Toilet training of healthy young toddlers: a randomized trial between a daytime wetting alarm and timed potty training
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Published on: February 25, 2016
Alexandra Vermandel1, Joost Weyler, Stefan De Wachter
1Department of Urology, University Antwerp, Edegem, Belgium.
Insights
The wetting alarm diaper training (WAD-T) method proved more effective than timed potty training (TP-T) for healthy children
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Child Development
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Toilet training (TT) is a crucial developmental milestone for children.
- Optimal TT methods lack consensus among healthcare professionals and parents.
- Early childhood development research focuses on effective and child-friendly training techniques.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the efficacy of a 5-day daytime wetting alarm diaper training (WAD-T) program against timed potty training (TP-T) in healthy children.
- To evaluate the long-term effectiveness of WAD-T in achieving independent bladder control.
- To assess the child-friendliness and parental satisfaction with WAD-T.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 39 healthy children aged 20-36 months.
- Participants were assigned to either WAD-T (n=20) or TP-T (n=19).
- Toilet behaviors were assessed by parents and independent observers pre-training, post-training, and at 2 weeks, with a 1-month follow-up via telephone.
Main Results:
- The WAD-T group demonstrated significantly better outcomes than the TP-T group immediately post-training (p=.041), at 14 days (p=.027), and at 1 month (p=.027).
- Independent bladder control was achieved in 88.9% of children in the WAD-T group.
- The WAD-T method resulted in fewer emotional conflicts for children and parents.
Conclusions:
- Daytime wetting alarm diaper training (WAD-T) is a highly effective, structured, and child-friendly approach for toilet training healthy young children.
- WAD-T provides clear parental guidelines, requires a limited time commitment, and yields high success rates with minimal emotional distress.
- Further validation of these findings in larger sample sizes is recommended to confirm the WAD-T method's broad applicability.
Objective:
Toilet training (TT) is important for every child, but there is no agreement on what is the best training method. We evaluated in a randomized way the comprehensive use of a daytime wetting alarm at home for 5 days in healthy children and compared it with timed potty training.
Methods:
Thirty-nine children, between 20 and 36 months of age, were randomized to wetting alarm diaper training (WAD-T; n = 20) or timed potty training (TP-T; n = 19). Toilet behavior was observed by parents and independent observers before, at the end, and after 2 weeks of training. Late evaluation at 1 month was done by telephone.
Results:
The WAD-T group did significantly better than the TP-T group at the end training (p = .041), at 14 days (p = .027), and 1 month after training (p = .027). Independent bladder control was achieved in 88.9% of the WAD-T group.
Conclusions:
The WAD-T method is a structured, child-friendly, highly effective option for TT young healthy children. It offers the parents clear guidelines, a limited time needed to complete TT, a high success rate, and minor emotional conflicts. Results must now be confirmed in a larger sample size.
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