Finally! It has happened.. your child is going potty. Besides your overwhelming feelings of excitement and pride, you no long have to change (or, even better) purchase diapers. But what happens when your child stops going and starts having accidents? It seems all too sudden- all that work for nothing? If this potty regression occurs with your child, it can be very frustrating, but there are ways in which you can help your child overcome this obstacle.
1.) The first rule of thumb is to not get down on your child. Never tell them they are “in trouble” because they wets their pants and or wet the bed. It is called an “accident” for a reason and chances are your child’s regression is not deliberate. Although laziness can be attributed to regression, the situation at hand still needs to be handled delicately.
2.) By handled delicatley, I mean try acting (at first) like it is no big deal. I’d say “Oh it’s okay! It happens!..next time we will go to the potty”. If you lose your cool, your child may get discouraged, and fixing this problem will become even more difficult. Even have them help you wash their soiled sheets/clothes so they are now able to identify that having an accident is in fact, a mistake that isn’t supposed to happen.
3.) If the regression continues and your child has decided to “neglect” the potty all together, please do not immediately run to the diaper aisle at the supermarket. Put your child in the driver seat for a week- over the course of that week, if they keep having accidents, hopefully they will get sick of wetting themselves and having to wash/change clothes with you that maybe the result of this will be that they start running to the potty again!
4.) If this method fails, remember there is no harm in going back to the drawing board. No shame in starting over (sounds crazy, time-consuming, obnoxious, and “ugh not again!”, trust me I know). However, you must fix this before your child starts attending school regularly. If you did not try it the first time, use a potty chart- make it a craft project too..have your child help you pick a print-out from the internet (see link below), (or make it yourself with rulers) and decorate it with foam stickers, feathers, colored pencils, crayons, etc. Good luck & have fun, potty training is one of the many experiences you will only have once with your child!
The Nifty Nanny 