Today we are sharing a potty training bundle that makes the perfect duo for any child new to potty training!
Product 1: The Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute
As you begin to potty train your child, it is important to have a schedule. Starting out you will want to have your child try to use the potty every 30 minutes. After a few days of the 30 minute schedule without any accidents, bump it up to 1 hour. After a few days of an hour, you can push it to 2 hours. After 2 hours you can try to go without the time increments.
The Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute is the perfect tool for establishing this schedule. The PLUS 120 Minute can help keep you and your child accountable for this time. If you set the Time Timer, you are less likely to start folding laundry, get sucked into a work project, or get distracted in doing a task around the house while you’re in the depths of potty training. The high contrast colored disk helps you continue to do what you need to do while quickly and easily seeing how much time you have in your peripheral before you will need to help your child make their way to the bathroom. Losing track of time and breaking the schedule may result in your child having more accidents.
In addition, young children can easily understand the colored disk. Your child can know that once the “purple disappears,” it’s time to go to the toilet. They don’t need to understand what time it is or how long a half hour is. This gives your child control and a sense of independence. In fact, you may find your child going to the bathroom on their own once the purple disk is gone, or reminding you while you are working on something else!
Once you remove the potty training schedule, there may be a period of regression where your child starts having a couple of accidents. With the Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute, there is no need to fret. You can easily go back to your 2 hour time schedule, just as a reminder for your child to head to the bathroom and try to potty. By keeping a schedule, you can reduce the stress of potty training for you and your child. Also, you can make it a fun independent task, where after your child potties, they get to set the Time Timer PLUS 120 Minute again.
Product 2: The Time Timer WASH
According to the CDC: “Good handwashing early in life may help improve child development in some settings*” And what better time to start enforcing good handwashing habits than when you are potty training? Kids have shown that they can understand handwashing as early as 18 months, and understanding the importance of handwashing after using the potty is an essential part of toilet training.
The Time Timer WASH is the perfect tool for teaching proper handwashing. This visual handwashing timer can help children of any age or ability understand the handwashing process.
The WASH breaks handwashing in a simple 3 step process:
- Soap
- Scrub
- Rinse
Depending on the age of your child and if they have been exposed to proper handwashing yet, your child may not get the full 20-seconds of scrubbing that is recommended by the CDC at first. However, the Time Timer WASH will help them understand the steps and work up to the proper duration. It gives them a tool that is understandable and is easily used independently. And if you have a child that likes to dance, the Time Timer WASH includes an option to play a song. The music can remind your child that handwashing (and using the toilet!) is fun!
Keeping a routine is very important while potty training and using the Time Timer WASH as part of the routine can further help them grasp potty training while staying accident-free and safe.
During this time, it is especially important to keep your children and their fellow classmates safe and healthy. The CDC cites a study that found that “Handwashing education reduces absenteeism due to gastrointestinal illness in schoolchildren by 29-57%**” As your child gets potty-trained and into the daycare or classroom, these skills will not only keep them and their classmates healthier, but it also will give them a more consistent routine and schedule, furthering a healthy development.
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*Bowen A, Agboatwalla M, Luby S, Tobery T, Ayers T, Hoekstra RM. Association between intensive handwashing promotion and child development in Karachi, Pakistan: a cluster randomized controlled trial.external icon Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2012 Nov;166(11):1037-44.
** Wang Z, Lapinski M, Quilliam E, Jaykus LA, Fraser A. The effect of hand-hygiene interventions on infectious disease-associated absenteeism in elementary schools: A systematic literature review.external icon Am J Infect Control 2017; 45: 682–689.