There are a number of times when I hear Li-Ann going into the toilet by herself and instinctively I will rush to the bathroom to see what’s going on-just to make sure she didn’t mess up anything. There, I see her seated on the toilet bowl urinating, after taking off her panties and shorts and putting them outside the bathroom. She also tries to fold and tear the toilet paper herself. Giving her a BIG hug and kiss, I encouraged her,’Clever girl Li-Ann!’.
I’ve been praying about toilet training LA for some time. I prepared her by telling her all the reasons why we should poo and pee on the toilet bowl and even taught her how to wipe herself. However, she has not been consistent in spontaneously communicating to us that she needs to relieve herself. So we have been tirelessly asking her ‘Do you need to use the bathroom?’ now and then and faithfully bringing her to the bathroom regularly. I have tried setting the alarm, telling her to listen out for it and then go use the bathroom herself when she hears the alarm go off. I’m so so grateful that she is now aware of the signals of her body and knows exactly what to do. She would even loudly decline our help,’Don’t mommy! I want to do it myself!’ She began by telling of her need and not wetting herself at the ARISE! rehearsals. Then another day at a friend’s home, she told us a number of times, within an hour and a half, that she needed to use the bathroom. Out of those times, she passed motion twice and urinated another couple of times. We then realised she had diarrhoea and remembered she had complained that her tummy was painful earlier on in the day. What a breakthrough!!! I was so happy to see her being able to control her bowels.
Nowadays, we will still ask her the VERY IMPORTANT question sometimes but we take more risk by waiting for her to tell us when she needs to go. We are praying and trusting God for 100% consistency and accuracy.
I thank God that Li-Ann has achieved another important milestone in her development.
I Can Do It! 
At what age did you start with her to go to toilet?
I put LA on the toilet bowl after her anus was created (she was born without an anus) and when she was able to sit on the toilet bowl (without any child toilet seat) all by herself, probably about 11 months or 1 year old plus. So I do that every morning to give her a sense of routine, encourage her to FULLY clear her bowels and also to cut down extra work to clear potty or change diapers. Because of her low muscle tone (it affects the intestines too), LA used to take very long to clear her bowels properly, about an hour. It’s better now, about half an hr or so. It’s really important for her to clear her bowels completely so the toxic gases/wastes will not remain in the body. So we do many things in the toilet, from eating to singing to reading to playing games to praying. I know some parents may frown at this but it has saved us a lot of time and we keep her stimulated, especially when she was much younger. Nowadays, LA is better at entertaining herself and will sing/pray/talk/play pretend when she’s on the toilet bowl. Really very cute, if you do see her. Being more independent, she’s eager to go to the toilet and do everything herself, even when we go out. One day, I found her trying to wipe herself after she pass her bowels. So it’s probably time to train her to do that. LA is familiar with the toilet and what to do as I’ve brought her with me, shown her and train her on the ‘how tos’ way before she was ready and willing to do it herself.