Although we are potty trained in our household with two of our three girls, I feel like it is one of those topics every mommy and daddy struggles with. Potty training either goes SLOWLY or your child just “gets it” and is trained in no time. Having trained two little ones (one with ease and one that took some time), I feel I have some tips and tricks that can ease the troubles when learning to go to the restroom at the right time and place.
Our youngest (born) three-year-old child has been potty trained for a good 4 months now and things were going GREAT! We were having ZERO accidents and only wearing pull-ups at night…and waking up dry 50% of the time. We felt that Delise was on her way to a pull-up free life in just a few short weeks.
Then something happened…the idea of being in underwear, stopping what she was doing to use the restroom, and the novelty of being a “big girl” wore off. Potty accidents started creeping into her day and she started wetting the bed during nap time. I found myself getting frustrated day by day at her lack of care for being “dry” anymore. Why was this “Potty Trained little 3 year old” going backwards with her milestones?
My first born child couldn’t have been easier to potty train. It went smoothly and frustration levels never hit the roof. In fact, I was amazed at how easy it was. So, naturally I thought it would be that easy with my second child. She was showing all signs of being ready: She wanted to sit on the potty, refused to wear a pull-up and only wanted underwear, wanted to be like her big sister, etc., etc. As we started this potty training journey, I soon realized that it was going to cause headaches, frustration and doubt that it was ever going to happen. I obviously know she will get there eventually, but the reality set in when after 4 weeks of trying and trying some more, sitting on the potty for several minutes at a time, and cleaning up more messes I care to count, there was something going on more than just potty training.
I put a message on my Facebook wall to ask for help from some seasoned momma’s and that is when several people reached out to me about Delise’s Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD). Duh! Why hadn’t it occurred to me that this could be related to SPD? So, like I do in true Mary fashion, I started researching it and looking into books about it (thanks Julie). I was AMAZED at what I started reading and how SPD and potty training go hand in hand! Here is what I found: