20 Questions to ask if your Child is Struggling with Potty Training

Are you struggling with potty training your toddler?

Is the three-day method, or Oh Crap! potty training method not working for you?

Then, you’re in the right place. During my years of helping parents potty train their child, I found that potty training struggles usually come down to five areas: physiological-readiness, emotional-readiness, behavior, sensory-sensitivities, and anxiety.

Find out what area your child may be struggling in by answering the questions below.

Physiological Readiness:

1. Can they recognize their body signals of when the have to pee and poop (i.e. interoception- awareness)?

2. Can they hold their pee and poo and make it to the toilet in time?

3. Can they pull down their underwear (or diapers) and pants and then pull them back up again?

4. There are no current issues with urinary incontinence and constipation.

Emotional Readiness:

1. Are they interested, or excited to go pee and poop in the potty?

2. Are they ready to give up the diaper and ready to wear underwear?

3. Are they anxious about accidents, or not doing it perfectly? Did they have an accident and now they are afraid to try going in the potty again?

Behavior:

1. No current power struggles where they are refusing to go, or withholding their pee, or poop. This behavior can be seen with strong-willed children, spirited children, and some gifted children (including other temperaments not listed).

2. Does your kid struggle with transitioning from a highly-preferred activity to try go to the bathroom?

3. Can they stop what they are doing to respond to their body cues to go?

Sensory Sensitivities:

1. Are they sound-sensitive to the flush? In public settings, are they sound-sensitive to echoey sounds, lots of kids/people talking at once, the hand dryer, and/or other loud noises encountered in the bathroom?

2. Are they tactile-sensitive to the temperature of the seat, or water splashing on them from the toilet?

3. Are they averse to the smell of the bathroom, such as cleaning agents, or the smell of their own poop?

4. Are they sensitive to the bright lights encountered in public restrooms?

Anxiety:

1. Are they afraid to poop in unfamiliar places, in public, and/or in front of other people?

2. Are they afraid of change?

3. Are they afraid that they are losing of a part of their body when they poop?

4. School: Are they afraid to be in a small stall?

5. Do they feel parental (or caregiver) pressure to be potty-trained by a set deadline?

6. Are they encountering big changes in their life right now which impact their willingness to start potty training? For example, birth of a new sibling, changing classrooms, changing teachers, moving rooms, grandparents living with them, or getting back from a long vacation.

If you noticed that your child is struggling with any of these areas and it may be impacting potty training, please book a session with me to create an action plan.