Podcast: Toilet anxiety

This is a 14 minute listen.

What is toilet anxiety and how can you help your child overcome it? ERIC Nurse Sunni and Head of Family Services Sarah discuss the issue and how to encourage healthy toileting habits.

Tips for managing toilet anxiety

Toilet anxiety, toilet phobia or paruresis may be triggered by an unpleasant experience, such as a noisy or smelly toilet. Children might remember this each time they go - leading to an association of anxiety with going to the toilet. They may also start to hold in wee or poo to avoid using the toilet.

• Accept and recognise the child’s anxiety and analyse the factors contributing to this.
• Check bowel and bladder function. Many children are constipated too and that will need treatment before progress can be made. See our advice for children with constipation for more information.
• Build confidence with other activities and skills e.g. washing hands, putting on socks, being helpful
• Break up the task into small, easy steps that can be gradually built on
• Use predictable routines
• Distraction
• Try to make toileting fun
• Talk to the child about anxiety

Find out more about toilet anxiety and how to manage it on our website here.

Watch the video