soiled diapers/pull-ups, and our classrooms are not equipped for this.
• When an adult is busy changing a child’s soiled clothing, it takes away from learning time for all students, and it removes one adult from the direct supervision of and interaction with the rest of the class.

We do understand that even toilet-trained children will occasionally have accidents. By definition, “accidents” are unusual incidents and should happen infrequently. In these instances, the teachers will help children change their clothes, encouraging independence as much as possible.

A toilet-trained child is a child who can do the following:

• Communicate to the teachers that he/she needs to go to the bathroom before they need to go
• Alert him/herself to stop what he/she is doing to go and use the bathroom
• Pull down his/her clothes and get them back up without assistance
• Wipe him/herself after using the toilet (with minimal assistance for 3-year-olds)
• Get on/off the toilet by him/herself
• Wash and dry hands
• Postpone going if they must wait for someone who is in the bathroom or if we are away from the classroom
• Wake up during nap time should they need to use the bathroom

We certainly will ask your child many times throughout the day, and before nap time, if they need to use the bathroom. A teacher will assist children as needed, but children should be able to complete toileting activities independently.

It is not uncommon for a child who is fully toilet trained to have a setback when he/she is in a new environment. Preschool staff are aware of this and will assist the children when necessary. Please have your child dressed in clothing that he/ she can easily manage independently. Please send a complete change of clothes appropriate for the season. These will be left at school in case of accidents, and returned at the end of the school year. Parents will be notified if a child has a toileting accident.

We understand that each child arrives at this milestone differently. Therefore, we will allow 4 weeks from the first day of school for your child to demonstrate accomplishment of this goal. However, if the situation is not manageable within the classroom environment, we will discuss the issue with parents and reserve the right to suspend attendance of the child at such time.

A child will not be considered toilet-trained for our preschool program if the child continues to consistently have toileting accidents after the first 4 weeks of school.

After the first 4 weeks of school, the following guidelines will be in place for children who have accidents:

• If one or two accidents occur in a single week, the parents will be notified with the understanding that the issue needs to be addressed and corrected.
• If three or more accidents occur in one week, the parent will be notified with the understanding that if the issue is not corrected by the end of the second week, the child will have to stay home at least one week, or longer, until he/she is completely toilet-trained.
• If multiple accidents occur in one day, the parent will be notified on that day; and if not corrected by day three, the child will have to stay home at least one week or longer until he/she is completely toilet-trained.

Please note that these guidelines are not in place to shame or punish a child or inconvenience primary caregivers. Rather, cleaning accidents in the preschool setting is time-consuming, and this time that teachers spend attending to and cleaning accidents is time that they are not spending interacting with children and facilitating learning in a safe manner. These guidelines are intended to ensure the safety and happiness of children and employees at the Oxford Early Childhood Center.

We appreciate your cooperation and understanding.