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Potty training resistance - are you in the middle of it?
If you have been potty training for any length of time, you have probably run into the problem of resistance.
I have potty trained four children, two boys and two girls, and I can tell you resistance is very normal.
But not fun for either you or your child!
Let's take a look at what you can do to help your child overcome toilet training problems.
Potty training resistance helps.
First of all, it's helpful to think about the reason or reasons your toddler is being resistant to potty training.
It's impossible to know for sure, of course, what's going on in the mind of your toddler or preschooler, but here are some common potty training issues that can cause resistance and stop the process in it's tracks.
As a mom or dad, you simply want your child toilet trained as quickly and seamlessly as possible.
Your child, however, doesn't care about any of that.
And that's where the potty training problem comes into existence.
Your child wants to play. He wants everything to be easy. When you introduce potty training to him, it seems like a great new game. You make it sound easy and fun. Your child is totally interested in the whole thing.
Then he tries it.
It's probably tougher than he thought. The fun has worn off. And the worse part? According to Mom and Dad, he can never stop playing this game. Truthfully, he feels done playing this game.
See the resistance this can set up?
To handle potty training problems caused by boredom, string out the "fun" until your child's toilet habits are firmly in place. You're aiming for this potty process to become second nature and that will take time.
The ideal process here? When you are figuring out when to start potty training you will plan to stretch out the small prizes and fun that you will use to motivate your child.
If you've already begun training your toddler, that's okay. Simply do a restart. Tell your child that you know how hard she's been working at going in the potty and now it's time to move onto the next part of potty training.
Your child will interpret that idea as new and interesting and be ready to cooperate for this new phase. Only you need know this is a restart born out of frustration!
Lack of focus is a very real potty training problem. You already know your child has the ability to focus for only short periods of time.
You can't forget that just because you are tired of the potty training process.
If you have a household schedule that means potty training is being "fit in" around everything else; expect toilet training success to take a long time and have repeated regressions.
If you would like to change that, schedule short, concentrated sessions of intense potty training (sitting on the potty every hour as determined by a timer, for example), with total patience and a matter-of-fact attitude. Do this for several days; if your toddler responds well to this, slide into a more relaxed but still structured schedule.
If your toddler doesn't seem to be making progress, back off for a week or so and repeat the process. What you're doing with this idea is helping your child mature his focus for increasingly longer periods of time as related to his newfound bathroom habits.
Remember, there are lots of ways to effectively potty train your child. The best advice I can offer you is to be patient and flexible and expect the process to be just that, a process, not simply toilet training in less than a day.
When potty training bowel movements are the issue of resistance, keep in mind that only your child can control his pooping, not you.
Frustrating, isn't it?
Some potty trainees resist putting their bowel movements in their potty chair because they're scared of the pooping process.
Some other children recognize that they have control over this process and it's a way for them to stay little a bit longer.
The fact that Mom or Dad rants and raves over this potty training thing is just plain fascinating.
I, too, experienced this potty training problem with more than one of my children. From my vantage point now, I would tell myself to be more understanding of my child's need to GRADUALLY grow up and to purposely allow her the chance to grow a little, stop a bit, then push forward when ready.
Never forget that if your toddler or preschooler is frustrated or angry with you, you have lost their cooperation in the process and you WILL experience potty training problems.
If you suspect this is the case with your little one, you must be the mature one and back off, giving serious thought to how you can diffuse this situation.
Consider this: if a child is physically and emotionally ready for potty training, once a child decides to become toilet trained, he or she will train themselves very quickly.
Your job as the parent is to help them WANT this process over time. This means you must consider your child's unique personality as well as how the two of you relate together. This information will help you formulate a potty training plan which works with your child's natural inclinations and keeps resistance at bay.
Potty training problems - A summary.
- Watch out for boredom.
- Keep'em focused on the main thing.
- When it comes to pooping problems, be an understanding buddy.
- Avoid power struggles and you avoid much resistance.
Above all, remember potty training is a process of developing healthy toilet habits for a lifetime. Your child will potty train! This is only the first of many processes of learning together you will experience with your child. Make it as positive and matter-of-fact as possible and you'll both be happy with the outcome.
Popular potty training topics.
Potty Training Child
A list of all of our articles to help you while potty training your child.
Toilet Training Tips
Many times just one new piece of toilet training advice that I hadn't considered before was just the help I needed to help my child over a potty training hump.
Potty Training Boy
Additional tips to help if you are potty training a boy (I've trained two boys myself).
Potty Training Girls
Specific tips to help potty training for girls move smoothly (I've trained two girls myself).
Colleen Langenfeld is a mother with over 29 years of parenting experience and helps other busy moms around the globe at www.paintedgold.com.
Note from Colleen: Remember, I earn my living making excellent recommendations to you, Mom, so when you choose to click any of the links on this website and make a purchase, I may earn a commission.
Naturally, that means I care about what you think! If you try a product or service I recommend, I'd love to hear from you. How else can I keep my recommendations top notch for all my visitors?
And thank you, for stopping by.
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