A parent of a 3-year-old boy states that she is concerned because he was potty trained long be-fore hospitalization but now refuses to use the toilet. What is the correct response by the nurse?

Question

1. "Your son is probably feeling neglected, and you should make an effort to spend more time with him."
2. "This is common behavior that is expressed when the hospitalized child is stressed or anxious."
3. "You may need to include discipline because children easily lose the ability to be toilet trained during hospitalization."
4. "Your son was probably not ready to be potty trained, and you may want to con-tinue the training for the next 6 months."

Answer 1

ANS: 2
During times of stress or illness, preschoolers may revert to bed-wetting or thumb-sucking and want the parent to feed, dress, and hold them. Reassuring the parent that this is normal coping behavior may help alleviate their concern. Reverting to a prior level of functioning, such as a child who was potty trained now refusing to use the toilet, does not indicate the child is feeling neglected. The behavior demonstrates that the child is experiencing stress and this is a coping behavior. Disciplining the child would not be a correct response. The child should be provided with experiences he or she can master. Such successes help the child to return to their prior level of independent functioning.
Reverting to a prior level of functioning, such as a child who was potty trained now refusing to use the toilet, does not indicate the child was unready to be potty trained. The behavior more likely demonstrates that the child is experiencing stress, and this is a coping behavior.