5 y.o. Wets His Pants

my daughter does this sometimes too and she's six. It's not a complete accident... but enough to we her underwear. If I constantly "nag" her about going to the bathroom it just leads to fights. Have you tried a reward... say he gets a sticker every day he's dry and after so many days he gets something he likes? This kind of thing works with my daughter when she gets off track. Good luck.

Hey,

my little girl is 4, and we have same problems. She has been potty trained when she was 2 and did very well for a while.You know, I notices that she is just not wanting to go cause she feels like she looses something when she need to take a potty break.
I think it is important to understand a child`s motivation. If he has a physical problem, that`s a different story. (he is five, give it one more year, that`s what I was told)
BUT! If it is just being too busy and simply not willing to take a break then there`s some things ot do. I keep it in mind not to ever humiliate her, but teach her that wetting panties is not right
What we did, is that after we had wet panties we told her, that the next day it is going to be a day, when she`ll be send to the potty any time mommy thinks so. Since she is -apparently- not willing to take a break, and "doesn`t feel it", then I will help her. So I send her to the potty a LOT! I made her sit even though she didn`t want to. That make her feel uncomfortable, cause she had to go a lot, and she of course doesn`t want that! And I reminded her for the whole time that it is important for you to remember, then mommy doesn`t need to help you this way, this many times. I sent her when she was in the middle of playing, or something fun, and explained, that she won`t miss out on anything, but saves us wet panties and rashes.
Then, there came a time when I just asked her often, if she needs to go to the bathroom. I would take her, look at her and ask. That might work for you as well.
By the way she always tells me no (most of the time) and then she wets her panties. Well, I punish her for that, cause I consider this lying, she is too smart not to know when she needs to go and she is even asked!
And, what also works I think, at least with her is to tell her about how "big girls" act, and she always wants to be a big girl, and act that way. Maybe that`ll be a motivation for your child too.
Well, I don`t know if this helps, but maybe.
H.

maybe tell him that he can still go back to play outside...but call and remind him,every two hours, to come in and at least try, so we do not have any accidents....then praise him big time when it works...also...Movie....just tell him to tell you and you will be glad to put it on pause....that way he does not miss anything....going out to the Movie...before it start make it a rule to first go to the bathroom...hopefully that will help him and you also.....Make it a big reward for a week and a month....something he has been wanting very much...Maybe have a mommy & son day to mark his achievement...Make it very special so he will want to cont. on this road....Good luck

I ordered a special watch for my son to remind him when to go potty (it helps remind me to have him go too) and it can be set to 30min, 60min, or 90min. That might be something to consider for him when he is outside playing to get him to stop and go inside for a short break then go back out. Since he is older you might be able to get a regular watch that has a timer feature on it so he wont be embarrased by the cutesy music the potty watch plays.

My son is 5 1/2 and he still has accidents as well. I used to get angry but now he has to stop what he is doing and change himself, rinse out his clothes before he can go back to play. I set my watch and ask him every hour if he has to go. It has gotten so annoying that he really doesn't do it much anymore. I make him try to potty before he starts doing anything that takes a long time.

hello i don't have that prouble yet but my sister in-law does and he is 8 almost 9 years old and he still wets his pants and she buys him he goodnight s to put on

Hi T.,
When I was child I wet my pants up until I was 8 years old. I was telling my mom the same thing, who is also an RN. She finally took me to the doctor. They sent me to the hospital to have a cystoscope done; they enlarged my urinary tract and I never had any problems wetting my pants anymore. There is a good chance that he could be telling you the truth.
I remember very well how I stayed in trouble for doing it. My mom would have to pick me up from school several times a month because I had wet my pants. She thought I was only doing it for attention. I was telling her the truth though and never understood why?, she didn't believe me. I would have him checked if I were you. Give him the benefit of the doubt.

Hi T.. I have a 3 yr old son with the same issue. The way we fixed it was to require him to go to the bathroom once every hour - didn't ask if he needed to, just informed him it was time to go. After a few days we were right back on track. Sounds simple, but it works.

Best wishes...J.

I just went through this with my 6 yr old (just turned). He was also potty trained at 3 and had less accidents then! I think alot of it is being lazy and getting engrossed in an activity. Obviously you have to remind him frequently. One other thing that may work since he says he doesn't feel it is when he is playing in the house take is pants (and underwear) off most children will not "go" on themselves and it should help him reconnect with "the feeling".
Hope this helps.

If it happens more while playing outside....let him know he can tee-tee outside. That is usually so much fun for boys, in fact that's how I potty trained my 1st son when he was 2. He loved going outside, off the porch, etc. Also, try different rewards that he can receive immediately after going to the potty along with 'cummulative' rewards if he doesn't have an accident for a day, week, etc. See which rewards really matter or are worth it to him. You can also try, without punishing, making him remove his wet clothes and place them appropriately in laundry as well as have him change and re-dress himself. This might help to discourage the accidents by making him take responsibility for them without actually punishing him.
Hope this helps!
Good luck!

