Potty Training: Overcome Emotional Constipation

Resistance to Potty Training

If your child has a hard time with bowel movements, they may show resistance to potty training. It’s because they associate potty training with pain. Some children may hold their bowels because they’re afraid of experiencing pain again. This is also true for children who’ve had urinary tract infections. They may refuse to urinate in the toilet or go to the bathroom because they associate the action and environment with pain.

Other possible sources of discomfort are the loud noise of the toilet, the surprise of water splashing up during a bowel movement, or even the slimy texture of hand soap for hand hygiene.

Tips to overcome potty training resistance…

Routines. Restrictive or stress-relieving?

Routine may feel further off than a trip to the moon. It may feel out of reach if your home is spinning out of orbit. Or it may feel like a ride you’d never wait in line for.

Effective routines have the power to…

• Improve sleep

• Improve school performance

• Decrease stress–for your child and for you

• Improve digestion and feeding

• Increase child participation in self-care tasks

You may hear the word routine and think, “Ha! Not in my house.” Maybe you’ve tried routines in the past and they weren’t effective–or maybe they were effective but life got busy. Maybe you’ve never tried a routine with your child because you don’t think it’s beneficial.

Life is busy and sticking to a schedule is hard. But it’s worth it. Effective routines help your child know what’s next so that they are efficient with time, energy, and can better handle those big emotions.

Want to learn more tips for the Back to School Season? Join us for our FREE Virtual Education on August 22, 2023!

If your child struggles with handwriting, they’ve probably thought something like…

“You mean I’m supposed to sit at a desk for a half hour just to make a bunch of squiggles? And they’re supposed to mean something–to you, my teacher, and me?”

“Uppercase and lowercase letters? Sheesh. Don’t you think that’s asking a lot?”

“I’d rather be outside or playing video games. Maybe even cleaning my room. Anything but this.”

For many children, handwriting is stressful, our blog post tells you why.

Occupational Therapists address these and several other barriers to function. We want your child to be successful at handwriting with minimal stress. Some come work with an OT for handwriting. There’s a better way.

What’s the most important job of a child? To do their math homework? Maybe it’s to clean up their toys or mind their siblings.

I’ll give you a hint.

Your child’s most important job comes naturally. It’s enjoyable and–as long as they’re healthy–your child works hard at it every day. It’s the most effective way for them to learn social skills, motor skills, and language skills.

The most important job your child needs to do is play.

Play is an essential occupation of children. According to an article(1) published by the American Academy of Pediatrics,

“Play leads to changes at the molecular (epigenetic), cellular (neuronal connectivity), and behavioral levels (socioemotional and executive functioning skills) that promote learning and adaptive and/or prosocial behavior.”

Play isn’t an “extra,” it's essential.

Is your teen fraying at the edges? Consider this evidence-based approach.

Your teen is trekking in the thick of the woods and you’re trekking along with them. Growing up is quite the expedition.

Let me tell you a story. Fresh off the bus, I stepped into the uncharted. First day back to school and I was caught in a sea of students. So many new, towering people surrounded me–I felt I was drowning.

Smaller and less developed than the average thirteen-year-old, I certainly didn’t feel like a pioneer or an explorer. And I certainly wasn’t up for the adventure of middle school.

I took a good look around and culture shock hit hard. The “rules” had changed in just one season…

Check out this Spring Craft by Victoria Eilers. Thanks, Victoria!

We did a recent blog post on how crafting can help with brain development. Here’s a craft that you can do at home.

What types of things does THIS craft work on? Here are just some of the clinical applications: grip strength, fine motor coordination, problem-solving, visual scanning (scanning environment when collecting natural materials), eye-hand coordination, sensory processing and integration, emotional regulation, and frustration tolerance.