If your child isn't feeling good, just take a break potty training.

If you are potty training and your child is going through a stressful time, they may not want to potty train any longer during this period. Stress can come in a number of ways for a child, whether it is because they are sick, a pet has passed away, a baby is being born, their has a been a separation or divorce or even moving to a new home, the stress this can cause them many times will result in your child not wanting to use the potty.

The stress can cause their body not to recognize when they need to use the bathroom too, so sometimes stress can get in the way of potty training too. So in this case, being that your child is sick there are a couple of options to use when this happens while they are being potty trained.

• You can go back to a regular diaper temporarily. This has to be made clear to the child that the diaper is only temporary due to the fact that they are sick. You will need to let your child know that they will be going back to using the potty when they are feeling better. This can be an option to use when they are needing a lot of bed rest while sick and they are sleeping a lot and won’t necessarily feel when they have to use the bathroom.
• There is also the option of using waterproof training pants too. If your child has been using underwear during the day while potty training, going back to the training pants may be the first step before going back to regular diapers. These are available in a waterproof design or a plastic cover can be put over them. This allows your child to still feel when they are wet, without soiling their sheets too. This could work for a child that is sick, but necessarily bed ridden. If your child is still moving around, than the training pants can work so that they can still tell you that they have to use the potty once they feel they feel they have become wet a few times.

No matter what you decide, you will need to stay very calm and positive at this time. They cannot be in trouble for having accidents, even if they had not been having them before. This is probably making them feel bad too, especially since they are sick also. So, keep in mind that having to go back to training pants or a regular diaper during their illness is not a sign that potty training has stopped, just that it needs to be put on hold while they are getting better.

You want them to retain the potty training you are teaching and if they are sick, they may not remember a lot of what you are teaching them.

The child at first is very respective to using their potty chair or potty seat and then suddenly something changes and they no longer will go on the potty. This is normal, although not a good thing to have happen, when a child is holding their pee, since this can cause other problems as well as mean that accidents are more likely to happen.

Many times a child will regress and you need to look at what else has happened or is happening that is causing them to regress and not use the potty any longer, as well as hold their potty too.

Some things to consider are:

• Is there a medical condition? This can be something as simple as a yeast infection or bladder infection. If they have become to hold their potty, these conditions can also be created by doing this too. A yeast or bladder infection can cause painful urination that is very uncomfortable. This can make a child not want to use the potty, since it hurts every time they go and they only go when they cannot hold it any longer. Holding their potty again can cause these conditions too. You may want to take your child in to make sure that nothing like this is happening, as well as checking to make sure that they have not stayed in wet underwear or that their underwear is too tight. These two conditions can cause yeast infections, even in boys when they are younger. You also want to make sure that they are wiping properly and helping them with this too. Bacteria can get into areas, especially in girls, that it shouldn’t causing an infection and painful urination also. Make sure that they are wiping from behind and front to back to cut down on the chances of an infection happening.
• Has there been any negative behavior that has happened that has been associated with the potty? Have they had an accident and you became upset at them, thus making them nervous to go on the potty because they do not want to make a mistake.
• Major events Sometime major events such as new baby, divorce, separation, or loss of a friend or loved one can be completely devastating for a child. These major events can have the child either regress or cause the child to need to get control of something in their life. Regressing can sometimes be a sign of deep fears, loss of control or major changes in their lives.
• Is he Confused? If your child is standing up and then peeing, this could be that there is confusion with their own bodily functions. They may not have all the feelings in their body yet, to know when they have to go and when they sit down, these feelings are dampened further. This is the opposite of what usually happens when we sit down to pee, however it is not uncommon for a child to have mixed signals. In this case, it may be okay to let them go with no bottoms on or let them pee in the shower even, to ensure that they go when they are standing up.

There are many reasons or issues that can cause this behavior in kids, and trying to figure them out can lead many parents to feel frustrated. Remember the more frustrated and upset you are, the more your child feels it and will refuse to comply.

As a last result, you may consider letting your child go back into diapers. This will temporarily elevate the pressure on your child, and give you the time to figure out what is going on.

What to do after the baby is born?

Depending on the age of your child when you are potty training them, they may go through a period of potty training resistance. This is not that uncommon to have happen with a child. This can be especially true when a child is two when they are potty training and going through the terrible twos as well. At this age, they are more likely to exert control over their environment by not wanting to learn new things or refusing to learn to do things differently. Again, this is normal to have happen in many children, because learning something new can be very scary for them and saying no is their only way of having any control over what is happening to them.

