Anxiety….During Potty Training Toddlers?…

by Admin on November 12, 2009

Do toddlers experience anxiety during potty training?

The answer is YES!! Many parents become flustered when their easygoing, exploratory baby turns into a clingy insecure toddler – when potty training.  Who would’ve thought that a toddler so young suffers from anxiety and worries all the time?

As upsetting as these anxieties may be for parents, it is just as upsetting for your toddler. These are all signs that your child is development is right on track – so do not look at this as a BAD thing. Believe it or not anxiety is normal, expected, and is part of a toddler’s cognitive and emotional growth. But while potty training your toddler – remain calm, have patience, and control your emotions. This is a skill that you are teaching them that they will be using for the rest of their lives.

Look at it from a toddler’s point of view for a moment…… It is a big, intimidating world out there, and every step your toddler takes toward independence comes with an equal measure of panic and stress. That is why parents need to understanding towards their toddler need during potty training for these reasons.

As your baby gets of age to explore their surroundings and  the world around them, toddlers can also discover and understand that things can go wrong – In the family a new sibling enters the home, at school playmates snatch toys, and parents do not spend enough time with their child or sometimes disappear for hours at a time. Either way your toddler can have a serious effect on their thought process and will or can become complex.

One of the biggest anxieties that children suffer from is “separation anxiety” – which begins to manifest as early as 9 months and go into toddler-hood. Most toddlers that go through potty training develop fear – particularly, of a toilet that is why it is best to buy a potty chair that is just right for them.

If your fearless toddler suddenly shows signs of anxiety when they step feet into the bathroom – this can easily come from the transition out of diapers into cloth underwear. Making this change is hard for your toddler so be kind. Or an incident during potty training occurred – for example, you started potty training them on a regular size toilet and not a toddler’s size, or they may have had an accident in their underwear (not diapers or pull-ups) and you scolded them too harsh.

The good news is that all of these anxieties are completely normal for your toddler and will fade as they mature – give them time to gain more control over their feelings and bowels.

What to do?

If potty training gives your toddler the willies, do what your instincts tell you to — cuddle and reassure them – try explaining to them that they are a big boy or a big girl – you want to encourage independence. But don’t stop there – make it fun be creative about potty training your toddler.

These tips can help:

• Look out for potty readiness signs. Acknowledge the fact that fear can occur if they are rushed. Children start at different ages when it comes down to potty training.

• Talk it out – Instead of just sitting them on a potty talk to them first. Toddlers have active imaginations and limited vocabularies – they will have trouble articulating what they’re feeling. Help your child express his emotions by talking about them. Once they have found the words to describe how they feel – reassurance from you will help calm them. Talk about other emotions as well – create a bond with your toddler this is the time to do it. When potty training; go to the park or zoo – especially when they have been going to the potty successfully with minimum accidents of course.

• Prepare your toddler – If your toddler gets timid when they see a regular size toilet get a small potty and stop their fears ahead of time. When you’re starting on the first day take them and put them on the potty – put them in the bathroom with you so they can see you do it and understand that it is nothing to be afraid of. Show them – “see mommy use the potty “and so forth.

• Take it slow when potty training – Making the big transition from diapers or pull ups to underwear can be difficult for your toddler so rather than throwing your toddler into potty training or letting others influence your potty training process, slow your approach.

Because your toddler may have anxiety it is normal for them to feel fear. This may be extreme now but if you do not control the matter at hand there will be consequences. For instance paying high price therapist a lot of money to give your baby medications that may not help – take the natural approach to helping your toddler overcome  anxiety while potty training.

To get more helpful information and a free report visit the following link: Potty Training Toddlers-Anxiety

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