Potty Training - Saint Cloud, MN

Have you tried bringing him into the doctor? It could be a med. issue. I know my son has accident to sometimes when he is upset about something. Maby something new is going on? Hope this helped. Good luck.

My oldest son went through the same thing about that age. He potty trained so easily but then became to "busy" to go potty. We would just start to ask him if he had to go when he was busy playing or before he would go out and play and that seemed to help him "remember" he had to go. I think at that age they are just so busy playing and learning they don't want to stop what they are doing. But if you make them stop and think about it they are more likely to go. Hope that helps alittle for an idea. Good luck K. B

Hello,

My daughter is only 3 but we had her potty trained at 18 months old. We went on vacation and when we got back she was totally uninterested in going on the toilet. She now is just fine other than night time wetting. I think a lot has to do with they may digress a little, something different happening in their lives, occupied with certain games, growth spurts and so forth. Kids go through a lot and as adults we just expect them to handle it. Sometimes if we put ourselves in their shoes we would probably be over whelmed too! I would just take a look at your little mans life see if maybe something new is going on or what he is doing when the accident happens. I know my daughter will have accidents now if someone comes over she is very excited to see!!!

Good luck, just remember to encourage him and let him know you love him and remind him what the right behavior is!

M.

My son is also 5, and started doing this too. I took him to the doctor on the advice of a mom here on Mamasource. Turns out he has encopresis. He's been holding his bowel movements in so long that it stretched out the rectal muscles and he can't feel when he has to "go" anymore. The doctor prescribed Miralax to loosen his stools so he wouldn't be constipated anymore and it's been working great.

I recently took him to the chiropractor, as well. His lower lumbar vertibrae are out of place a bit, and those affect bladder/bowel function because of where the nerves lead to. Since taking him, we've had no more accidents. I asked the chiropractor and she said it's not going to "cure" the encopresis, but it's sure going to help.

Hope this helps! I know how frustrating this is!

I actually did this as a kid. As a kid I had a hard time explaining my accidents, it's pretty cool that he can tell you. Like one of the other girls said, I think he's caught up in what he's doing. He doesn't want to miss out on anything. That's how I remember feeling.

Maybe if you take bathroom breaks every 1-2 hours, it will help. If he's about to begin an activity or watch a television program, ask him if he has to go to the bathroom first.

Hi J.,
I agree with much of what has already been said. My daughter started having accidents at about 5 as well. That lasted several months (6?) and then stopped. Now that she is back at school, they have started again, although not so much. She tells me she didn't have time - that she only felt the need just at that moment and then it was too late. I make sure I don't reprimand her or make her feel bad. Just because it is inconvenient for me, I feel there is no reason to cause her to feel shame or humiliation. As it is, I hope that she does not ever feel that herself at school. We treat it very matter-of-factly. We only ask that she place her underwear on the edge of the tub (and not directly in the laundry).

We also deal with constipation and have heard the theory about the muscles and kids not noticing they have to go. My daughter has been on (generic) Miralax for about a year and so I don't think this is the current cause. I think that the new year school situation and her need to not miss anything causes her to be focused on things outside her body.

That being said, we have at different times, employed semi-scheduled bathroom breaks. For example, since the greatest distance to the bathroom is when she is outside, we ask that she goes to the bathroom (need to or not) before recess at school. We have asked for help from her teacher for this and it has worked really well. Since I have seen her move in and out of this phase, I am less concerned than I was before. I feel that when she gains more confidence (again) in her school situation she will stop. However, that does carry over to being at home and once in a while we see it here too. I also remind her to go at various times, like before a friend comes over when I think she will be less likely to want to go.

I think sometimes we believe that development is a straight line, but these things remind me that this is far from the truth!

Good luck!
R.

P.S. We also take her to the chiropractor, for so many benefits. If you live in Madison I can recommend one who specializes in moms-to-be & children and is terrific! She is located on the mid-West side.

My son who is going to be seven now, went thru the same thing. I think they just get to the point where they honestly do forget until it is too late because they have a longer attention span and it's just more interesting to play!
My son doesn't do it at all anymore, so don't worry that it is going to go on forever. Be firm but not scary, because potty is a touchy subject. Remind him that he is a big boy and he needs to go potty as soon as he feels it, not wait until the last minute. If he makes it a habit, I would take some priviledges away for a period of time until he can prove he is at least trying to make it. I know its frustrating and it makes their clothes smell, but it is normal. Hang in there. Oh and as far as the number 2 thing, my son never did that, but I think it could be just the same thing, he just gets distracted. Make potty fun so he will like to be in there, like with books or toys that he can only have in the potty.

I think it's becaues he is to busy playing, or into whatever he is doing and waits till he is already going as he runs to the bathroom, lol. I see it in alot of boys!
I just kept asking them every so often through the day, if they need to go.
Soon enough they get annoyed at the nagging!
Good Luck-
M.

Hi J.--I feel your pain! :) My son turned 5 this summer...he's been having accidents pretty much all along; it's just in the last couple of months that he's really made the effort to use the bathroom. (He still occasionally does have accidents though--although they are few and far between.) He only wears underwear in the day and Pullups at night (I was putting him in Pullups during the day for my own convienence, but that just got so costly and didn't give him any motivation.) I have him help me if he does have accidents--I work really hard at keeping my own tone calm (which can be hard!)...if my son is busy playing, sometimes he doesn't realize until it's too late that he has to go, so if he's having a stretch where he's not paying attention to his body, I have him go every hour for awhile.

Hope some of this helps! It'll get better--the fact that most(all?) of his preschool friends are potty trained will help too.

my neighbors daughter is 5 and she still goes in her pants. But when she does it she thinks it is funny and wants to show everyone what she had done. But my son had a relaspe at about 3 i had to put him back in diapers for a little while. He hated it because he thought he was a baby again but it worked on getting him to use the restroom again.

My 7 year old had this same problem up until he was about 6. We think a lot of it was he'd just get so excited or involved in whatever he was doing and not want to leave the activity. We talked to him multiple times about "going when you gotta go" but it was something he just needed to outgrow.