How to deal with toilet training accidents

How many potty training accidents are normal? Learn how many accidents to expect, whether on the first day or weeks and months after.

Maybe you’re a day or two into potty training with accidents that seem too many to be normal. But with nothing to compare them to, you’re not sure if you’re on the right track or if you should quit.

Perhaps you’re a couple of weeks in, and despite your child’s progress, you’re still seeing accidents and aren’t sure if they’re normal. Or it’s been months since he started potty training, but you’re seeing potty training regression that you thought should be gone by now.

And let’s not forget the hassle of cleaning up after these accidents. No wonder so many of us are eager to do away with accidents altogether.

While we know setbacks are normal in this learning process, we’re not always sure just how many we should consider as “normal.”

How many potty training accidents are normal?

As you might guess, there is no hard and set number of accidents normal for potty training. Depending on the stage you’re in and the individual child, you’ll see a wide range of answers.

But after three kids, I’ve noticed that there are a few similarities with the number of accidents you’re bound to see. Take a look at the different stages and how many accidents you might expect:

1. At the start of potty training

Regardless of the potty training method you choose, you’re more than likely going to see the most daytime accidents in the early stages of potty training. With my kids, I would see anywhere from six to 10 accidents on the first day, dwindling down to about three to five the next subsequent days.

This may seem like a lot, but think about how many times we typically use the bathroom. All this time, your child had been peeing and pooping in his diaper or pull up, so discreetly that you may not even have noticed he had soiled himself.

With potty training so new, you can expect plenty of accidents in his underwear, especially as he learns about how to hold his bladder and use the potty.

Rather than feeling discouraged with so many accidents, factor them into your day. When I started potty training, I had plenty of rags and cleaning supplies handy. We also spent a lot of time hanging out in the bathroom or on tile floors, and not the carpet. I even covered our couches with large rags.

That way, when the accidents happen, you’re prepared to handle them quickly.

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2. A few weeks into potty training

With your child’s initial success at finally peeing and pooping in the potty, you then wonder when accidents should finally stop. Despite mostly getting potty training down, he still has a few accidents here and there. So, how many accidents are normal a few weeks after potty training?

You can still expect about one or two accidents a day, even weeks after you’ve started potty training.

After all, like any habit, using the potty needs time, repetition, and consistency to finally “stick.” Just because your potty trained child is still having daily accidents doesn’t mean he has “failed” or that you should put potty training on hold.

Continue to reinforce using the potty and dealing with the inevitable accidents. So long as he’s not crying about using the potty, these accidents are likely normal even a few weeks after having started potty training.

3. Months after potty training

What about accidents that happen months post-potty training? How many accidents are considered normal at this point?

Despite your child’s success with potty training so far, you might still see the occasional accident, perhaps once every two weeks or so. Why is it taking so long to be completely accident-free?

For one thing, you may have noticed that many of the accidents have more to do with poop than with pee. Our pediatrician reassured our worries that kids may not use the potty to poop completely until a full year has passed.

That doesn’t mean you’ll have a year of poop accidents before they suddenly disappear. You might start off with frequent poop accidents that decrease over time until you can’t remember the last time you saw one. But it can still take a full year before poop accidents go away—that was certainly the case with all my kids.

And second, accidents at this stage can also happen more frequently overnight or during nap time. Again, our pediatrician reassured us that we can’t actually potty train for the night the way we can for the day.

It’s not their fault—kids simply can’t control their bowel movements overnight, which is why we rely on overnight training pants.

In fact, she told us that bedwetting is still considered “normal” until the age of eight. This doesn’t mean you need to put up with wet sheets for the next several years—there are ways to encourage your child to wake up at night to pee. But you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself if you still see accidents at nighttime.

Tips to reduce potty training accidents

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Despite its inevitability, you can still do plenty to decrease accidents during potty training. Here are a few best practices to keep in mind:

• Take your child to the potty regularly. In the beginning stages of potty training, take him about every hour or two hours to sit on the potty. He won’t pee every time, but by going frequently, you increase the chances that he’ll go some of those times. (Bonus tip: Don’t “ask” if he needs to go, as he’ll likely say no. Say, “It’s time to use the potty!” instead.)
• Go to the potty before and after an outing. Many accidents happen when you’re out and about. To reduce the number of accidents, make it a routine to use the potty before you leave. Then, head straight to the bathroom after you return home.
• Use a “pee alarm” at night. If your child has been potty trained during the day but has accidents at night, a pee alarm like this can help. It’ll either vibrate or ring the second it senses any urine, waking him up to pee. Be warned though: he’ll probably have to wake you up in the middle of the night to help him turn off the alarm.
• Wait until your child is older. If you sense that he’s simply not ready, it’s also okay to postpone potty training. Every child will eventually learn to use the potty. And the older he is, the fewer accidents he’ll likely have.

Conclusion

Every exasperated parent has asked how many potty training accidents are normal, in various stages.

You might be in the first day or two of potty training, at which point several accidents are quite normal. Perhaps you’re a few weeks in and still seeing one or two accidents a day. Or maybe you’re months down the line, at which point pooping accidents and wetting the bed are still common.

Rest assured friend, potty training accidents are more than likely normal—even if cleaning up after them is a hassle.

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