Regression in Potty Training - Barrington,IL

A real test of patience, isn't it? We're going thru the same thing with our three year old son and there's not a new baby around. Seems that he's just being stubborn or took on the 'been there-done that' attitude. It was suggested to us to let him make the decision to either wear underwear or pull-ups (some toddlers want the opportunity to make the decision themselves since they may feel like they're always being told what to do) but we just stick to what we've been doing... rewarding him w/ small surprises when his potty chart is full of stickers and praising him all the way. Recently we've been having him help clean up himself and the mess to teach him personal accountability. Seems to be working a bit... hopefully he'll get tired of fetching clean clothes and being part of the clean-up crew :) I'm going to keep watch and see what other moms suggest too!

S., take your time. It's normal for her to feel a bit overwhelmed by baby, esp. if baby is taking up "her" time. She may also not like the wet feeling in her pullups, too..Sometimes kids wont like the pullups anymore, and will want to go to big girl pants..Just take your time, it will happen, not an unusual thing..

Hi there S.,

Hang in there. My daughter did the same thing when we were making big changes around the house. I just stayed positive with her. I always told her that it's ok, we'll just try harder next time to make it to the toilet. Eventually, she stopped on her own. In the meantime see about getting one of those mattress covers that have the plastic weaved into it. We use those, so that the mess in her bed is easily cleaned up. ;)

Good luck to you!

C.
www.EnhanceYourWayOfLife.com

My daughter did the same thing at age 4 when I had my twins. It was incredibly frustrating, since she hadn't had an accident of any sort in well over a year. My pediatrician gave us wonderful advice. He said to just love her up, tell her one time "I'm sorry you had another accident, but let's use use the toilet instead of peeing in your bed or underwear," and then to just ignore it - otherwise she would learn to feed off of the attention received for a negative behavior. We cleaned it up as if it were no big deal (although with clenched teeth at times!) Because our twins took up SO MUCH time in the beginning, and after the first 2 weeks, it was just me alone in the house with all 3, I recognized that she just wanted to be an important part of the process. So I gave her "jobs." She was in charge of fetching diapers, picking out baby sleepers and blankets, and when I would breastfeed them, she would bring me water and snacks (like goldfish or cheerios that we could share). She did all of those things with such a feeling of pride and importance, that the "accidents" stopped almost immediately. She became so caring towards her brother and sister and me. It was really sweet. Having even just one new baby in the house is hard on a little girl. In our case, we found a new way to bond, and now at 6, she knows and understands that she is so special because she's the person who turned us into us parents in the first place. Good luck!