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Tips and Advice for School Readiness

by Leanne Doman

Here are some tips for making your child’s transition into primary school easier:

  • Relax and try not to panic! Look at our website, use our resources, or contact our helpline.  There is lots of help and support available and medical conditions such as constipation are very common and treatable. We run free parent webinars every month so keep checking our website page and socials for information.
  • Speak to the school. Inform their new teacher and/or SENDCo about your child’s needs. Show them the ‘School Toilets’ information on our website. Complete an Individual Healthcare Plan like the one on our website and look at our Intimate Care Policy.
  • Do some research. Have a look at the school's medical needs or uniform policy if your child will be wearing protective underwear and a reminder watch.
  • Get local info. Ask your child’s school to send you information about the local school nursing team and parent, carer forum. They will be able to offer you lots of support and advice. You will quickly discover you’re not alone as bladder and bowel conditions in young children are very common.
  • Practice using the toilets away from home with your child so they get to experience different types of flushes and hand dryers for example.
  • Prepare. Consider the type of clothing your child will be wearing at school, make is as easy as possible for your child to undress. Buttons, zips and tights can be tricky for children so look for elasticated waist bands and long socks where possible. Look in the ERIC shop at our range of protective underwear, vibrating watches and items such as TomTags and other visual aids.
  • Get into a routine. Treat any constipation and get your child into a positive toilet programme by ensuring they are drinking plenty and using the toilet 20/30 minutes after eating breakfast, lunch and dinner.

What about night time?

Your child may still be wet at night - if so don't worry! This is quite normal and bedwetting is only considered to be an issue which can be treated from 5 years upwards.

Some children are dry at night soon after achieving success in the daytime - for others it is much later.

Here are some thing to work on with your child:

  • The first step for everyone is to work on a healthy bladder and healthy bowels - so keep an eye on those drinks and always watch for constipation.
  • Make sure your child gets into the habit of having their last drink an hour before bedtime, and then doing a wee last thing before sleep.
  • Make sure their mattress is protected with a waterproof cover so accidents don't matter. Look at the bedding protection in the ERIC online shop.
  • Some children do struggle to get dry at night - check out our factsheet: Advice for children with night time wetting. 
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