Could my positive mindset be enough to put my son back on the potty training track?  It couldn’t be that easy!  After a running start out of pull-ups, he hit that common regression stage overnight.  I was scared of letting him lose too much momentum toward this incredible milestone.  I was anxious about this little setback and wondered if he could sense that.  Could my emotions be pushing him further off the potty training path?

To help my son, I decided to work on myself first.  If accidents happened, I kept my emotions in check.  My reactions were even-keeled… “It’s ok, you are still learning.”  I took the time to start making a big production again when he went in the toilet.   We pulled out the little blue “Awesome” button we had purchased as a reward.  It  had worked the first time around and once again, my son wore it as a badge of honor.

Most importantly, I let myself be happy with his progress.  I turned my perspective to the positive side by seeing the steps he was making instead of viewing this setback as a negative.  Through my “optimist” glasses I found joy in helping him learn and grow through the process.

After mere days of my new attitude my son was back on the potty and made additional steps in the next few weeks.  Now, there is no more watching the clock (or not as closely) to mark when he went last.   There is no more cleaning up messy morning pull-ups and there is no more stress of pushing him to “at least try” every two hours.

He learned how to listen to his body just as I learned how to listen to my inner optimist.   By finding my positive groove, I was able to guide my son as he navigated through this new stage in his life.