Four year old regressing and becoming more dependent

Post date: 2021-05-11 09:03:04

My son has been taking a few steps backwards in terms of things he used to do independently and my wife and I aren't sure what to do about it.

I have a four year old son and have some questions about recent behavioral problems he's been having. In case it's relevant, this is his first year in school and he entered junior kindergarten in Fall 2020. Like many other areas, we've been doing online learning for a few weeks in January 2021 and for a few weeks starting in April 2021. Me and my wife both work from home, so we take turns sitting with him during his classes. In the past weeks, we've noticed some changes in his behavior. He refuses to use his potty unless either me or my wife (usually my wife) is with him. In the past, he would go by himself without any trouble. He refuses to wash his hands afterwards on his own. Recently, he's had a tantrum when my wife wouldn't help him put on his pants (something he is able to do by himself and often does). He's also recently become very afraid the toilet water will "go everywhere" (i.e. overflow) when he flushes it. This seems to be coming from an instance where he saw the toilet get clogged and my wife unclogged it. At first, it seemed like that was the source of him regressing and needing us to be there when he went to the potty. But the other things are less clear to us.

We've tried explaining that the toilet won't overflow, talking to him about how even if something did happen, it would be fine and we'd clear it with towels, pointing out how he's used the potty (and done the other things - washing his hands, putting on pants) without problems before. Nothing seems to work. Usually he starts crying and it turns into a lot of frustration from everyone.

I'm wondering if part of it might be coming from a place where his routine has been upset - transitioning from being able to see his friends and play regularly and going to the other extreme where he has to sit at a computer to learn and can't go outside as much (we're in lockdown in my area - Ontario, Canada - and outdoor activities are restricted).

Does anyone have any advice for what to do about this? Is this something we should bring to our pediatrician to ask about? It happens frequently enough that my wife and I are losing a bit of sanity about this. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

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