However, potty training resistance can also happen when there is stress in their life too. This can be in the form of changes in the family, such as moving, a separation or divorce or a new baby entering the household. They can also resist if they are sick or not feeling well, a pet or family member has passed away or other stressors that have been happening to them that they can do nothing about. Resisting potty training when a new baby is being born is a pretty common time for children not to want to continue to potty train. Some reasons for their resistance can be:

• They are scared or nervous about a new family member coming into the home. This is a big change for them and they are used to things how they currently are. A new baby coming home means that everything is changing and they may be too young to understand these changes. This stress can make going to the bathroom more difficult on them, since their own body is still developing all the feelings to let them know when to go.
• They are the baby currently and no longer will be. Many children go through a period of regression when a new baby is coming home or has come home. They regress because what they are seeing is that a baby is receiving so much attention, so they behave in the same way to receive that same attention. Regression can happen with potty training, as well as other areas that your child has already learned, such as basic communicating, eating, etc.

At this time, instead of becoming upset about the fact that your child is resisting potty training, stay calm and understanding. These are some big changes that are happening to them and it can be difficult for them to take all of this in. You can go back to diapers temporarily if need be during this transition time. There is also going back to using training pants too if your child has been underwear during the day. This does not mean that the potty training has stopped, just that you are allowing your child to take a break from it and than come back to it once things have calmed down again.

The most common reason for many children is that going poop takes longer than going pee. She does have to sit there longer to go poop and it can be a little messy even and it does not always smell very good. This can be a huge deterrent for many girls. However, make sure that you are not saying that it is gross or yucky or smelly.

This will make her not want to go and could even make her think that going poop is a bad thing. Instead she needs to know that going poop on the potty is very normal and needs to happen too and that it is okay that it smells or that she has to wipe a few times to be clean.

Girls will sometimes also not poop in potty if the bathroom seems scary or the toilet is too big. If she is pooping on the big toilet with a potty seat on top, this may be too big for her and it can make her feel uncomfortable or scared when going.

Using a potty chair if possible to go poop may be a better choice until she is used to going poop on the potty and feels secure when doing it. She also may be scared having to be in the bathroom alone and trying to go poop. Keeping the door open or being in there with her can help with this as well.

However, if she does not want you in there, you can always stand outside the door when she goes so she knows you are there and that she is safe when going.

Another reason your daughter may not want to poop on the potty is that it hurts. If she is constipated and it is really hard for her to go or she is having diarrhea even, this will make her not want to poop and to hold her poop instead.

However, this can cause other serious medical problems when children hold their poop, so you want to look into what she is eating, make sure there are no food allergies there or if she has been taking medications for any reason that these are not the reason that she is having problems going poop on the potty.

The harder it is to go, the less likely she will want to. If she is crying and there is a lot of pain associated with going poop than you may also want to take her to her pediatrician to make sure about giving her a child laxative to go or what foods can be used to make going poop easier. The sooner you take care of this the better, since again this can lead to other medical problems when she is holding her poop.

For more poop potty training articles check out pottytrainingconcepts.com.

However, there are some things that can be done to make nighttime potty training go much smoother and so that they learn to wake up and use the bathroom too. Keep in mind that even with nighttime potty training, that your daughter still needs to be kept in training pants and not placed back into diapers.

This can be very confusing for a child when they are put back into diapers and it can make them want to start using them again, since they are use to them and they are easier for the child too. So, do keep your daughter in training pants at night even. But, what you can do it get plastic covers to put over the training pants so that if she does have an accident there will be less of a mess to clean up.

The covers go over the training pants and there are also waterproof training pants as well. These still let your child know that she is wet or soiled, without getting everywhere.

You can also have a cover over the bed too. These waterproof mattress pads keep the mattress dry in case of an accident as well. There are also some that come with a potty alarm on them. The alarm goes off and wakes your daughter should she go to the bathroom in the bed.

This is a great way to potty train her, since she is woken up and recognizes that she now needs to go use the bathroom. Along with these types of alarms, there are also potty watches that can be set to wake your daughter to remind her to use the bathroom too. This works very well, since she will be woken, before having an accident and it is also helping to teach her what her body feels like at night when she is sleeping and needs to use the bathroom.

Furthermore, you do want to make sure that she uses the bathroom before going to bed and gets into the habit of doing this. This will help cut down on accidents, as well as teachers her good habits of using the bathroom before bed and first thing in the morning too. There is also the option of cutting back on liquids prior to bed time, so that her bladder is not full when she goes to bed and this also means less chance of an accident too.

For more help check out potty training concepts : Bed Wetting Section.

5 Life Changes that cause regression:

• divorce or separation in the home
• a new baby entering the home
• a new house and move to a new home
• a death in the family or health issues
• sickness that has occurred

It is not uncommon to see regression in children when they become stressed about situations in the home, as well as the fact that all these changes occurring as well as trying to potty train can be difficult for them to handle and process. Learning to potty train for a child is a big achievement and for them it can be something that can cause stress while they are learning something new. So, when this is combined with other life changes too, it can be too much for a child to handle. With that in mind, the 5 life changes that were mentioned can cause stress and you can find your child no longer wanting to use the potty.

