Helping kids learn healthy toilet habits

It was a conversation with friends during parental leave that sparked a book idea for pelvic physiotherapist and yoga teacher Carla Sank.

As friends with older kids began to tell her how they struggled finding toilet training books for their toddlers, Sank realised that she could be of service. So, she wrote Poo Party, a book that normalises poo chat and encourages healthy habits from an early age.

“I am used to talking about poo for a living, so I had the knowledge and evidence behind potential content,” she told The AJN.

Sank explained that a lot of her day-to-day work involves teaching adults about gut health. Ultimately, though, with one in three children experiencing constipation, Sank realised that kids need the knowledge too, especially as they learn the importance of proper toileting.

Sank admitted, though, that she had never thought of herself as a writer. But perhaps due to her knowledge and experience with the subject matter, the writing came easily.

“It was certainly a fun creative project and I guess having just given birth I had the flow of creative energy moving through me. The writing came easy but the illustrations were a bit more challenging,” she said, adding that she obsessed over poo throughout a return trip to South Africa, eventually figuring out how best to illustrate her words.

In the book, Sank explains the digestive process, the importance of water, all the different types of poo and even how best to sit on the toilet to encourage healthy bowel movement support.

Now, with her own two-year-old and another on the way, Sank is hoping Poo Party helps children and their parents feel more relaxed and confident when it comes to going to the toilet. “Getting families used to toilet chats not only makes for hilarious conversation but can also hopefully flag if things are not quite right,” Sank said. “Having Ashkenazi gut health, it should probably just be part of our standard dinner table conversation.”

Poo Party is available on Amazon