Stop Asking “Do You Have to Pee/Poop?”

We just can’t help ourselves. We see their pee and poop dance. We know we’re about to leave the house. You know it’s been hours since they last went. You can’t quite put your finger on it, but you just have a feeling they have to go.

And then you blurt out, “do you have to go pee pee?”

Nooooo. When the urge hits you to ask this, I want you to say some version of this instead (always keep it concise):

“Let’s go potty.”

“Come, it’s your pee/poop time.”

There are two main reasons you need to turn this question into a statement.

1) It’s a toddler’s job to say “no.” It doesn’t matter if they actually feel like they need to pee or poop. As soon as you ask them, they will find a reason to defy you. Don’t enter a power struggle you’re going to lose!

2) In a similar vein to the first point, you are inviting the possiblity of a “no” when all signs are pointing to “yes.” While you cannot force your toddler to pee or poop, you can do everything in your power to make the environment conducive to them going. Part of that means backing off, prompting less, and start telling concisely and confidently and stop asking.

Say it like you mean business. Worst case, they will push back, and then you can offer a throw-away prompt. Best case, they’ll head to the bathroom and go, because you were one step ahead of them realizing they should probably start making their way over to the toilet in order to avoid an accident.