5 Year Old Boy, Keeps Wetting His Pants During the Day but Not at Night.

I had this problem with my daughter. For her it was a power play. I started using a timer so that the "nagging" was coming from the timer, not me. She knew when the timer went off, it was time to go potty. I also made doing the things she wanted to do conditional on going potty. Want to watch Dora you say? "Yes you can, just as soon as you go potty." I also made her a sticker chart just like when we were potty training. For every week full of stickers, we would go to Target for a small reward.

C.,

The reason is that he does not want to take the time to go. The only person who can control this is the boy himself. Making a big deal out of it and punishing him is not going to change the behavior. It's the one thing he can control in his life. I would simply make him responsible for cleaning himself up and taking care of the laundry - show him what you expect him to do. The next he wets, just say, "Well, you know what you have to do." Don't get upset. It will take time, but he will out grow it.

I have four sons, and two of them had issues with not wanting to take the time to go. It is a control issue. I wish you luck.

Lisa

I am not sure of your exact situation, but if you just took in your newphew there is probably some stressors behind it. I had some "trama" issues that I was dealing with when I was young and I had problems with peeing my pants and throwing up meals as well.

Before you get too heavy into the punishment end of things I'd suggest having him see a counselor --- or at least you talking with someone.

Kids don't always know how to express their emotions and or how to deal with bigger life stressors. Wetting his pants may be a manifestation of those internal stressors.

That sounds like a stressful situation for both of you. Probably he doesn't want to stop what he's doing during the day, but personally, I would not punish a child for having accidents, especially when he's been having a lot of upheaval in his life (going to live with an aunt). How about putting him in pull-ups during the day until he seems to grow out of this?

He probably needs unconditional love/acceptance more than anything else right now.

I agree that it sounds like he's stressed out or seeking attention because of the changes in his life and you probably just need to be patient with him for now. Boys that age also really don't like to interrupt what they are doing to go potty. I wouldn't punish him, but instead offer regular potty breaks and maybe a sticker chart or some kind of reward system for when he does make it to the potty. Maybe some extra one on one time with you? If it continues it might not be bad idea to check with the pediatrician about anything physical that could be wrong, but that doesn't sound like it. Good luck.

Like the other writers said: be patient, ignore it, and don't punish. The boy's had a lot of changes going on. He'll take care of it himself.

Before any change in activity (such as going outside to play, watching a tv show, etc.) tell him (don't ask) nicely and matter-of-factly that it's "potty time." (Go potty yourself, in another bathroom, to set an example!) This may get him in the habit of thinking about his bladder before it's too late.

Bless you for raising your nephew!

Put his clothes where he can find them and change himself, if you haven't already. Make it a non-issue in your mind. It's not your problem. Don't even mention it. He will be uncomfortable enough, and/or peer pressure will make him want to deal with it himself. Just love him no matter what, and let him know that you do. (I work with a 6 year old boy who does the most amazing things to get attention--like licking the bottom of his shoes. When I ignore it, it's not fun for him any more, and he quits.)

do you have any other children?

im thinking that he just doesnt want to stop what hes doing too. what you should do then is to take him to go every so often, whether that means every 20 minutes, or every hour whatever you think would help the most, depending on how often he goes.

also, the circumstances unknown to us as to why you are raising your nephew might have more to do with this issue than one would think. it might be because he is upset and doesnt know how to deal with it. im sure that you are doing a good job with him, just make sure that he doesnt think you will leave him too, you know? life isnt fair, and for a long time it might just hurt him to not really understand the situation, you know?

anyway
i hope that you can get through this.
bless you

My son also tends to wait until the very last second and has accidents sometimes. They tend to get engrossed in whatever they are doing and not want to stop. Perhaps try rewarding for not having accidents rather than punishing. Also, you might consider the fact that he has had a big transition (moving in with your family) and that can sometimes cause a regression. My son gets a small treat each day that he goes without an accident, and a reminder of why it's important for us to go when we need to. (our bodies health, etc). Good luck!

It sounds as if his life had big changes lately. It isn't unusual for kids to go through this when parents go through divorice, deaths in the family, moving to a new home. I don't know why you are raising him now but it is a change, a big change from what he knew. While you can't just wait for this to pass, at least you can understand it and not over react.

If he wets while playing video games or on the computer, turn off the tv or computer and tell him to go change... he is done with it for say 1 hour or 2 hours. He does it again when he gets the privilage back he is done with it for the day. Same with being outside. Make him come in and change and he is inside for a certain amount of time. If he does it again, he is inside for the day. Have him go potty before you start cutting his hair. Also remind him every hour or so to go potty and don't take no for an answer. If he goes then you could wait a couple hours, but make sure he goes. This will take some time and you have to be consistant with it but what you are doing is retraining him and getting him into a habit of going when he needs too so he doesn't keep getting bugged to go potty.

Good luck.

What if you try setting a timer and make him go every hour when the bell rings. It will become a habit for him eventually to stop what he is doing an go after about an hour. If this works well for hm start increasing the times between alarms unless he starts wetting again then decrease it. He should pick up on this after a few weeks. Also, there might be some emotional issues involved in this. He could be getting up in the night because he is naturally more relaxed at that time, but may be nervous about something that is going on in his day.