A natural part of every body's daily life!

Toilet training is a massive milestone when it is achieved. 
 
There are so many factors that can affect a child's ability to use the toilet consistently.  Whether they are developing at a typical rate or not, we can use a range of strategies to help with the process. 

As an occupational therapist, we consider forward and backward chaining, the prompt hierarchy, the child's environment and the level of support they need. In this article, I have collated some practical resources that you can use to assist with teaching toilet training. Keep reading to find out about a free printable to support body awareness and interoception. 

1. Toilet training Book - by the Functional Skills Therapy Team 
The Toileting Book is a comprehensive resource covering every aspect of toilet training.  I was a contributing author to this book. 

• Written by a team of experienced pediatric occupational therapists and physical therapists with decades of experience  
• Packed with information on toilet training readiness and achievement of toileting success
• Includes Toilet Training Guides for special populations (children with fine or gross motor needs, behavioral or cognitive challenges, physical disabilities, etc.) including Sensory Processing Disorder, Trauma-Informed Needs, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida, Spinal Cord Injuries
• Provides information on interoception and the role this sensory system plays in potty training
• Discusses common toileting equipment and special needs toileting tools
• Includes tips and suggestions for individualized toilet training 

This book is available in digital, e-book format AND in a physical, soft-cover book format. Purchase the physcial, soft-cover book HERE

2. Videos with stories and songs
There are range of videos and songs that I use to assist with teaching toileting skills.  Here are some of my favourites. 

• Tom's Toilet triumph 
• Princess Polly's Potty
• Pirate Pete's Potty
• Push the Poopy out
• Baby Shark's Potty song
• Peppa Pig's Potty Training
• The Toilet Song by the Wiggles
• Constipation in Kids: What your poo is telling you
• A Journey Inside your body
• What if you hold your poop for too long? 
• What if you hold your urine for too long?

3. Social stories 
We use social stories with simple text and pictures (or photographs) to talk about the steps needed to use the toilet. The visual sequence can help with ordering and organisation skills.  It can help to develop routine and expectations.  Toileting can be broken down into component parts such as identifying body signals, sitting on the toilet, using the toilet, using toilet paper, cleaning oneself, flushing the toilet, washing and drying hands.  There is a social story in the book mentioned above.  Here are a few more resources. 

• Poop goes to Poopland
• I can push out my poos!
• Toileting social story
• Going to the toilet social situation (Twinkl)
• Social Story Potty Training girl and Social Story Potty Training Boy
• Using the bathroom at school
• Potty training editable boy and girl
• How to use the urinal
• Flushing is loud social story
• Using the bathroom visual aids
• Using the bathroom social story​​

4. Visual Supports
Similarly to social stories ... we use visual supports to help with understanding concepts, provide consistent information and promote independence. 

To support interoception skills for toileting, I have developed these visual supports which provide information about body signals before toiletting, a narrative that the child could say to themselves before they go, the actions they can complete and how they may feel afterwards.  There is a page for boys, girls and a third page for older children/teens.

To get your free resource, use the link below for the YKOT shop!
​

5. Picture books - Here are just a few!

•  No more nappies by Marion Cocklico
• Ms Rachel: Potty time with Bean
• Poo Poo Bum Bum Wee Wee by Stephen Cowell
• P is for Potty (Sesame Street lift the flap)
• Usborne Why do we need a potty?
• I pooped inthe potty today! by Dillan Slobodian
• Are you feeling cold Yuki? by Kay Al-Ghani
• Little Mousey has that Potty feeling by Didi Dragon

This contains Amazon Affliate links.

Did you notice the resources that I didn't provide? 

Reward charts. 

While I think there is a place for reward charts with some children, we are moving away from these in every day practice.  It is more helpful to help your children to recognise their body signals and respond to them. For more information about interoception and body awareness, read this article "Body scan check: Interoceptive awareness for children". 
​

I would love to hear what your favourite toilet training resources are! Let me know and don't forget to download your free printable visual aids!

​Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
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Fun!
Engages a child's imagination!
Physical movement!
Core strength and gross motor skill development!
Sensory motor input to the muscles and joints!
Regulatory benefits!

