childhood regression

Childhood regression is a return to behaviors typical of an earlier developmental stage, often triggered by stress, trauma, or major life changes.

A toilet-trained child might start wetting the bed again after a new sibling arrives; an older child might resume thumb-sucking during parental divorce.

The term appears in both clinical psychology and casual parenting discussions.

In adults, the phrase sometimes describes nostalgic indulgence in childhood pleasures—comfort food, cartoons, stuffed animals—though this lighter sense lacks the clinical connotation of coping mechanism.