2 Year Old Potty Training Recession?

I'm a firm believer in that it has to be the right time for the child and they'll do it when they're ready. My 1st daughter started showing interested at 18 months and did really well. But after a few weeks, totally lost interest. I don't think there were any significant changes at the time. We tried periodically for months to get her to be potty trained again, using bribes, rewards, etc, but it didn't really matter.

Then, magically, just before her third birthday she was ready and was potty trained during the day within a week or two and only had minimal accidents at night (which was really our fault because we weren't good at limiting fluids after dinner). So I say, let him be. He'll figure it out when the time is right for him. Even though they're little they are independent beings with their own agendas.

Kids can and typically regress when something shifts in their routine. It is great he did it early but typically regression happens when they do it early. Just get back on task, do the same things you did and start over if need be.
My daughter was potty trained early, then along came tonsils needing out (had to keep pullups on during that), then she twisted her knee, had to have a cast, then her baby brother arrived, she had a very hard 8 mos and regressed completely. I just was calm, matter of fact and started back at square one. When she was ready she did it herself 100% no regression ever again, she was 36 mos at that point. Give him space, let him get it back in the swing of things, keep putting him on the potty every hour and hour and a half and don't ask if he has to go, just tell him to please try!
Good luck this is very normal! :)

A big change, like dad going out of town, can cause a child to regress up to 6 months. And since he'd only been accident free for a week or less, it's very normal for him to now be back to the start. Just follow his lead. If he isn't staying dry, put him back in diapers. If he wants to wear the big kid underwear, remind him that he needs to get his pee and poop in the potty. But do not make it into any kind of a fight - kids always win this one!!

Hi A.,

My son also regressed when he was potty trained due to a new sister coming along (mostly with the night time training). I think you should just go forward with it. You have already gone thru the hard part of just getting the whole thing started. If I were you, I wouldn't put him back in diapers.

I took a potty training class at Babies R US and it was very, very helpful. One thing the lady said was not to use pull ups, and once you start, do not switch back to diapers. A lot of times it is inconvenient for little ones to take the time to go potty. If you choose to do any kind of a reward system, try stickers. ( Again suggested by the Babies R US instructor.) That helped my son a ton. We did a sticker chart and each time he went potty he got a sticker. At the end of the day we would see if he had more stickers than the day before and within 2 weeks, he was completely potty trained.
Another thing that helped us was to go to the store and let your son pick out 1 three pack of "special" underware. Put the special underware on first thing in the morning and see how long he could keep them on. If he potties in his pants, give him just plain old white ones for the rest of the day. It is kind of like a game to see how long he can keep his special ones on.
I know this is a hard time, but just hang in there. Keep encouraging him and be patient! If you have a Babies R US near you, maybe see if they have any of these classes available. It was free and made our potty training go very smooth.
Good luck to you!

I'd go back to diapers. It will save you the frustration. My daughter was potty trained for 2 months and then we went on a 1 week vacation. It was BIG battle between the 2 of us when I got back and I regret not letting her pick when the time was right.