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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Three days going well then sudden regression

5 replies

TheBirdintheCave · 06/08/2026 07:32

We started potty training our daughter (26 months) on Sunday. At first it was going well. She’d come over to the potty and do a wee pretty easily though we did have a few floor accidents. Poo was a bit more of an issue but yesterday morning she finally did one.

But then she had a nap and woke up terrified of the potty. She now runs around clutching her bits and cry screaming for a nappy. She refuses to sit on it or use the toilet steps at all.

I don’t know what to do as she has to crack it this week or not at all as her childminder won’t support us training her (or any child). She wants them fully dry before returning to her.

I’ve put her back in nappies this morning as I’ve had the flu since Tuesday and my husband has to go back to work today. I physically can’t chase her round at the moment or handle the constant screaming.

Has this kind of regression happened to anyone else's child? I can’t think of what’s caused it as she was fine yesterday morning and we were really pleased with her progress.

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jsfv · 06/08/2026 11:33

I’ve always said days 4 and 5 are he hardest

jsfv · 06/08/2026 11:33

Putting nappies back on wasn’t a great idea. You’re back to day one now

TheBirdintheCave · 06/08/2026 12:47

That’s what I worried about but I’m so sick I can’t follow her round with a potty all day.

She ended up doing a big poo in the nappy so I took it off again after that and she suddenly seems happy to sit on the potty again 🤷🏻‍♀️ I think maybe she’s scared of pooping :(

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spm20 · 06/08/2026 13:03

I recently potty trained well technically still am potty training. At first my daughter wouldn’t poo for days or only in her nappy at night or naps I then started saying to her oh yucky in nappy but soo clean on toilet and then she started pooing on the potty. She still won’t poo at nursery and will only poo at home. Don’t worry so much about her having wee accidents as that will happen often.

TheBirdintheCave · 06/08/2026 13:51

spm20 · 06/08/2026 13:03

I recently potty trained well technically still am potty training. At first my daughter wouldn’t poo for days or only in her nappy at night or naps I then started saying to her oh yucky in nappy but soo clean on toilet and then she started pooing on the potty. She still won’t poo at nursery and will only poo at home. Don’t worry so much about her having wee accidents as that will happen often.

Oh yeah she’s getting more wee in the potty than outside it so I’m not worried about that. She definitely recognises when she needs to go as well. She does a wee dance 😆 My son never really had any tells. Yesterday afternoon was just a really strange occurrence. I’ll keep trying to encourage the potty poos. Just wish I wasn’t so sick x_x

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