As a group of early years professionals, paediatric nurses, researchers and child development experts, we must respectfully challenge Dr Hodges’ recent claims about early toilet training in your ‘Big Debate’.
Dr Hodges asserts that children trained before age two have ‘a significantly elevated risk of developing chronic constipation’. However, the available research evidence suggests the opposite. A 2017 study of over 1,200 children found a significant association between constipation and older age of starting toilet training (Albaramki et al.). Similarly, a comprehensive review by Li et al. (2020) of over 24,000 children found that initiating toilet training after 24 months may lead to a higher prevalence of lower urinary tract dysfunction.
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