No prep! 

Every therapist, teacher and parents should have "animal walks" in their toolkit to use with individual children and groups (even classes). 

There are so many benefits to participating in animal walks and some of them are harder than they seem. Add a timer (such as a visual classroom timer) or roll a die (dice) to determine how long to do each movement.  You can determine how many different animal walks to do each time. 

Animal walks are so important that I am giving you a FREE printable to use them in as part of your repertoire of activities. You can print out the visual prompts, cut and laminate them to use in a number of ways.  More on how you can recieve this free printable later in this article. 

Firstly here are 10 ways you can include animal walks into your routine. .

1.  Warm up or alerting activity.  
Choose an animal walk to start a session, or as a brain break in the classroom.  

2. Hallway or transition activity. 
Choose an animal walk to move from one room to another.  Do this individually or as a group. 

At home, you could incorporate animal walks from one part of the house to another (eg. let's bear walk from your bedroom to the kitchen). 

3. Follow the leader. 
Have a child choose an animal walk and the rest of the group follow behind. This is a great activity to do within a classroom in and around tables and chairs. 

4. Make an animal walk plan (for executive functioning skills). 
Have a child choose a few (I start with three) animal walks to make a plan.  Place these in a sequence and then carry out the sequence.  The child can keep track of what they are up to by checking (ticking off) the walks they have done.  

By creating a plan, sequencing and carrying out the plan -  your child is developing executive functioning skills with a motivating task.  This process can be carried over to help them to break down larger tasks that may seem more overwhelming (eg. getting ready in the morning).  Read more about executive functioning skills HERE and HERE. 

5. Obstacle course or circuit.
Position the animal walk prompts strategically around a room (or playground).  Have your child start with one animal walk towards the next and so forth until they complete the circuit. This is a great activity to do when inside sport is needed in a hall or gym. 

6. Relay race. 
Divide your group into teams. Position them for a relay race (could be back and forth in the same area).  Determine the sequence of animal walks. This is also a great activity for inside wet weather sport days. 

Have the first person to do the first animal walk toward the next person in their team. Have the next person do the second animal walk and so forth. 

7. Active listening in the classroom. 
When your students know the animal walks well, you can call out an animal for a "drop and do" action at any time during the day.  You could determine the time for this (eg. 1 minute).  Even a 10 second movement activity will help with alertness and engage participation.  To add another twist, call out "zoo" for the children to determine the animal themselves. 

8. Add props!
While animal walks can be done without any props and any preparation, you could also consider adding a few things to create more interest over time. 
a) Obstacles such as hoola hoops, cones or even furniture could be used to guide a route. 
b) Motor planning props such as an agility ladder and sensory tiles could be used to help with spatial awareness. 
c) Bean bags or weighted products could be transported from one place to another with an animal walk. 
d) Dress up items such as a hat, scarf or face masks could be used to develop animal characters. 

9) Themes!
Use each animal as a separate theme for further activities in therapy sessions, the classroom or at home.  You could add a craft, read a book, create a writing activity, make a puppet, draw a picture or more! 

Here are some animal themed products and activities that you could use!
* 10 week animal themed preschool program.
* Scissors skills zoo
* Guess my answer writing pages (the first one is animal).
* Frog activites

10) Practice fast, slow and stop (impulse control and regulation)! 
Faster speeds will be more alerting and slower speeds will help to calm the body. Some children need the faster speeds to help with regulation too.  These movements connect the body with the brain (as they need to think about what they are doing). 
a) Have your children listen to the speed they should perform their animal walk as you call out- fast, slow or stop. 
b) Use a metronome to listen to the speed and vary this up or slow down.  
c) You could play musical animals where the children perform an animal walk while the music is playing and freeze when the music stops. 

Animals walks are a great example of a "people game".  Doing these animal walks alongside, together, collaboratively - you are building connection with your child.  Can you do the animal walk towards each other?  Can you do it without laughing? Can you do them with a silly sound?  Can you make it a guessing game with younger children?  Can you challenge your children to think of more animal walks (eg. How does an axolotl move?)?  For more examples of "people games"  and a reminder that your child's best toy is you (READ THIS). 
​
Receive this free ANIMAL WALK PRINTABLE as an email subscriber to Your Kids OT. Don't worry, if you are already a subscriber, you will only be listed once.  Fill in the form below to receive your copy!  

