Originally published: Kiddipedia, 28 April 2026
There are some parenting moments no one really prepares you for… and this is one of them.
Your child comes home from school, a little quieter than usual. You ask how their day was. You unpack their bag. And somewhere in the back of your mind, there’s that small, nagging thought:
“Did they go to the toilet today?”
If you’ve ever worried about this, you are so far from alone.
New research has found almost half (44%) of Australian children aged 3–8 are not answering the call of nature at school due to stress (25%) or hesitancy (24%) of using a public toilet.¹²
As a result, two in five parents (42%) are concerned this may be affecting their child’s physical wellbeing.¹
For the three-quarters (74%) of Aussie teachers who want more resources to learn how to support children with toilet struggles, Kleenex has launched I Can’t Wait! My First School Poo – a first-of-its-kind children’s book for parents and educators designed to normalise one of childhood’s most avoided experiences.
For many kids, this is simply about safety. Pooing is a biological process, and like sleep and eating, the body needs to feel calm and secure in order to do it. School is a different environment, and for some children, it takes time to feel comfortable enough.
Aussie parenting expert Genevieve Muir, alongside Jessica Rowe and Kleenex, has contributed expert insights to I Can’t Wait! My First School Poo, supporting families to understand emotional readiness and toileting anxiety in early childhood. The resource helps parents, educators and children share a common language around one of childhood’s most avoided developmental milestones.
Genevieve Muir also recently offered her insights to a new free educational resource aimed at assisting time-poor parents with a growing problem, helping families better understand emotional regulation, anxiety, and toileting avoidance in early childhood.
² Pureprofile (2026) – Kleenex commissioned research, Australian adults (n=1,000)
