How Does Traveling Affect Potty Training?
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Traveling Affects the Potty Training Routine
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Whenever you begin a potty training process, it's important that you set specific times for using the potty. Having a child sit on the potty when she first wakes up, before and after eating, and before she goes to bed usually works best. During potty training, a child should not go more than 2 hours without sitting on the potty. When traveling, routines can become unpredictable, preventing you from taking your child to the potty at the usual times and intervals. When this happens, training can suffer a setback because accidents are likely to occur.
Traveling Affects Consistency in Potty Training
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Children excel at potty training when their environment and routine are predictable and consistent. When traveling, a child is likely to be off of their normal training schedule and away from their potty chair or bathroom. When kids are presented with unfamiliar situations, people and schedules during potty training, they tend to regress. When traveling, adults are usually focused on driving, visiting with family or keeping everyone safe and sometimes a child's signals for having to use the bathroom can be missed, resulting in frequent accidents. In addition, when families travel it's not uncommon for children's sleeping schedules to be off. When a child doesn't get enough sleep, he may become irritable and cranky and refuse to participate in the potty training process.
Using Unfamiliar Equiptment Can Cause Potty Training Regression
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Having to use an unfamiliar bathroom or potty seat can cause potty training setbacks for many kids. It's not unusual for a child to protest having to sit on a strange seat by soiling their pants or by holding back bowel movements to the point of constipation, both of which negatively affect potty training progress. Also, while at home, a child may be used to having a step stool to reach the potty and while traveling a step stool may not be available. Since potty training is usually done during the toddler years when a child is discovering his independence, a child may protest help getting up to the potty which can result in soiled pants.
Lack of Usual Rewards While Traveling Can Cause Potty Training Setbacks
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Many families use sticker charts or give small rewards to motivate children during the potty training process. When traveling, these special rewards may not be available. Some children become dependent on rewards to toilet train and not having them while traveling can discourage a child from using the potty.
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