New research has found that there’s been a “huge increase” in the number of primary school children who are not potty trained.
A survey reported by The Times found a huge increase in the number of children aged three to seven wetting or soiling themselves during the school day.
"This has become a serious problem,” Amanda Jenner, Director at the Potty Training Academy told The Independent.
According to Amanda, in the 1950s the average age for a child to be potty trained was between 15 and 18 months. Now, she explains, the average age is three-and-a-half.
This, she suggests, is partly because both parents tend to work now: “Before, there were a lot of stay-at-home mums… Now the child is going to nursery or to child-minders and no one is taking responsibility for potty training them.”
She adds that the decrease in the cost of nappies plays a role, too.
“Kids aren’t even being taught to wipe their bottoms,” she added. This can lead to teasing and bullying in class, as well as having adverse medical effects.
Speaking earlier today, This Morning's Holly Willoughby revealed her one year old son is already potty trained.
“He just kept pulling his own nappy off. So I thought right, well I’ll get you a potty, but you’re a one-year-old boy I’m not sure this is going to work," she said.
“For about two weeks in the house he would have no clothes on and he would just go off and do a wee and he was doing it and he was fine,” she continued.
“We are [now] a nappy-free zone except for at night."
What do you think?
At what age do you think children should be potty trained by?
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