When potty party ends, try to relax

By Angie Wagner | For The Associated Press • Published November 16, 2008

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My first daughter was a breeze to potty train, once she decided for herself that she wanted to do it.

After she was officially potty trained, she never really had an accident in public. (There was one time when we were on vacation and ducks surrounded her, trying to get at her Cheerios, but that was the only accident.)

For preschool we were asked to bring a change of clothes for our child in case of an accident. I was baffled by this. Why would she need a change of clothes?

Then came child No. 2.

I started potty training 2-year-old Aubrey when my older daughter went to kindergarten, figuring it would give us lots of time together with few distractions in the morning.

Short-lived success

The first two weeks did not go well. But during week three, something clicked and my daughter became human. She eagerly went on the potty and told me every time she had to go.

I stopped asking her whether she needed to go because she always told me herself. I thought I was done.

A few weeks later, she had an accident. She did it again the next day, and the next, and the next. What the heck?

I was completely confused. The accidents were happening at home, not when we were in public. She used the bathroom three times at a birthday party, but couldn't remember to go at home? Something didn't make sense.

Now I was getting mad. I changed the reward system from giving her a piece of candy each time she went on the potty to creating a sticker chart. If she got every box on the chart filled out with a sticker, then she would get a Barbie doll.

With only one box left to fill, I figured the Barbie was hers that day. Nope. She went in her pants outside our house while I was unloading groceries.

What's the deal?

So what's up with potty training regression, and why do kids do it?

Toddlers can reverse on the potty training for many reasons — stress such as a new baby's arrival, a father going away in the military, starting a new daycare or even an illness can cause it, said Dr. Suzanne Dixon, a behavior and developmental pediatrician in Great Falls, Mont.