Toilet Training with Down Syndrome: Prepare

Decide when (3-6 days) and where to do this. We chose the girls’ upstairs bathroom since it’s large and on breaks we could move to our bedroom where she could watch Trolls or Moana - part of her reward. 

Find our what your child’s reward(s) will be and take it away three days prior. Hannah’s was veggie straws, but later learned she really liked Natural Cheetos. Also start pushing fluids. 

Get a timer... a proper one in case your phone is a reward for you child. 

Pen and paper to track sitting, breaks, accidents, etc. 

Anything and everything to entertain you child on the toilet/in the bathroom. Here’s what I had for Hannah: 

• books
• crayons + paper
• pig coin toy
• Trolls singing machine
• ball
• photo books 
• bubbles

You might want to avoid electronics since those could be considered a reward for most kids. 

I also had water and juice in various containers - I let her drink out of my water cup just to get more fluids in her.

Blanket or towel to set on the toilet - the first rounds are long sitting periods and can cause sore bums! If you wrap the toilet, they will still be able to pee inside it. 

We laid down a plastic drop cloth (you can buy a load of plastic ones at Lowe’s/Home Depot) in our bedroom in case of accidents since we have carpet. We also put a stool and chair for Hannah to sit/watch her reward. Hannah only had one accident all day and spilled quite a bit of juice in our room - glad we laid down the drop cloth. 

Other children

You may want to gear up to keep other kids entertained as well. Tim and I needed to switch on and off with Hannah so we didn’t get burnt out (recommended). We knew we could be stuck in the house for days, so we allowed Nora screentime, movies, snacks that we don’t usually keep, etc. 

Getting started

Dem Natural Cheetos