Children should be potty trained from an earlier age, an early years expert has said live on BBC Breakfast. Felicity Gillespie, Chief Executive of Kindred Squared, a charity driving change in child development, encouraged parents to introduce a potty during the baby stage. She joined hosts Ben Thompson and Sally Nugent in the studio on Monday (October 3).
One in four children not toilet-trained
One in four children was not toilet-trained when they started school in 2025, with some parents across England now set to receive more support following a successful scheme in York. Felicity explained: "I think the key message is you should be starting potty training sooner than you think. Children can start practicing sitting on the potty as soon as they can sit up, at 6 to 9 months, and the right time for a child to be coming out of nappies is 18 to 30 months."
Sally asked Felicity, "Why do you think we've got to this situation? It is a relatively recent phenomenon, isn't it?" Felicity confirmed: "I think it's really complicated. I don't think there is a single reason. Teachers say that around 20 years ago, this was much less of a problem. Nine out of 10 parents say they want more information. We know from our research that one in five parents doesn't understand why this matters. 'Does it really matter if a child is in nappies when they start school?' And the truth is, it really does."
Parents urged to persist
Felicity explained that toilet training a child isn't easy, which is why some parents leave it to teachers when their child starts school. She said: "Sometimes there is this idea that's going to be easy, and you just do it and your child is magically potty trained. Actually getting the message to parents takes persistence; you need to stick at it. Start early, and it's not going to just happen overnight."
Felicity added: "It's very easy to think 'I'm doing it wrong', or 'there is something wrong with me or my child'. 'Oh, I will just leave it for the professionals, wait until they go to school and let the teachers deal with it', because we all have such respect for teachers."
York scheme shows 42 percent drop
Families across England could be set to receive increased support to help toilet train their little ones before they start primary school, following reports that around a quarter of pupils were not potty trained when they began reception last year. A host of local authorities are considering adopting a trial scheme launched by the City of York Council, which sent potty-training advice to 1,700 households alongside primary school place allocation letters in April.
Project organisers have noted a decrease in the number of pupils in York starting reception without being toilet-trained compared to the previous intake, following the targeted rollout. Funded by charitable foundation Kindred Squared, the York initiative included parent workshops, teacher training, and leaflets available at libraries and GP practices to assist families in training their four-year-olds.
In total, 55 mainstream state primary schools in York were asked to compare the number of children who were not toilet-trained when they started school in September 2025 with the number who were not toilet-trained this September. According to the pilot results, York has seen a 42 percent drop in the proportion of children entering school who are not toilet-trained. BBC Breakfast airs from 6am on BBC One and iPlayer.
