Oops, an accident, now what?

Good to know

• Accidents can happen while your child is playing or when they realize just a moment too late that they need to go. That’s normal. Your child’s body is still learning.
• Try to stay calm. Getting angry or punishing your child won’t help. It might make your child feel ashamed, which will make practicing more difficult.
• Help your little one clean up calmly, and then get back to your day. It helps if you have a few things ready in advance, such as clean clothes, wipes, or a towel. That way, you can clean up quickly and calmly.

What can you do?

Here are 5 tips for you.

1. Stay calm and don’t get angry with your child

For example, say: “You peed. It’s okay that you peed in your pants. These things happen. Come on, let’s put on some dry pants.”

Are there a lot of little accidents, and are you getting tired of them? Then you might want to talk to others about it. We understand! Letting off some steam can sometimes help you keep going. Just make sure your little one can’t hear you. Even when we’re on the phone, kids often hear more than we think. Of course, you can always say that it’s still pretty tough and that you’ll need to keep practicing for a while.  

2. Tell your child what they did well. Or that they almost succeeded.

Does your child come to you to say they need to go to the bathroom? And do you find that they end up wetting their pants anyway? If so, point out what they did right.

For example, say: “It’s great that you realized you needed to go to the bathroom. And that you came to tell me!” Don’t get angry about the accident and don’t make a big deal out of it.

So don’t say, “Too bad you were too late for the bathroom.”

Instead, say: “We almost made it to the restroom on time. Better luck next time!”

3. Tell your child that you understand how upsetting this is for them

No one likes having an accident, especially your child. When you tell your child that you understand, they’ll feel understood. Your child might be angry or sad. Try to acknowledge these feelings.

Say something like, “It’s not fun having wet pants, is it? I totally get that. Come on, let’s take them off right away.”

4. Encourage your child to keep trying.

• Tell your child that it’s okay if things don’t go as planned sometimes. And that you’ll keep practicing together.
• Did it go well another time? If so, you can mention that too. That helps you stick with the practice.
• For example, say: “It might not work right now, but if we keep trying, we’ll get there eventually.”
• For example, say: “Do you remember that you managed to do it yesterday? That was really impressive of you. We’ll just try again later.”

5. Bring extra clean clothes and baby wipes

As long as you have these with you, any little accident is easily taken care of! Always bring a change of clothes for your child when you go out.