Teaching a child to balance on the toilet?

DD's 2 3/4, and has been potty trained for several months. She is
comfortable on a toilet with an insert, with assistance to get on it, or
with a potty chair, which she can manage independently. She has motor skills
issues, and we have yet to find a footstool which doesn't slide on our
bathroom floor. She's 5% on weight, 45% on height. 2T dresses are a bit
short now, but 18 month shorts are often a bit loose.

At preschool, they have small toilets, but apparently the rim is still wider
than on DD's potty chair or the insert ring. SO she'll go in, sit down, but
be so close to the edge that she gets her clothes and the floor. This is the
same thing she does on a big toilet without the insert, and I really think
it's because she is trying not to fall in and therefore sits up where the
seat is more solid. She really can't levitate over the toilet due to her
height. When we're away from home I just hold and support her myself, but I
can see that this is easier when you only have one toddler to keep up with
instead of a whole bunch of them, and I think it's starting to annoy her
teachers a bit. I also know that in next year's class, she's expected to be
independent in the bathroom.

Does anyone have any suggestions in teaching her to balance?

On Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:01:38 -0500, "Donna Metler"
wrote:

Does anyone have any suggestions in teaching her to balance?

What about teaching her to sit on the toilet backwards so that she is
closer to the edge and holding on, but doesn't miss the toilet?


--
Dorothy

There is no sound, no cry in all the world
that can be heard unless someone listens ..

The Outer Limits

have her hold the toilet seat with her hands just behind her bottom, my
kids seem to have done this naturally, but even my 4 year old still
needs to do this. You can encourage her to do this by placing her hands
there but continuing to hold her lightly. We've done the small bottom
thing - DS is skinny anyway, but does have a very tiny bottom even
compared to that (DD had a bigger bottom than his at 9 weeks old, when
he was 2 1/4), it took a bit of hunting to get a potty that he didn't
fall in and the one we did find he still occasionally got stuck in if he
didn't use the sides to hold himself up, he didn't seem to find it an
issue, it didn't put him off or cause any problems.

Anne

On Sep 21, 9:02 am, Anne Rogers wrote:
have her hold the toilet seat with her hands just behind her bottom, my

I have a small 2 3/4 yo and we have been working with this same
issue. Not only does she need to hold the toilet seat with her hands
behind her, but she has to work to slide back and get her bottom
down. She actually does better in wheelchair stalls where the bar is
close. She sits on the side and reaches up to the bar, sort of
hanging from it. If there is a wheelchair stall at your daughter's
preschool, maybe she would do better with it.

--Betsy

"Donna Metler" wrote in message
. ..

Does anyone have any suggestions in teaching her to balance?

My kids sat backwards - facing the back of the toilet. They could lean
forward no their hands and didn't feel like they were falling in at all.
They also hit the mark.


--
Nikki, mama to
Hunter 4/99
Luke 4/01
Brock 4/06
Ben 4/06