I hope that you keep "animal walks" in your regular repertoire and incorporate some variations that I've shared above! Send your friends, clients and colleagues here to receive their own copy of animals walks. 

Until next time, 

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
YKOT shop:  https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/
​

I almost failed. 

Importantly, I didn't fail. I tried again. I succeeded. 

I wish I had paid more attention in that first semester of OT school. ​

Neurobiology.

Ironically, the study of the brain and how it works  - was hard on my brain! The fact that I could learn new things, make mistakes and try again is so important for life-long learning.  It is the neuroplasticity of our brains that helps us to keep growing (developing skills, resilience and knowledge) and keep going (adjusting to challenges, recovering from difficulties, and maintaining function over time). 

I have been reflecting on this recently with the neurodivergent children that I see. Why are some aspects of learning so hard? What if neurobiology helps us to explain why? What are the links to brain structure? What is the impact on every day activities?  Does OT really help when it seems like an uphill struggle sometimes? 

Now, these questions could form the basis of a Phd ...and sorry I don't have the time or know-how for that...  but I thought I would do a little digging into the research to find a (simplified) answer for myself.  I hope this brief dive is helpful for some of you too - making connections between neurobiology, neuroplasticity and neurodiversity! 

Neurobiology is the study of how the brain and nervous system are structured and how they function. It provides the foundation for understanding sensory processing, motor control, attention, memory, and emotional regulation (see, I knew I should have paid more attention in OT school!).

The brain is divided into two hemispheres, each with specialized roles:

• The left hemisphere is generally associated with language, sequencing, logic, and fine motor control.
• The right hemisphere plays a stronger role in visual-spatial processing, creativity, emotional understanding, and holistic thinking.

For everyday activities, both hemispheres need to work together. For example, writing requires the left hemisphere for sequencing letters and words, while the right hemisphere manages spatial awareness on the page. 

The corpus callosum is a thick band of nerve fibers that connects the left and right hemispheres, enabling communication between them. When the corpus callosum is underactive or not fully developed, children may struggle with coordination, problem-solving, or transferring information between sides of the body (Hinkley et al., 2016).  Research has shown that individuals with autism may present with differences in corpus callosum size and connectivity, which can influence how information is processed across hemispheres and contribute to the diversity of learning and developmental profiles. These neurobiological variations highlight the importance of understanding neurodiversity not as a deficit, but as a spectrum of brain-based differences that shape how skills are acquired and expressed. By acknowledging and supporting these unique neurological pathways, therapists, educators, and families can foster meaningful skill development in ways that are affirming and individualized (Prigge et al., 2013).​

OT activities that use both sides of the body—like clapping games, ball throwing, or bilateral drawing—help strengthen these inter-hemispheric connections.

Crossing the midline refers to moving a hand, foot, or eye across the invisible line dividing the body into left and right halves. This seemingly simple action is vital for building neural pathways between the hemispheres through the corpus callosum.

In OT, we are often encouraging midline crossing through posture and positioning.  We ask the child to sit or stand in a certain position, separating the upper body from the lower body but also crossing from one side to other. 

For example:

• A child sits cross legged on the floor and reaches across their body to grab puzzle pieces.
• A child standing at a whiteboard, without moving their feet, they draw a “figure 8” (infinity symbol) repeatedly.
• A child sits at a table, with trunk rotation, plays with  items to move from one side to other. 

These activities strengthen communication between brain hemispheres and lay the foundation for skills like handwriting, reading, dressing, and sports. Repetition of cross-lateral movements has been shown to support neuroplastic changes that enhance interhemispheric integration and higher-order learning (Ocklenburg S, Guo ZV., 2024).

