A personalised book about potty training

Potty training is one of the first big steps a child takes with their own body, and it rarely goes in a straight line. There will be days when everything works and days with wet trousers, and both are part of it. A picture book can make the potty ordinary and a little bit fun instead of tense. Seeing themselves in the pictures with their own pants and their own potty makes it easier for a child to feel that this is mine, and that I'm learning. The book also gives you words to talk about it.

A potty-training book can be full of everyday things that become big: a teddy learning at the same time, a flush your child waves goodbye to, soap that foams all the way up to the elbows. The story can include an outing where you suddenly need to find a toilet in the park or at the library, and an accident that's met calmly and followed by dry clothes and another try. Perhaps it's also the first time your child uses the toilet at a friend's house. Your child is the one who notices, says so and manages it.

The more the book looks like your own bathroom, the easier it is for your child to recognise themselves. Describe the colour of the potty, the step stool in front of the toilet, the pattern on the pants and which cuddly toy usually sits and waits. If you have a special song or rhyme, or a sticker chart on the fridge, they can be in it too. Write in who usually helps, and what it's like at Grandma's or at nursery. Use the words you say at home – wee and poo, or something of your own – so the book sounds like you.

In the 0–2 age setting the lines are short and rhythmic, with repetitions that are easy to say along with: wee, flush, wash. At 3–5 a gentle little plot fits well, where it takes a few tries before it works. A big brother or sister can read the book aloud and tell how they had to practise once too.

The book can live in the bathroom and be read there in peace and quiet. After reading, let Teddy or a doll try the potty and talk about how it felt for them. What counts in the story is that your child tried, not how it went. There's more about reading with the very youngest on the page about books for ages 0–2.

You fill in the child's name, age and what they like, and upload a photo. The story about potty training is written for your very own child, and the thirteen pictures and the cover are drawn from the photo in the style you choose. Brothers and sisters, parents, grandparents or the pet can come along, up to five characters. If you would like to include something that has happened lately, a trip or a lost tooth, just write it and it is woven in.

The eBook is ready a few minutes after payment. Read it, change the text and ask for new pictures until you are happy. Then order it as an A4 hardback book, printed and sent to your door, or straight to the child as a gift. Do add the colouring pages. Start creating the book or read more about the prices. Would you like to see a finished book before you decide? Browse our example books.