Hello, my son who is now 17 had a similar problem when he was four and five years old. We solved his problem through chiropractic care. He ALSO didnt feel the need to go to the bathroom.. He had and still has a problem with the area of the spine that controls his bathroom abilities.
That was after we took him to a gastro internal medicine person that couldnt find out the problem.
I am hoping for your sake that you will check into chiropractic care.. My son was very embarassed by this and it helped him through his early days of kindergarten.
I will be watching for your postings. Genelady

i used a device recommended by our pediatrician called the sleep alarm...by starchild labs. it worked miracles at nighttime with our son, who was six and still having accidents at night. if they are only happening during the day, and any medical reasons are ruled out, then he probably doesn't want to stop what he is doing to go...in which case you need to discipline him, because he knows better, and isn't doing it. my guess is if you make him clean it up, (a suggestion i got from scottish rite nurse line), it will stop happening pretty quickly. good luck

You need to have a cook timer outside so when the bell ring then you and him will know to go. If you do this about two months and be consisted about it, you will see a difference. If you have to let him change hiself and no matter how long it takes don't help him. Set it for every 30 minutes for the first two weeks until you feel comfortable go to an hour and go from there. You can get a timer at Wal-mart in the cookware area.

I too have a now 6yo who does the same exact thing and we are too so very frustrated. He now sees a Pediatric Urologist and they have diagnosed him with overactive bladder and placed him on medication however we are now a third type of medication and that too is not helping. I am planning to go to a therapist, for him, but the Dr. think it is medical. We also had him tested by an endocronoligist for any diabetes or other chemical imbalances that could lead to this.
Stay strong and maybe seek the help of your pediatrician as we did. That at least made me feel as though wew ere not alone and going crazy.

I have a 4 1/2 yr old boy and the only thing I found works is take away what he loves to do, which in his case is xbox or 2 big dinosaurs he has. When he finds he is not being rewarded for going, but being punished for not, he may start to think about it before it happens, ex: if he pee's while watching tv, 1 hr playtime in his room or whatever you think is appropiate. Also, help remind him, I ask my son whenever I think about it, "do you have to go?" alot of times he will say no, but then 5 minutes later go use the potty or if I am going, I will say "I have to go potty!" to where I make sure he hears me....of course, now my son makes an announcement whenever he has to pee :) good luck!

Hi T.,
I had the same problem with my youngest son when he was the same age as your son. He didn't have as many accidents as your son seems to be having, but he had a few, and constantly wet the bed at night...(even after we curbed his fluid intake and made him go just before bedtime). I had a hard time understanding/dealing with this because I have 5 older children and they never had this problem. I took him to his pediatrician when he was 7 and they told me it was "normal" and not to worry unless he continued to do it after the age of 9 or 10. At the age of 8 he began losing control during the day, as well as night, and even began losing control of his bowels on occassion. I took him back to the pediatrician and told them I wanted them to run some tests. With the tests, we discovered that my son had a tethered spinal cord which was causing him to lose sensation in his bowels and bladder. He had spinal cord surgery shortly after and hasn't had any problems since. I'm not insinuating that this is your son's problem, but if the problem persists I would definatly have his doctor check him out more thoroughly. Go with your instincts.

My oldest son was the same way. I even had him checked by a specialist to make sure there was nothing wrong! They did say that his bladder wasn't always emptied, which made sense cause he would go to the bathroom in the toilet, then go play and wet himself soon after! I understand your frustration. He's a teenager now, and says that he simply didn't want to bother with going to the bathroom. Even if it was cold outside, and he was wet, it didn't bother him. He admitted that he would pretend not to notice, for frankly it was more important to keep playing than take the time to go inside and use the bathroom. BOYS! I am curious though, had I known that B Complex stops bed wetting, would it have enabled him to have more control? I don't know. Wish I'd tried it with him. BTW, if you try it, make sure it's an all natural brand. www.shaklee.net/focusonhealth is the one I'd recommend.

Have you tried talking to the dr about it? Some children's bladders don't gain the muscle strength they need as early as most children do. A check up by the doctor could determine if there is a medical problem or if he just is being lazy.

He really could be too engrossed in the TV. My daughter had this problem when she was 5 and would do it in school because she either waited till the last minute cause she didn't want to stop playing or just didn't listen to her body. She didn't do it as often, maybe once a month if that so I wasn't really concerned. Is your son peeing a lot when he does have an accident? If not, you might want to get him checked for a bladder or possible kidney infection. Or if he says it hurts when he pees, UTI. If all that is clear, then you need make sure he pottys before he sits down and then make him go 45 mins to an hour later. Shut the TV off if you have to in order to make him get up and go.

Good luck!!
~S.