TinyStepper
Child sorting colourful blocks into matching bowls at a table

Naked Bum Morning Slot

A short, protected morning window each day where your toddler is bare from the waist down at home — builds the body awareness ERIC says is essential before the potty journey can succeed.

Activity details

18m–3y30 minsmediumindoorTowels

Instructions

Get ready
  • Pick a morning window when you're at home and not rushing — usually after breakfast.
  • Set up in a room with a wipeable floor or laid-out towels.
  1. Pick a morning window when you're at home and not rushing — usually after breakfast.
  2. Set up in a room with a wipeable floor or laid-out towels.
  3. Have the potty in the room, easy to see and reach.
  4. Take off your toddler's nappy and any trousers. 'Naked bum time! Let me know if you feel a wee coming.'
  5. Let your child play normally. Don't hover or remind constantly.
  6. If you notice them stop and stand still or look down, say: 'Do you feel something? Want to try the potty?'
  7. If a wee happens on the floor, stay calm: 'That's a wee! That's what it feels like. Next time we'll try the potty.'
  8. After thirty to sixty minutes, put the nappy back on and end the slot warmly.

Parent tip

Set out towels before inviting your toddler in so the first minute feels smooth.

Toddler at a table with a completed puzzle and neatly sorted blocks in a bright aha moment

What success looks like

Intense focus, even briefly. Watch for the small ‘aha’ moment when they figure out how something works.

Pick a morning window — usually after breakfast — and let your toddler go nappy-free from the waist down for thirty to sixty minutes inside the house. The point is awareness, not training. Toddlers who can feel what's happening in real time learn to connect the body sensation to the action — and that connection is the foundation of every other potty step. The slot is short, predictable, and held in a space you can mop.

Why it helps

ERIC's Let's Go Potty method specifically recommends nappy-free time as a foundational step before stopping nappies entirely: regular short periods without wearing a nappy can help prepare your child for how it will feel when they stop using them completely. The Department for Education's guidance for early years providers, developed with the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, confirms that the process of introducing children to sitting on a potty can begin from as young as 6 months — body awareness is the prerequisite for body control, and toddlers cannot develop awareness when wearing a nappy that wicks moisture away the moment a wee happens.

Variations

  • Increase the slot length gradually as your child gets used to it — 30 then 45 then 60 minutes.
  • Move the slot outside to the garden in warm weather — wet grass is much easier than wet floors.
  • Add a second slot in the late afternoon once the morning slot feels easy.

Safety tips

  • Set up over wipeable floor or towels — accidents are the point of the exercise.
  • Don't shame any accidents; the awareness is what you're building, not the perfect aim.
  • Keep the room warm so your child isn't cold without trousers.

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