Lilian Ng’ang’a: Children should be potty-trained before starting school
By Ascah Mwango, March 18, 2026Lilian Ng’ang’a has said that children should not be taken to school before they can handle basic personal needs on their own, especially using the bathroom.
In a statement shared via her Instagram account on Tuesday, March 18, 2026, the former Machakos County First Lady stressed that parenting responsibilities should not be pushed onto teachers.
She pointed out that some children are enrolled in school too early, leaving teachers to take on roles that go beyond teaching. According to her, classrooms are turning into spaces where educators are forced to manage tasks that should have already been handled at home.
“Children should not start school before they can use the bathroom on their own. Teachers have no business potty training kids. Let’s parent. Let the teachers teach,” she said.
The remarks add to a growing list of parenting issues Ng’ang’a has recently spoken about. Just days ago, she urged parents to be mindful of the example they set, noting that children are always watching. From daily routines to casual conversations, she emphasised that children absorb more from what they see than what they are told, quietly shaping their habits from the environment around them.
Her recent comments also stretched into the realities mothers face after childbirth. She called for maternity leave in Kenya to be extended from the current three months to six months, arguing that the existing period is simply not enough.
Ng’ang’a recalled seeing a young mother with a baby strapped to her back heading out early in the morning to look for casual work, a moment she said spoke volumes about the pressure many women face to return to work almost immediately.
She pointed out that for mothers who undergo cesarean section deliveries, recovery alone can take weeks. By the time the body begins to heal and a mother adjusts to sleepless nights and the demands of a newborn, the leave period is nearly over.
Currently, Kenyan law provides three months of fully paid maternity leave with job protection. However, some organisations have started to stretch this window, offering longer leave or flexible working arrangements such as remote or hybrid setups to ease the transition.