Having a Baby

Potty regression is when your child, after having made significant progress with potty training, suddenly does a complete 180-degree turn and regresses to soiling his or her diapers again.

This is no doubt a frustrating experience for parents who may feel as though all of the hard work they put into training their child has suddenly been “flushed down the toilet” (pun intended)!

In fact, you may feel as though you have ended up back at square one again, having to reteach your child. Because your child is not able to effectively articulate his or her emotions, it is difficult for parents to understand why this has occured.

Why would your child suddenly, out of the blue, decide to go back to soiling the diapers rather than waiting to go on the toilet, like he or she had already become quite adept?

Is your child doing this intentionally? Is your child consciously and deliberately acting counter to your training and doing what they aren’t supposed to be doing? Or is this an unintentional response to some unknown, external factors at play here, that need to be dealt with properly?

The fact of the matter is that potty regression could be caused by any number of factors, be they external or be they internal.

Perhaps it could have been triggered by some significant change in the child’s life that is going on.

Perhaps it is a change in the environment, in your living arrangements, in the weather, in your child’s health, in your life’s circumstances, or a recent event. As a reaction, your child may be (either consciously or unconsciously) reverting to the comfort and safety of the the familiar.

The key to helping your child overcome potty regression is to be able to pinpoint and to be able to understand the triggers that may have inadvertently caused your child to enter this regressive phase to begin with.