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize and create new neural connections in response to experiences, learning, or injury. This is the reason therapy works—the brain is not fixed, but adaptable, flexible ... learning.
​
From an OT perspective:

• Every therapy session provides opportunities for practice and repetition that strengthen new skills.
• Engaging in meaningful, motivating activities enhances neuroplastic changes because the brain is more likely to “rewire” when tasks are purposeful.
• Early intervention harnesses neuroplasticity during critical developmental periods, but change remains possible across the lifespan (Kolb & Gibb, 2014). So even when say that habits are formed or things are "locked in", there is still the potential for change and learning. (You can teach an old dog new tricks). 

We use strategies such as multi-sensory learning, task analysis, finding the "just right challenge", appropriate grading and support.  We encourage embedding learning in every-day activities, hands on learning, learning through play and "making learning fun"! 

The CO-OP approach (Cognitive Orientation to daily Occupational Performance) empowers children to set their own goals, problem-solve strategies, and practice until skills become automatic. This process strengthens the brain through neuroplasticity. Goal setting, practice, strategy, and reflection drive neuroplasticity. Skills carry over best when they are meaningful to the child and practiced in real-life contexts.
​

Neurodiversity is the concept that natural variations in the human brain—such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia—are not deficits but differences that bring both strengths and challenges (Armstrong, 2010).
​
From an OT perspective:

• Neurodiversity shifts the focus from “fixing” a child to supporting participation and promoting self-advocacy.
• Therapy emphasizes strength-based approaches, recognizing creativity, problem-solving, and unique perspectives (Dwyer. P. et al, 2024).
• Environmental modifications and accommodations are just as important as skill development.
• Neurodiversity-affirming practice means respecting stimming, sensory needs, and alternative communication, and avoiding interventions that push masking or compliance.
• “How can we adapt the environment or activity so this child can thrive? How can we support the child?

These three concepts are not separate—they overlap in ways that shape occupational therapy practice:

• Neurobiology helps us understand the mechanisms behind skill development and challenges.
• Neuroplasticity gives hope and evidence that change is possible through meaningful practice.
• Neurodiversity ensures we affirm individuality, valuing strengths while supporting challenges.

Together, they guide OT practice toward more compassionate, effective, and empowering therapy.

​As therapists we can consider to: 

• Use neurobiology to understand sensory, motor, and cognitive foundations, and design activities that cross midline to support interhemispheric integration.
• Build neuroplasticity with meaningful and goal directed  tasks.
• Practice neurodiversity-affirming care: value differences, avoid compliance-based goals, and prioritize participation, autonomy, and strengths.

As parents we can remember:

• Your child’s brain can change! With practice, problem-solving, and support, new skills can grow over time.
• Focus on what matters to your child—skills are more likely to  carry over when they are meaningful.
• Celebrate your child’s strengths and differences. Being neurodivergent is not something to “fix”—therapy is about helping them thrive in their own way.
• Partner with your OT: share your child’s goals, celebrate progress, and advocate for approaches that respect your child’s individuality.

​Do you have more questions about neurobiology, neuroplasticity and neurodiversity? I do! Let's keep learning together!  Let me know your reflections and questions!

Cindy is a registered occupational therapist practising in Sydney, Australia.  She has two growing children who are a constant source of inspiration and learning.  Cindy loves working creatively to help children to reach their potential, finding opportunities in everyday living and making learning fun. She is also addicted to making printables (even when they take a long time to complete).  Cindy is the author of the Occupational Therapy blog Your Kids OT.  Read more articles from Your Kids OT at https://www.yourkidsot.com/blog

Cindy is a contributing author of the Functional Skills for Kids Therapy Team.  They have together published THE HANDWRITING BOOK, THE SCISSORS SKILLS BOOK and THE TOILETING BOOK.

​The information on this site is general in nature. The activities are safe for most children, however, you should consult an Occupational Therapist or health professional to address specific movement, sensory or other medical conditions. Affiliate links are used throughout this website to promote recommended products. Your Kids OT receives a small commission if any purchases are made through these links. Please see my disclosure policy for more details. ​​​
YKOT shop:  https://www.yourkidsot.com/store/c1/Featured_Products.html
Teachers Pay Teachers: https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Store/Your-Kids-Ot
You Tube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZUz_5nYEOCkj32DiOCQo4Q/featured
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/yourkidsot
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yourkidsot/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com.au/yourkidsot/
​