Issues Parents Face While Potty Training

Effort

• Potty training a child requires parental time and effort, advises the Parenting.org website. Before beginning the process, make sure you are ready to spend the time and effort required in a patient manner. While at home, your child may need frequent reminders and assistance to use the toilet. While away from home, you may need to find public restrooms quickly and help your child use the toilet in an environment that may be less than ideal. By approaching the process realistically, expecting challenges, you can stay motivated to help your child.

Consistency

• Once you begin potty training, your child needs you to remain consistent with a routine, according to the Kids Health website. Each day must entail the same level of involvement and support for your child using the toilet, or she could become confused. Try encouraging your child to use the toilet on the same schedule every day so she learns the routine and becomes comfortable with it.

Stress

• If parents approach the potty training process with undue levels of stress and apprehension, this negativity can affect the child, cautions the WebMD website. Concern over a child's readiness to potty train, a lengthy process or even a delay in potty training could lead to questioning of and uncertainty about parenting skills. Parents may also compare children's potty-training successes and if a child seems delayed, a parent may become worried. Parental worry and stress may lead to you placing too much pressure on the child to potty train or even forcing her to use the toilet. A child is likely to respond to this pressure by beginning to resist the process, warns physician Barton D. Schmitt.

Other Life Issues

• Parents may encounter other distractions or issues that make it difficult to potty train a child. Avoid potty training a child when your family is moving, or around the time a new baby arrives, advises the American Academy of Pediatrics. In addition, times of family crisis, such as illness or death, generally create significant stress and upheaval. Parents may be unable to focus on potty training during these times and the child may react negatively to the stress by acting in an uncooperative manner about potty training. For best results, wait until a time of stability in the family to potty train.