James Donaldson on Mental Health - Starting Elementary School

Prepare for potty independence Don’t be surprised if kids regress a bit at the start of school — having accidents after they’ve been potty trained for years.

Kids need to learn to recognize the urge to use the bathroom without being asked by a parent, which takes practice.

Another issue is that kids might be used to having parents help them in the bathroom.

“Even with my own kids, I didn’t realize that I was going in and doing everything for them,” Browning says.

“And then I thought, ‘Wait a second.

When I stop doing this, they’re not going to know how to do it.’” She says it’s important to break things down into small steps and narrate as you go, like remembering to use soap to wash your hands and then getting a paper towel to dry them.

“You need to practice until they can do it independently, without prompting,” she says.

Otherwise, at school, they will be waiting for verbal prompts from an adult for each step — something the teacher can’t do for every child.

Create a visual checklist Kids are responsible for their own things at schools, so it’s helpful to practice some of the routines at home before school starts, Dr.

When they go into the classroom, they will be expected to put their things away in a cubby.