Common Toilet Training Problems in Young Children with Solutions

For parents, potty training their kids is one of those activities that makes them worry with fear. Having seen your child poop and pee in his diapers all this while, shifting that to the pot can be quite a challenge. There are numerous toddler potty training problems that you might come across, and the results of each one of those will be disturbing for everyone around. That being said, training your child to use the potty sooner than later is extremely important and cannot be taken lightly.

What Is the Normal Age for Potty Training

Potty training is an aspect that varies from kid to kid. Some kids are potty trained by the time they are a year and a half. While others take their own sweet time and embrace the pot by the time they reach 3 or 4 years of age.

Potty Training Problems and Their Solutions

Many parents compare potty training to an army regiment. Although the comparison might be far-fetched, there is a certain degree of discipline required in doing so. And that is purely due to the variety of problems you might face when training your little one to use the pot.

1. In Presence of Parents

Some fortunate parents have kids who are ready to use the pot anywhere. But these kids agree to do so only when a parent is with them, and not in the presence of any other person.

Solution

Instead of making him comfortable with using the pot in the presence of another person, gradually remove yourself from the equation. Once your child is on the pot, lightly close the door and tell him that you are waiting outside.

2. Wetting the Bed

This is usually the number one complaint of most parents. The bladder of a kid is not matured enough to hold the urine through the night or even for a few more minutes than usual, hence they wet the bed while asleep.

Solution

It is best to inculcate the habit of urinating before proceeding to sleep. If your child does want to pee in the middle of the night, keep the bathroom light on so that he won’t feel scared to go to the bathroom alone.

3. Asks for a Diaper

Many kids don’t use the pot but they ask their parents for a diaper when they want to poop. Your child could go to a corner of the house and poop alone until he is done.

Solution

Advise him to start pooping in the toilet with the diaper on. Once he gets comfortable with the place, you can ask him to use the pot instead of a diaper.

4. Pooping After Getting Off the Pot

Your child may listen to you and get on the pot to pee or poop. But he might fail to do either, only to wet his pants or soil them right after he gets down from the pot.

Solution

There might be a psychological side to this but it is also due to the inability of kids to control their excretory muscles at a young age. Pooping problems during potty training can be due to constipation as well. However, you must make him sit for a while even if he refuses to sit. He may throw tantrums now and then, but slowly he will get used to it and start peeing and pooping in the pot.

5. Crying After Flushing

Some children have known to get sad or start crying when they flush their poop. The feeling of strong attachment might make him avoid pooping in the pot altogether.

Solution

Compare the poop with spit or nasal mucous or even pee and let him know that these need to be disposed off properly.

6. An Unfortunate Accident

Right when your child gets used to the seat, he might slip off the pot and hurt himself, causing him to stay away from using the pot altogether.

Solution

Treat an accident just like an accident. Don’t punish your child for it. Calm him down and treat the matter in a light-hearted manner so as to take his mind off it. And after a few days train him again.

7. Boys Wanting to Sit and Pee

In the early stages, your little boy might want to sit on the pot when he pees. This could be because he might not want to risk pooping accidentally or just not feeling confident about peeing standing up.

Solution

Let him pee in that manner and teach him to stand and pee after he gets used to it. If you are outside, go to a urinal together and let him see how everyone pees while standing.

8. Fear of Falling

The wide opening of the pot might make your child feel that he will fall into it or will have his butt sucked in if he accidentally flushes it. Some kids might actually be scared of the noise of the toilet flushing itself as well.

Solution

Start by flushing pieces of paper and show him how the toilet actually works. He will be fine with it after a few uses.

9. Playing With Poop

Some extremely curious kids tend to indulge in playing with the poop. This could easily get out of hand if they refuse to listen to you.

Solution

Nip this in bud without scolding your child. A firm no right away should do the trick.

10. Can Poop But Cannot Pee

Your child may be able to tell you when he wants to poop and rush to use the loo. However, the same might not happen for peeing, leading him to wet his pants as well as the bed.

Solution

Your child may not have bladder control early in life and would not recognize the need to pee until it is too late. Don’t fret. Let the potty training continue as it is and this phase shall pass.

Problems Associated with Late Toilet Training

Out of the numerous potty training problems, holding it in might just be one of those that is dangerous. But delaying the training can have disastrous results as well. Here are some problems that may arise if you delay the toilet training.

• The inability to control pooping and peeing could cause your child to stay away from participating in various activities in the school.
• Delayed training can leave a child with the weak bladder and lack of bowel control for many years.
• The embarrassment and shaming of the child when he wets his pants in public can affect his self-esteem and mental health.

Tips to Prevent Toilet Training Problems

To prevent certain toilet training problems in 4-year-old kids and many others, there are a few tips you can put to use.

• Don’t tell your child to force out the poop unnecessarily.
• Try to establish a schedule of visiting the loo at fixed times.
• Teach your child to wash his butt and genitals the right way.
• Include numerous fluids and fibrous foods in your child’s diet to prevent constipation.
• Teach the etiquettes of using the toilet seat.
• Never scold your child for not using the pot correctly.
• Combine potty training by singing a song or telling a story while he poops.
• Start slowly and gradually increase the use of pot.

Who Can Help You With Potty Training Problems

If you’re facing problems in getting your child to use the pot, there’s no harm in asking for help. Your paediatrician can be your first point-of-contact, as he can provide you with some simple tips. If your child has developmental delays, opting for a therapist’s advice or getting a child psychologist to advise you can be helpful as well.

Child potty training problems are plenty. You will come across several new challenges when you start training your kid. Being patient and understanding is the key to the process and your child will start using the pot by himself soon.