Each, even a small achievement of the child, not only does not go unnoticed, but also becomes a whole event. The life of a child, especially at a young age, is full of surprises, and one such example is a situation when a child stopped going to the potty. This article will describe what happened and how to help the child and yourself.
Causes
There may be many reasons that the child went to the potty and now stopped asking. Here we describe only the most common ones.
- The main reason is the so-called crisis age. In young children, as in adults, it also happens, such periods occur at 2, 3 and 4 years. In each of these periods, the child begins a sharp development of the nervous system. He quickly grows psychologically, begins to understand some things and think differently. There are many theories about what this age is due to, but the conclusion always remains one - the crisis stage occurs in almost every child, and it is necessary to survive it correctly.
- Stressful situation. If at an older age children will be attracted by something new, then, being small, they emotionally perceive any change of environment, move, replenishment in the family, or, conversely, the departure of one of the family members, the appearance of a pet, and even the acquisition of new technology. Of all the above factors, the most stressful are parental conflicts and moving.
- In addition to quarrels between parents, the child can be influenced by his own conflicts with them. The difficult relationship between young children and their parents is a separate topic. A small child can be angry with his parents, he can be jealous, and demand attention, which will indirectly be the reason that he changed his habits.
- Teething can be one of the main reasons. In addition to the fact that the child stops going to the potty, he can be very sick.
- Development leaps. Children are characterized by intellectual leaps both towards development and "back". There is nothing wrong with the latter, the child will eventually learn to cope with all the difficulties and responsibilities to which he gets used to. The reason for such changes can be severe fright or a traumatic situation.
- The child just doesn't want to do anything. He knows that mom or another family member will fix everything, just call them.
- Kindergarten. It happens that after starting a visit to kindergarten, a child develops a persistent hostile attitude towards the potty. The reason may be the wrong attitude of the educators, and the associations caused in this regard.
What to do?
To begin with, the traditional approach of criticizing the child is wrong and ineffective.
Don't make every trip to the toilet a punishment.
Of course, the best thing to do is to figure out the problem of why the pot has become objectionable again and start taming again. The pot should be offered unobtrusively, but regularly. Some pediatricians and child psychologists recommend sculpting the waste generated by the child from plasticine and putting them in a pot. It is important to do this together with the child, and one day he will again ask for a potty.
It is recommended to use the technique of "reward" for going to the pot only on rare occasions. Basically, this strategy only exacerbates the problem and can bring more difficulties. Not only will the child become moody and restless, he will also demand sweets and toys for each trip to the pot.
Another effective way is to dress together. From the age of 2, the child already perfectly understands the words addressed to him, so you should talk to him, explain how uncomfortable it is to walk in wet clothes, help him change clothes. It is important not to do everything on your own, but together with the child. The chances of it working the first time are pretty low, so regularity and patience are important here. A huge role in this process is played by the fact that the baby will eventually get tired of being distracted from games for a long time, which is necessary for a change of clothes.
Simply put, it is the fear of an uncomfortable state, and not of punishment or parents, that should be the motivation for the child. The kid realizes that if he sits in wet clothes, he will freeze.
This approach can affect the habits of a relatively large child over 3 years old, it will be more difficult for younger children to understand. At the same time, it is important to keep the child in decent conditions and a warm room to avoid subsequent health problems, which can be caused by wet clothes.
Parenting advice
In addition to professional advice, there are also recommendations from parents and grandmothers. Their effectiveness has been proven by time and personal experience. Some of them are presented below.
- The child's interest can be aroused by a new bright pot, which must be comfortable. A beautiful accessory can make you want to try it out.
- The peers of the baby can also help in this matter; by their example, he can also start using the pot.
- Only in extreme cases is it worth contacting specialists in the field of child psychology. As a rule, the situation requires intervention if there are also a number of other serious problems in the child's behavior. Most often it is recommended to solve this problem in a familiar home environment.
- An additional motivator for the little one can be the approval and positive emotions of the parents, which they will demonstrate after each successful trip to the potty.
- If the child starts using the potty after a break, and does something wrong, in no case raise his voice or force him to clean. This attitude can lead to the baby's dislike for both you and the pot.
Remember that if the child has given up the pot, then this means that he is under the influence of a stressful situation. Only you, as a parent, can organize a correct, systematic and effective approach to your child's problem.
For information on what parents should do if the child stops going to the potty, see the next video.
