What to Do with My Son's Potty Regression.

I think your hunch is correct about that your son is upset about selling your house. He is too little to express to you his feelings (or all of his feelings) about this so it is coming out in his potty behavior. We have to put up our house for sale shortly and my 6 year old is having major problems with it, although at this point he is able to express it to me. Some of the things that I am doing to help my son are not getting rid of any of his toys. As much as this kills me because I don't want to move all of them as he has outgrown many of them, it is just too hard for him to give them up at this point. Another thing we are going to do is to make a picture book of our house so that he always will have a memory of it. My son is painting pictures of our house, but for your son you could take pictures and put them in a little book. I am not sure how far you are moving, but if your son's entire world is going to change then you could include other things in your book such as a picture of his favorite playground, etc. I think with the potty behvavior, just keep reminding him to go. It probably will pass in a week or two when combined with helping him with the house issue.

One more note, we also moved when my son was 2 1/2. I didn't realize it at the time, but it was really hard on my son, much more then I thought it would be. For example, prior to the move he would go to the doctor without any problems. After we moved, he literally sreamed the entire time we were at the (new) doctor. So, even though they are little it is hard for them to go througha change. it took my son a long time to get adjusted to all of the new things. In retrospect, I should have helped him more with all of the changes rather than just expecting him to roll with it.

Sounds like there could be a couple things at play.

First, as children grow, rarely does everything grow at the same rate. So, he may be bigger, and his kidneys are doing a great job, but his little bladder hasn't quite caught up yet and he hasn't adapted yet.

Second, he could be stressed about the changes going on as Mom F. said, or it could just be distracting for him.

It sounds like you are very busy right now, but try to take a couple steps back with your son. You don't need to go back to diapers, but gently remind and encourage him to use the bathroom. You may have to go back to attending him in the bathroom for awhile. Make it a postive, almost like a game. "How many times can we pee in the toilet today!" and teach him about hash marks or drop a marble in a jar. Do the same for poop. Consider a reward system.

He may also just be feeling the need for a little more attention. At a time when he hasn't missed the toilet, take a little time asside a couple times through the day, even if it is just 10 minutes or so, and focus on him with "special him time". It will give him some reassurance.

The idea of the house photo book by Mom F. is a fantastic idea, by the way. When we got rid of an old couch, we took pictures of it for my son, which helped him cope with the loss. And we talked about how other people were going to have it, who needed it more, and how happy it would make them...and then focused on the postives of what was replacing the couch. We gave him time to grieve and reflect. They may not have the words to communicate their grief or even understand the concept...but helping them to talk about it and acknowledging it and then teaching them how to put a positive spin on it can really help.

This as turned into a novella, my appologies ;)

Best of luck to you!

Get him to clean his own messes... do not put him back in the diapers. He knows that you are doing all the work so he doesn't have to.

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Good luck :)

Some potty accidents are due to constipation. (both urine and feces can be due to constipation). You can ensure he is not constipated by giving him magnesium. There is a product called 'kid calm' online that should do the trick. It gives dose recommendations.

Urinary tract infections can also cause urine accidents. (i'm not sure if they cause feces problems).

Changing homes may be really sad and/or frightening for him, and strong feelings often make potty training, another recent change, too much for a child, or as changes go, perhaps even relatively irrelevant. ("How can my mommy care so much about where I pee when our whole bathroom is going to be gone?!?")

I would have no theoretical problem with going back to diapers for awhile, because your son is at an age where he really, really WILL want to be trained for his own reasons very soon. I doubt that he'll be confused by simply allowing the whole issue to go away until you're happily settled in your new home.

But if fear or sadness about the change, or even concern about how distracted, tense and busy mommy and daddy seem right now, then you might be able to address the issue from an emotional direction. Begin envisioning what your new home will be like, particularly his own space and your new yard, talk up whatever positives you can imagine from his point of view. Tell him what won't change; the family structure, mealtimes, his bed and toys. The unknown probably looms large, and he may not be able to imagine anything good in it.

I love the idea of the photo book of his current home. My 4.5 grandson loves a photo book a family friend gave him for his first birthday – it's really meaningful for him. (He's moved twice since then, without apparent trauma, but the constancy of his "special people" still seems important to him.)

My son did that occasionally from 3 1/4 to recently (almost 4). We found that he overestimates his ability to hold his urine. So, we still reward him everyday that he is dry (he has a checklist of things to do each day [dry pants, take dishes to the sink, pick up toys, respect parents, etc.] that he gets a penny for every check [usually gets about 13/20 each day] and then he can use the money for buying toys and treats [he also gives some to church/charity]). We also sometimes have to make him go to the bathroom when he's having too much fun playing (take away all fun activities until he at least tries to go to the bathroom). Of course, we also moved two months ago, so maybe that was part of it too! Good luck with the move and the toileting.