Erica Desper, Bernadette Samuels and Amelia Kinsolving are moms supporting moms (and all parents) on the path to better sleep and smoother potty training, since 2010. Confident Parenting was named “Best” and "Family Favorite" resource by the Main Line Parent, Bucks County Parent and Philadelphia Family communities in 2022, their 9th and 10th and 11th accolade from parents! Meet the team here.
3 Reasons You Might Consider A Potty-Training Reset
Are You Wondering If You Should Take A Break From The Potty-Training Process?

As potty-training consultants, we are often asked, “Should we rediaper and try this again later?” This question is most often posed when parents are not seeing progress as quickly as they expect or hope. While there are scenarios when we might suggest a “reset”, there is also a wide range of normal and children progress at varying paces. Potty training is very much like learning to walk. There is no way for us to know ahead of time how long the process will take or what it will look like.
Here are 3 reasons you might consider a reset:
1. Lack of Progress After A Few Weeks (For Children under 3.5)
When discussing potty-training, we utilize blocks of learning. Many children will start to make the connection and make the transition from block 1 to block 2 on day 3-5. However some children might not get there until closer to day 7-10. All of that is within the range of normal. So, we don’t want you to panic after day 3.
Potty-training is a skill and it takes some time to learn the new skill. If you aren’t seeing progress after a few weeks, it can be helpful to check in and make sure that you are being as consistent as possible and that you are not unintentionally doing something that could prevent progress. (5 Do's and Dont's for Smoother Potty Training).
It is unlikely that time alone will solve potty-training concerns, so if you choose to reset because of lack of progress, you can use that time to reach out and get potty-training support set up. Most potty-training struggles need to be addressed by helping your child to work through it versus “solving” it by falling back on the old way (a diaper). So, it is best to think of a reset as time to regroup if you need it, rather than a solution to the problem itself.
2. Medical Issue
Sometimes an unexpected medical issue comes up, and a reset is the best way to allow everyone to recover. For example, my kiddo got a stomach bug and ended up in the emergency room when we were only a few weeks into potty-training. We waved the white flag (in our case, a Huggies Snug and Dry diaper, lol) and re-diapered to give everyone a minute to recover. Sometimes things happen that are outside of our control. We took 4 weeks to allow everyone to regroup, then we removed diapers entirely and never looked back.
3. Your Mental Health
If you dove head first into potty-training and things are not going as you expected, or if you are dealing with a more complex situation than you anticipated, it’s okay to regroup. It is also okay to seek support or help, whether that is something formal, like one on one support from a potty-training consultant, or having a friend who you can chat with when things are feeling difficult.
When considering whether or not to reset, remember that consistency is the key to potty-training success. For that reason, we want to be cautious not to remove diapers and add them back in multiple times. If you do reset, take about 4-6 weeks before starting again. If you are unsure about if you should keep moving forward or you have taken a break and want to have a plan in place for when you dive back in, we are here to help!
You might also be interested in:
5 Things To Consider Before Potty-Training
How Do I Know if My Child Is Ready To Potty-Train?
4 Surprising Reasons Your Child Isn’t Progressing With Potty-Training