Divorce or separation:

Your child may become very confused by everything that is happening, as well as the fact too that the schedule that he has been on has changed too. This can be especially true when a parent is moving out and no longer do they have the same potty training schedule to go by. Also, the fact that your child will be in a different home environment now as well and have to become accustom to that bathroom to use. Allowing your child to take a brief break from potty training until things have calmed down a little bit is okay. You should let him know it is just a brief break and that you will go back to potty training in a week or something of that nature. Allowing him time to adjust to the new situation will mean he will be bettered prepared to start potty training again.

New Baby:

This can mean that your child may feel that they have to behave like a baby to receive the same attention as the new sibling is receiving. They may regress to get attention, since they could feel like they are not receiving as much as before, even when they are. In this instance, setting aside special time with your child can help with this and this includes the potty time too.

New Home:

Similar to a divorce or separation, moving to a new home can be scary for a child and they may not want to use the new bathroom. In this case making sure to decorate the bathroom again and have all his favorite items in there will make the adjustment and change much easier. In this case, there may not be any reason to actually stop potty training, but instead go slower with the potty training for a time until your child is adjusted to his new home.

Death:

If a family member has passed away, especially a sibling or parent, this will be a very upsetting time for a child that is potty training. Allowing your child to temporarily stop potty training will be okay, since they will be dealing with many emotions at this time. Give your child the time needed to cope with the loss and than go back to potty training once things are back on a more normal or routine schedule again.

Illness:

If your child has become sick or ill while potty training, they may not be able to feel that they need to go. Using training pants is okay, especially if your child is bed ridden due to illness.

For more information:

If you are looking for more advice on potty training regression, please check out http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/CTGY/Potty-Training-Regression.html.

No. They are not “training pants” in the sense that they are going to help you potty train your child.

They are a diaper, they pull moisture away from your child. They even have your child’s favorite characters, like big boy underwear do. So now your child gets the best of both worlds.

Using cloth training pants is what works! I understand why you want to use them, no clean up, easy to buy, just throw them away. But they are expensive and THEY DON’T WORK!

First, get the right materials for your child to be successful.

Check out our recommendations for Potty Training Pants.

Answer: Led by example! When you or other family members are in the bathroom, have him come in with you. Talk about going pee-pee and poop, while having him sit on his potty chair.

Being that he is a little young to start potty training make sure he shows the rest of the signs of readiness before starting full potty training.

Here are all the signs of readiness to look for:

1) Physiological readiness signs for potty training are (Bladder & Bowel Control) :

• Childs awareness of the need to go – demonstrated by squatting, grunting, hiding when child feels need to eliminate.
• No BM’s through the night
• Dry diaper for long periods of time i.e. from long naps and/or in the morning.
• Urinate a lot at one time (vs. a little through out the day)
• Some regularity of bowel movements.

2) Motor Skills readiness signs for potty training are:

• Is your child able to undress him/herself?
• Is your child able to pull his/her underpants down?
• Is your child able to pull his/her pants down?

3) Verbal and Cognitive readiness signs for potty training are:

• Your child can follow instructions – from simple instruction such as show me your nose, to more complex instructions such as putting away toys where they belong.
• Has the vocabulary required to follow your instructions – i.e. understands words such as potty, toilet, wet, dry, underwear, “big girl” etc.
• Is able to imitate behavior.

4) Emotional growth and social awareness readiness signs for potty training are:

• Desire to master one’s own body and environment – manifested by “I can do it” or “I am a big boy/girl now”
• Child’s desire for parental approval
• Child’s desire to imitate and desire to be like others

Answer: Sounds like he is “too big” to learn how to go potty, so have him “teach” someone else. Get a doll, put a diaper on it, then teach your son about how the doll can go potty. Once the doll knows how to go potty in a potty chair or toilet, have the doll stop wearing a diaper and where “big boy” underwear. Then have your son reenact the proper potty training behavior on the doll. Do this a few times (doesn’t have to be all in the same day). Make sure you fake an accident on the doll, to show your son what should happen in case of accidents.

By showing him on something else, you are still letting him feel like a big boy, but also teaching him about the potty. Potty Training Concepts has drink and wet dolls that come with water bottles, diaper and training pants.

Setting a timer is a good reminder, but don’t push it. If he doesn’t need to go, he doesn’t. Let him decide.

Another thing to try is toilet targets this makes potty training fun and it will grab his attention. Make it as fun as possible.