Hello:
My 2 year old decided that she wanted to potty train a few months ago and I was thrilled. Within 2 weeks of wearing "big girl underpants," she was regularly going in the potty - #1 & #2! - with very few accidents. This past month, she's been leaking a few drops in her pants before she tells me she needs to go...which I've tried to avoid by asking her in advance. This sometimes works, sometimes not. I've also given her extra rewards for staying dry.
In the last week, however, she's decided that it's OK to simply stand there and pee all over the floor! This happens at our house and our sitter's house! She's not bothered by this at all and acts as though it's totally fine.
Granted, she's dealing with two big changes right now - the addition of her new brother and a brand new house we just moved into - so I can understand.
But my question is...does anyone have any new techniques that work with this kind of regression? Stickers and candy just aren't doing it anymore. Thanks!
You're right, it's the changes in her life. Most kids regress with a new sibling. Put her in pull ups or cloth training pants with a cover, she'll let you know when she's ready to go back to training.
Hi J.,
I'm glad to see your post. My daughter, also 28 months, is doing the exact same thing. She was totally potty trained and doing fine and now it's like she doesn't realize she has to go until she her panties are wet. I have talked to so many of my mama friends and the consensus seems to be that it's just a natural regression perhaps because she potty trained so early. I can tell by my daughter's reaction that she doesn't feel bad or care about having the accidents. I'm almost at my wits end with the accidents. I'm not going to let her go back to diapers....so I'm just backing up and taking her to the potty very frequently. Yesterday was a good day....so maybe this phase will pass. Good luck! I'll be interested to read your responses to see if anyone has any magic advice!
:) K.
i was there just a few months ago with my two year old!! we were dry and happily potty trained for at least a month, then her new sister showed up and it was accidents all the time and we finally had to just go back to diapers... but the good news is she was only in diapers for about two months, and one day when grandma and grandpa were visiting she decided to be a big girl and has been wearing panties since!! we just waited for her to decide that she was ready to do it again-- she knew how, she just wanted to "be a baby" for a while with all the changes in our family. AND, guess what, she's even been dry during naps and nighttime a few times lately!!! yahoo!!!
my advice would be let her make the choice to go potty. forcing it now, especially with your attention devided with the new sibling, is just going to cause stress and temper tantrums... so just be patient and let her figure it out. we let her choose every day if she wanted a diaper or underwear, and eventually she wanted the underwear. if she had an accident i put her back in diapers. we told her she had to keep her panties dry if she wanted to wear them. good luck!
This just happened with my grandson. My daughter had to put him back in a diaper. He refused to use the potty and we know he can and knows when. She is going to wait a few months and in the meantime does not mention the potty at all. He does go in and go once in a while.
Her world just got rocked bigtime - new baby and new house. Both are extremely traumatic for a young child. Put her back in diapers, give the potty a break for a few weeks and then talk with her again about it and ask if she's ready. Let her regress for awhile... it's a healthy way for a 2 year old to cope with her changing world. After a few months, if she hasn't asked, gently start prompting her again and encouraging her to go.
Stickers and candy never worked with my oldest. He collected tokens (poker chips) for sitting on the toilet, going pee in toilet and going poop in toilet. He could then exchange them for several things.... 5 tokens was an extra 1/2 hour of TV (normal limit of 1 hour a day) or 1/2 hour of playstation2, 10 tokens was going out for ice cream (something only done a couple times a year so a Big Deal) and 20 tokens was new small lego set.
Potty training a toddler and new baby do not go together! Add a new house and you may as well forget it for now. I suggest going back to pull-ups or even diapers until she is adjusted to the newness of everything. My boys are just under 2 yr apart and I refused to even think about potty training son #1 until the baby was a few months old. I chose to have 2 in diapers until we all were ready. Talk to your daughter - as much as you can with a 2 yo and camly tell her that if she keeps going potty in her panties, she will go back to diapers or pull-ups. Don't make it as a bad thing if she goes back. When she is ready next time it will be a snap to train her. Right now the baby is getting attention - baby wears a diaper and it is probably hard for her not being the baby anymore. This is very normal for this age. If you don't make a big deal over going backward for awhile, life will be much easier for you and your daughter. It probably won't be long before she is ready to try it again. Best wishes for your new baby and new house. God bless you!
Carol B
My 11 year old trained herself early too, the only thing that worked for me was making her wear pull ups again, until she stopped. She hated the bulky feeling of them after getting to wear underpants. Good luck.
This still sometimes happens even with my 5 year old. They get so busy and don't want to take the time to actually go in and go potty, that they end up going in the pants.
The only thing we've found that works is tying stuff to it. If she wants to play on the computer - go potty first. If she wants to go outside and play - potty first. If she wants to watch a show - potty first. Everything is "go potty first, then we can do what you want to do."
Good luck!
