Regression

Our 2 year old daughter regressed for a couple of weeks, and we just kept pushing her to make it to the potty in time. Give her a little treat like a couple M&Ms when she does it without an accident and it will work out. Our daughter is doing really good now. The only problem we have is if she has something like diarrhea.

My friend's daughter did this, too, except she'd been potty trained for much longer. As my friend was talking to me about it, I had an insight that hopefully was useful.
I know that in my life, when I learn something new, at first I have to put a lot of effort into learning it and doing it. But after a while, I want to not put so much energy into it. So I try to put it on "auto." And that's when I get a little "sloppy" and make some mistakes.

When kids are learning to walk, it's very deliberate. They try very hard not to fall. But after a while, they start to put it on "auto," trying to walk without having to think about it so much. They try to be able to walk and look at things at the same time. That's when they don't see the step or the toy and they trip. But they learn and keep trying to put it on auto until walking is second nature.

When I try a new recipe, I read the instructions carefully, and then end up reading them several times while I'm cooking, to make sure I'm doing it right. But my 3rd or 4th time, I'm usually in a hurry and I try to cook it without spending as much effort on it. I usually make a few mistakes, but the next time I make less, and so on, until I'm good at making that recipe quickly.

So hopefully, your daughter is trying to put her potty training on "auto." She doesn't want to have to spend the rest of her life asking herself, "do I need to go potty right now?" So she's trying to play and not think about going potty while still recognizing that she needs to go. She's bound to make mistakes.

If that's what's going on, you may have to remind her to think about it every so often.

Another thought is that sometimes kids don't want to pull themselves away from their toys. Now that she's confident in her potty abilities, she may get the feeling she needs to go, but thinks, "I'll go in a minute, because I don't want to stop playing," and then she can't hold it.

Maybe that's not it at all, but I thought I'd throw that out there.

With patience. She potty trained very young it seems so regression is pretty par for the course.
Make sure she doesn't have a urinary tract or bladder infection or something like that too. Is she going more frequently then she used to? Drinking more? Molars can be painful but I wouldn't think they had anything to do with pottying.

My daughter potty trained at 26 mos and had to have her tonsils out, then broke her knee, then had a little brother within that following year!!! We bounced back and forth with regression numerous times and I just stepped back at that point, put pullups back on and waited until she was ready again. Some say pullups are not worth it or don't work, however after potty training two kids they were perfect in my book! :) If she continues with accidents, then it becomes stressful for you and her to have to change underwear, do all that laundry and be paranoid.

Just remember she is young, keep her intake of fluids minimal enough and keep taking her to the potty. DO NOT WAIT for her to ask you or tell you and do not ask her if she has to go, just take her every hour and a half and ask her to please try.

T.,

As a Life Coach specializing in family relations I have a couple of questions for you:
1. What was your reaction to her "accidents"?
2. What was her and your reaction to the molars?
3. What is the message that you give her everytime she has an "accident"? Is it supportive or belittling?

With my whole heart,
C. TLC (Transition Life Coach)

When my daighter did this we found that she had a bladder infection. Might be something to check out.

We used the reward system for potty training. Worked great for all my kids except my middle daughter. She did good enough to earn the rewards but after we took the rewards away she stopped going to the bathroom. It was like she had never gone potty at all. So we had to change how we did things with her, to make it worth her while to go potty. We changed the rewards, made them smaller and the longer she used the potty, the bigger the reward.
Also alot of times, kids get distracted and just forget. Unfortunately for us, potty training never stopped after a few weeks, but we were constantly checking on them and questioning them about the potty and double checking things, and that could last for several months depending on the child. So it may just be that she needs to you be more involved in the process for her.
I would advise against pullups with her being so young. I think pullups are great for older kids or strictly for night time but in younger kids, I have noticed it confuses them and they think its a diaper.

Regression is normal and to be expected. Little tiny children are not "lazy", and are not miniature adults.

Put her in pull-ups for a while and don't mention the situation at all. It will eventually change again.