Help with 3 Year That Stopped Going Pee in Potty

Can you add a little more information? Is she still wearing training pants or underwear? Does she have accidents or is she actually holding it in all day?

I also have a strong-willed daughter and this is what worked for us:

If she isn't wearing underwear, try putting her in those and stop using the training pants. My daughter hates getting wet.

If she is able to hold it in all day, I would be concerned that she is not getting enough water to drink. Maybe offer her more water. My daughter would have "askidents" at least once a day and would still refuse to "try" if she didn't have to go right when I asked her to.

You can also try getting a potty watch. Basically a timer that you set to go off at certain intervals. When it is time to "go", it blinks and plays music. My kids loved going when it was time and made a big deal out of showing off their "new potty watches" to everyone. It takes you out of the equation so it is no longer a battle of wills to go. They are $10 at pottytimeinc.com. I always had my kids go potty first thing when they woke up and then they "got" to put their potty watch on. Then all I did was get really excited when the potty watch went off ("it's time to go potty! YEAH! Hurry up! Get there before the song stops!", etc.) and they did the rest.

Some thoughts, if she gets dehydrated and has had any minor bladder infection type thing she may have a pain memory issue and not want to experience it again so she is preventing the possibility, and causing the problem all at once. Also some children your daughters age experience pain in their bowels that makes them uncomfortable. Their nerves are just hyper sensitive and they literally become scared to go because they do not want to hurt. I only know this because both my boys experienced this as did my husband when he was little. I would check with your collective parents and see if either of you experienced the same thing. They grow out of it by six when they are more developed. A bit of fish oil helps to loosen the stool and make it easier, and cranberry juice is a great bladder infection cure and preventative and will help with the issues.

Hi J.,
I have a question. Have you tried putting her *back* on a potty schedule?

Since you think it's a control issue (and I'll bet you're right), how about taking control back?

As I was finishing up potty-training my son (after about 2 months), he started to go through phases where he wanted to see if it was a situation he could take control of, and tried to refuse peeing. At those times, I'd put him on the potty at set times (usually right after a drink; just after sleep; or after a mealtime), calmly say "I need some pee." or "Stay here until you pee." and walk out.

He'd pitch a fit sometimes, but I always got pee (or poo, depending on the time of day). Once he saw it was an, "expectation," he just sort of went with it.

Just a suggestion :)
T
PS: Good job checking with the Doc first.

J.,
After reading your blurb a thought came to mind to give her more to drink and fruit to eat so that she will have to pee more?
I am a mother of 4 and by all means no expert!

just think, when she is 16 she will have mastered this issue and on to others! ha!!

Have a great day,
T.
www.tesabartell.myarbonne.com

My son did the exact same thing! After he was potty trained fully and getting up at night to go, he suddenly started reverting when he was just past three years of age. We hadn't moved, no new anything. We tried all sorts of things to get him to use the toilet, even telling him we would put him back in diapers like a baby. His response to that was 'okay, fine'. NOT what we were looking for. Nothing seemed to work, and he was wetting the bed as well as his pants. Since I get to stay home with him and his little brother, and we don't have a lot of visitors, I just let him run around in a long t-shirt all day. As long as he wasn't wearing anything on his lower half, he'd remember. He still had accidents while we went out, so my husband and I would try to do our errands without the boys, and we only took him places he wanted to go. Then, if he had an accident, we had to leave and go home right away. He was persistant, his wetting regressive behavior lasted almost a month. Then he gave it up and went right back to being potty trained and getting up at night if he had to go.
B. S

Has anything changed in your household. A new baby, you're pregnant, husband out of town... When we brought home a new baby (10 months ago) my 3 year old regressed a lot. I never had a problem with potty training and she never wore pull up and we had no accidents. The day the baby arrived all my 3 year old had up to 5 accidents per day. She wanted attention and was feeling jealous. Please give us a little more information.

Good Luck

When you are sure that she has to go potty, take her to a place that doesn't have carpet i.e. your bathroom or kitchen. Then let her take her panties off. She won't pee on herself and she will tell you she has to go. Also don't let her leave the un-carpeted area.

That worked for my little girl.

Hope it helps,
K.

Hi J., I am a grandmother in Scottsdale now, but when we moved from Texas to California my son,age 3,(now grown) with kids of his own, was also potty trained in both areas but, when we moved it was very emotional for him & he started pooping in his pants & wetting the bed again. I tried everything too, from embarasing him in front of his friends, to hanging his wet sheets out the window of his bedroom window for everyone to see. Nothing really worked until I took him to my Dr. there & he told me that my son had a weak shivcner,(I don't know how to spell this word)muscle & that he would eventually outgrow it. Well, he didn't for a long time until we got a little gadget (Iv'e even forgotten what it's called) but it's like an alarm that told him when he had to go. It attached to his little weenie, & it worked off the pressure of his bladder to rouse him so he could get up & go. If this continues ask your Dr. if he ever heard of such a thing & where you could get one to fit a little girl. He eventually did get up & go, but he slept in a little room kind of away from all of us,so he had to take somebody w/him as it was very scary going from that room down a long hallwa into the bathroom. Come to think of this might be another problem. If the house is laid out strange the way this one was in Calif. (& by the way he was the only boy amidst 3 girls) so he had quite a walk to the bathroom. Could that maybe be part of the problem or does she hold it all the time,anywhere she's @??