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Home › Articles › Toilet Training › Trials of the Toilet Trained

Trials of the Toilet Trained

When Accidents Arise Later

By Tamar Weiss

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Victory and wonder are probably the two primary feelings a parent experiences having survived potty training a small child. And congratulations are certainly in order to both parent and child: to the parent for having persevered, and to the child for completing yet another stage of child development.

But don't be misled, learning to control one's bodily functions is one of the more challenging aspects of child development and one that will most likely involve setbacks. Once children have been successfully potty trained, it is still quite common for them to experience the occasional "accident." Fortunately, a little fine-tuning into your child and some effort in understanding why the accidents occur, can help well-meaning parents to react appropriately to and even diminish he mishaps.

Accidents Happen

"Accidents occur without warning," says Dr. Vicki Folds, early childhood expert and vice president of Tutor Time Learning Systems Inc. "If a child is feeling under the weather, is worried about something, has experienced a trauma in some form or another, these emotional and physical conditions may cause a disruption." Many children experience accidents when they become very involved in a certain task or activity as well.

"I noticed that my son had accidents for a while when he first started school," says Sandy Warbell, a mom from Milwaukee, Wis. "He was nervous and didn't like school much, but once he got used to it and began to enjoy himself, the accidents pretty much stopped." What is more frustrating for Warbell are the accidents her son has when he is watching videos. "He gets so engrossed. It's like he tunes out the whole world, including his need to use the toilet," she says.

One way to avoid such mishaps is "to always be prepared and think ahead," says Dr. Folds. If a child has trouble pulling him or herself away from an activity in order to use the toilet, a parent can "prompt the child by asking them every hour or taking them to the bathroom ... every hour, which will help them get the idea," she says. Adequate preparation is also crucial. This means always have a change of clothing and underwear in case an accident does occur.


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