When potty training gets messy

My New Life

Is your child refusing to sit on the toilet? Or waiting until the pull-up is on to go poop? You’re not alone. For a lot of parents, the potty learning process is more drawn out than we anticipate. For some, it takes months or even years.

In previous episodes, you heard some common potty-training scenarios. We shared the advice of the author of Oh Crap Potty Training and Nicole Kavanaugh’s Montessori approach. In today’s episode, Host Jessica Rolph welcomes Quiara Smith, an occupational therapist specializing in pediatric pelvic floor health, to help with the trickier cases when it comes to learning potty etiquette.

Highlights:

[1:42] What scenarios are most common in Quiara’s practice?

[2:28] What are Quiara’s recommendations for a child who is withholding poop until nap time or night?

[3:25] What if the child’s sensory system is overwhelmed?

[4:55] Is there anything that parents can do to create a more favorable environment in the bathroom for their child?

[6:46] A specific potty challenge scenario from one of Lovevery's listeners.

[8:42] How firmly should parents hold boundaries around the use of diapers to poop?

[9:46] A listener asks a question about how we can help a toddler to differentiate between a diaper and pull-ups/training pants.

[12:26] How can parents help their children to transition from the potty to the toilet? Listen to a parent whose child has been rejecting the regular toilet for almost a year.

[15:24] What to do when your child uses the potty at school, but not at home? Or visa versa.

[17:33] What can parents do when their child is withholding to the point of constipation?

[20:09] What is the average time frame for learning to use the potty? Is there a point at which parents should seek outside help?

[21:40] What do parents do if their child is potty trained and then experiences a regression?

[22:36] Quiara shares tips to continue potty training while traveling.

[24:09] Quiara’s final advice.

[25:37] Jessica gives her takeaways from the conversation with Quiara Smith.

Mentioned in this episode:

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Listen to Perspectives on Toileting with the Author of 'Oh Crap! Potty Training' and A Montessori Perspective on Toilet Learning.

Find additional tips on potty training on the Lovevery blog at lovevery.com.