Welcome to the Summer 2023 edition of Bridge. This edition has a special focus on toilet training, with plenty of information and tips to ensure a positive experience for your child. Summer offers an excellent opportunity to start toilet training and we have a page full of online toilet training resources for you on page 18.
Schools are increasingly responding to the support needs of children who are managing incontinence. In this edition we share advice from educator Bronwyn Robinson regarding the support of children at school. We share a personal story from a parent about caring for a child with incontinence and articles by nurses and paediatric specialists about the best ways to respond to the challenges and nurture family relationships at the same time.
We offer support to many parents with toilet training on our National Continence Helpline on 1800 33 00 66. This is a free and confidential service, staffed by nurse continence specialists who offer information, advice and support. They also provide a wide range of continence-related resources and referrals to local services.
The Foundation encourages schools to implement Toilet Tactics, an educational resource for primary schools. Toilet Tactics promotes healthy bladder and bowel habits in children and aims to improve or maintain the standard of school toilets across Australia.
The National Public Toilet Map is another helpful resource for parents. It lists over 23,000 public toilets across Australia, including adult change and baby change facilities. This map is invaluable for the parents of young children who are travelling during the summer holidays. The National Public Toilet Map is proudly managed and supported by the Continence Foundation of Australia.
Rowan Cockerell,
CEO,
Continence Foundation of Australia