How many accidents does the average potty trained 2 yr old have a week?

[MrsVidic]

Hi, dd trained at 20months - completely off her own back- did really well and up until she turned 2.1 was completely reliable.

Then dd 2 arrived and we've had regression twice but she's back to going happily now. Yet still has accidents when busy/ at other houses and at nursery- average about 1 every day to 2 days. Is this still regression or normal? How r u supposed to react- ie last night after 48 hrs of perfection she was put in naughty space and weed- did tell me just b4 thou.

[NellyTheElephant]

I would say she is still going through an attention / regression phase related to your DD2. I don't think that it is usual for a potty trained child (whatever age - but once fully trained) to be having lots of accidents in this way. I had a not dissimilar experience with my DD2. She potty trained easily at 22 months. DS was born when she was 26 months. She had a major regression (poos only - but all poos in pants) when DS was about 2 months old and she had realised that he was there to stay, i.e. she had been totally trained and reliable for 6 whole months before the regression. It was a nightmare at the time but in the great scheme of things when I look back she was over it v quickly.

If what you are going through is still a form of attention seeking regression you need to keep completely and utterly calm, ignore, clean up, not comment and it should stop. So however annoying it is, in the scenario you describe of her doing a wee when she was sent to naughty step I would have tried (and no doubt failed miserably) to detach my crossness at the weeing on the floor from whatever she may have done to deserve a punishment in the first place and tried not to comment or get cross about the wee, just clear up and pretend it hadn't happened, maybe, say oh, what a shame, you know wees go in the loo, never mind, better luck next time. Positive reinforcement also worked for us (e.g. sticker chart, 5 stickers in a row = chocolate. Not sure what else to suggest. As I wasn't coping well with the constant poo I took what felt like an enormous step back and put my DD back into nappies for a few days (calmly and without making it out to be a punishment - just to give me a break from the mess). She was utterly horrified and it gave her the jolt she needed to get back on track. But I'm not sure I would have gone back to nappies if it was just one wee accident a day - I would probably have tried to just ride it out and carry loads of spare clothes around.

In our case it was not until I stopped showing any signs of stress, annoyance, lecturing or reaction to her regression that it stopped.