Potty Training Regression - Lakeland,FL

I did not have this problem but I think that I would go back to step one with the potty training. Just start back at the beginning with constantly asking him if he needs to go potty and taking him to the potty. I would also work out a reward system, he gets a sticker every time he goes in the potty and maybe even after the end of the week if he has so many stickers then he gets to do something fun...go for ice cream with mommy...something that he would really look forward to but if he doesn't get the required number of stickers then he does not get the reward.

If he doesn't respond to this method then I personally would think that a little discipline may be in order. I only say that because he is/was potty trained and he knows to go in potty and not in his pants.

My daughter had been potty trained for a while when she started having "accidents" and I thought that she was having the accidents because she was getting so engrossed in whatever that she was doing that she was just waiting to long. I thought that up until the day that she had been playing in her play area, stood up, walked away from her toys, spread her legs and peed on the floor through her panties. I told her that that was not okay that pee pee goes in the potty not on the floor and I put her in her room for a time out. My daughter absolutely despises time out and needless to say we have never had an intentional "accident" again. So I know that a lot of people say do not discipline at all but in some cases I know for a fact that it works.

Good luck and lots of patience.

M. N.

Please don't discipline him - these things happen and are totally normal. I think the less of a deal you make about it the more likely he is to correct it on his own.

Try to be patient and don't panic! We went through this with my now 6 year old. The same MO took place, we thought she was trained and then she would suddenly seem to regress. She has done this many times over the years since she has been trained. We called and visited the pediatrician for advice many times. We tried rewards, going back to diapers, sticker charts, ignoring the problem until she cleaned it herself...(when she was 4 and 5) but nothing seemed to permanently fix the problem. The pediatrician didn't seem to have much to offer. At around age 4 1/2 she also started complaining of tummy aches often. The ped said she was constipated and placed her on a stool softener.
We finally discovered just in the last 3 months that she is lactose intolerant and whenever she eats dairy, she is prone to frequent "potty accidents". So here I was racking my brain and worrying about everything but what the real problem was for all those years. My advice is to just be patient. Start with rewards for the potty. If the problem doesn't clear up...try eliminating dairy or wheat for several days and see if this solves it.

My son had this problem when he first started pre-school a few weeks ago, I think he was confused about being somewhere else and with people he wasn't familiar with. Anyway, it went on for a few days and he seemed to get over it at home. Now each day with I drop him at school or with Grandma I just remind him to tell them when he has to go. He made it through school today with NO accidents.

I think the other big thing, and possibly the harder thing, you will have to do is tell grandma ABSOLUTELY NO diapers under ANY circumstances. I be sure to pack several extra changes of clothes for my little one when he is going to somewhere other than home.

Good luck!

My only thought on this is a frustrating one to hear. Maybe he just isn't ready for potty training. I don't mean stop altogether, but I wonder if his early success was simply the excitment of being a big boy and the cool underwear, etc. That was the case with my oldest and several other kids I know... not surprisingly all were boys. I know several boys who were not potty trained until around age 3 because they simply were not ready. My son was just at 2 1/2 (30 months) when he suddenly started to show interest he hadn't in months. Suddenly he didn't want to have accidents and be covered in poop or pee. Suddenly it was important to him to use the potty each time. He potty trained completely in virtually one weekend. I don't think it's always that easy, but I do think many kids have a way of letting you know when they are or aren't ready. If he was 3 1/2 and still having this problem, I might start to worry and talk to his doctor. At 2 1/2 I'd say it's just plain normal. I'm sure you'll get plenty of advice on bribing him, having the right potty, and the right books of advice, but I just thought I'd throw the 'maybe not ready' pitch in too. Hopefully it will happen smoothly when he really does start showing an interest. And kudos to you on raising 2 little ones so close in age. You must be exhausted! Good luck and best wishes.