I’m about to commit the ultimate mummy blogger sin and stereotype than many have fought to banish from this blogging genre and talk about toilet training. Or to be precise, that after almost 3.5 years, and a solid 6 months of rather successful toilet training it’s about time Master H started to learn the art of wiping his own bum.
What a blessing then that the good people at Kleenex have come to the poo party and offered me the chance to trial their fabulous Cottonelle flushable kids wipes!
Now, my son does not always readily take well to change. So when it was announced that we’d be learning this most essential life skill, I wasn’t met with much enthusiasm on his part. And the home truth that he surely didn’t want his own mum still wiping his bum when he was in his teens was of course lost on him at his 3 and a half years of age…
But upon showing him the cute Kleenex Cottonelle pop up tub (complete with also adorable puppy on it!) and how easy the wipes were for his chubby little fingers to access, we began to make a little progress.
Made from Aloe Vera (and containing no alcohol for that still so sensitive skin of theirs!) the wipes are the perfect size for them to grasp and begin to learn. It helps to foster their independence and are super safe to flush after use.
Then there is also the cost effective factor to consider. Children seem to have no concept of how much toilet paper is appropriate to use (and let’s not forget the whole scrunch or fold debate but I dare not open that can of worms yet!) so you either find them tearing off one piddly square to clean up with – or the other extreme where only half a full roll of loo paper will suffice!
And is it just me or has anyone else found how bloody versatile wipes can be? Forget other cleaning products – these babies do everything from get stains out of my carpet and clothes to disinfecting one of my son’s beloved toy that fell down the toilet bowl yesterday (true story and one I am remiss to discuss further for fear of flashbacks…)
Right now we are navigating the road-testing of this new skill by taking it in turns (one wipe from him, one from me) but the gradual exposure seems to be working. Or let’s put it this way – there have been no foot stamping tantrums of refusal to use them so I’ll take that as a green light we are good to keep going!
If you would like to spread the word via Twitter, be sure to include my @NappyDaze handle and come back and leave me an extra comment.
Please note my all opinions expressed are my own. I was not paid for this review but did receive a generous supply of wipes to road test. My thanks to the kind people at Kleenex Mums
Well, I am getting sick of going into the loo and not having any loo paper left! If we didn’t have a toilet training 3yo in the house then I would assume that the man was eating it.
I am also trying to get Miss E to stay in the toilet to wipe – rather than running out into the lounge to announce the contents of the loo and also advise the room that ‘my bum needs a clean!’ and proceeding to walk around like a cowboy with bowed legs. Not too bad at home, but it’s a bit different in a public setting.
I tell you, those flushable wipes are NECESSARY! Good luck in your efforts!
I wouldn’t worry – I think toilet training is just part and parcel of mummy life. In fact, I might link to this post in one of mine next week! Now… off to buy some of those wipes 🙂
OMG, my 4 year old still likes us to wipe for her. Nevermind the fact that she does it all by herself at school and daycare . . . nope at home she calls to us from the bathroom. Sigh. Brad has gone on strike and will no longer do it . . . which seems to leave it all up to me. 🙂
Jenn
One of my friends did backyard toilet training with her boys. That is she just taught them to pee under a tree. In a couple of weeks without any prompting from her they started using the toilet. Such a more calm toilet training experience.
My three year old has been successfully wiping his bum for a while except…..he wipes from back to front collecting anything in between. The flushable wipes are useful for cleaning up his ‘handy work’. My tip- teach ’em to wipe fro
Front to back (in fairness when he first started wiping he couldn’t reach around to the back without falling off the loo lol)
I don’t really have any tips! My almost 5yo mostly learned to wipe at Pre-school, and my almost 3.5yo needs help wiping at home but at school he wipes on his own and leaves skids in his jocks. Delightful! I think over time they get more advanced fine motor skills and they just get better at it on their own. The wet wipes do seem to make things a lot easier though, as they get them cleaner and they use a lot less.