If your child is afraid of the toilet

• Many children find the toilet exciting or scary. That’s normal.
• Your child might find the toilet too high, be startled by all the noises and splashes, or be afraid of falling into the toilet. This is especially true if your child is sensitive or easily frightened.
• Take your child seriously. For young children, fantasy and reality are still blurred. So your child might genuinely believe that he or she could fall into the toilet and get flushed away. Think about how scary that would be.

What can you do?

• Is your child not ready to use the toilet yet, but is willing to use the potty? That’s fine. Keep practicing at set times.
• Take your child to the bathroom even if they don’t need to go yet. Look at the bathroom together. Flush the toilet and look, feel, and listen to everything that’s happening. Point these things out: “There are so many sounds! What do you hear? What do you see?” 
• Place a stuffed animal or doll on the toilet using the toilet seat reducer. Pretend that the stuffed animal finds it a little scary too. Say: "Bear thinks it's a little scary. He doesn't want to fall into the toilet. But he can sit there just fine. And he doesn't fall into the toilet. We're helping him. Good job, Bear!"
• Make sure you have a toilet seat reducer and a sturdy step stool or small ladder. This will help your child climb onto the toilet and sit securely, with their feet on the step stool. It makes them feel safer.
• Does your child want to sit on the toilet but then get right back off? That’s perfectly fine. Just a few seconds is enough. Praise your child for trying.
• Does your child want to look in the toilet or sit on the toilet? Then stay close by. Keep the light on and the door open. Say: "We'll do this together. I'm not going anywhere. I'm right here. Good job!"
• Many children between the ages of 2 and 3.5 alternate between using the potty and the toilet, even if they’re potty-trained during the day. That’s perfectly fine. It’s more important that your child is able to pee and poop comfortably than that it happens on the toilet. The transition to the toilet will happen in time.
• Don’t keep asking your child if they want to try using the toilet; instead, try it once or twice a day. At this stage, recognizing the signs and getting to the potty in time are more important.