Toilet Training and water wastage

[Liz]

OK, so DS & I are slowly working our way up to TT. I'm trying to be good and putting him on the loo straight after a meal to try and avoid pooey nappies etc. Hasn't really worked yet LOL - he waits until he has a nappy or pullup on and goes and hides and poos!

Anyway.. every time he goes to the toilet he wees, and he's taken himself to the loo just now to wee. I'm feeling bad about all the flushing and hand washing!

I know that I could leave it unflushed.. it's just a little wee, but flushing the toilet has sort of become part of the whole going to the toilet thing, and of course washing hands afterwards.

What do you guys do? It's a lot of water.

[Trillian]

You would have the half flush button? It was really hard to get our older kids to understand to only use the half flush too. Not sure if you could do it with your toilet, but you could lower the ball valve in the cistern so that less water is allowed in. The ball value is set to a certain length and it shuts off when the force of the water entering the cistern forces the 'ball' as high as it can go, so if you can shorten it, not as much water can come in because the valve shuts off sooner.

[MantaRay]

Liz, I have had to teach myself to relax about water use. J started flushing the toilet everytime he wet or dirtied a nappy well before he was TTd, and it drove me mad. But to stop him could have set him back a long way in TT, so I tried not to worry about it. T is even worse - he loves washing his hands. Over and over and over. And if I shut him out of the bathroom, he can't use the toilet on his own (he's not TT yet, but I'm trying to encourage him down that path). So I have to find a middle ground there. Because otherwise he'd spend hours just washing and drying his hands LOL.

As for flushing after a wee, well I always think twice too, but he does do it as I think it's an important habit for him to learn. Also, he has to at day care, so that's consistent. He uses the half flush button at least, he knows the other one is just for no 2s.

[Liz]

Yeah I'm using the half flush. He can't really push the button himself yet, so I help him, and half flush it is.

Guess I just gotta go with it for now. I agree, it's an important habit for them.

That's a good idea about adjusting the cistern.. but I need it to be able to flush well after DH! LMAO

[Lucy]

I stressed about this same issue with Olivia and Charlie when they were TT.

DH is very green & water wise and I could see him wince every time, LOL!

Could you do some '"recompense" measure that would make you all feel better such as installing water wise shower heads? Or having a bucket in the shower to recycle for the garden?

[christy]

I put a litre bottle full of water into the cistern to stop as much wastage here.