Peeing to Get Attention?

I am a grandmother of 17 and great grandmother of 2. The whole "bedtime - potty training" thing takes on a life of it's own. Basically you are the one getting caught up in her game. It may be a bit frustrating right now but I have yet to see a child go to college with diapers. It is only a segment of time and will not last long. Just remain calm and don't get frustrated by the bedtime game. Allow enough time for it and make enough notes so you can share when she has children of her own. :-)

When my son was about 3, I would put him to bed and he'd come up with: he's thirsty, he has to go to the bathroom. So I would bring him a little water, and I also would leave a cup in his room and say, "Well, you can't leave the room, so you have to pee in the cup." Well, you know only a trickle, if anything, is going to come out, so that solved his problem. He just got frustrated with me not letting him out of his room. Now, since you have a girl, and can't use a cup, I would say to put on her diaper, and add a feminine napkin to the inside, so then you only have to remove that! No changing the whole thing! (and saving money on diapers) Then put in another one after taking out the wet one and repeat, if she goes again. I know this sounds odd, but this idea just came to me. I never had a girl, so I don't know if this is just an insane idea or what. :) Anyway, good luck with whatever you do!

My daughter tried this stalling technique when she stopped wearing diapers during the day. She always pees in the potty before bed, but after all the other rituals, would say, "Oh, I have to pee." And, she would pee. Still, it's an attempt to postpone bedtime. We let her get up only once to pee and tell her it's OK to pee in her diaper at night. We also threatened to shorten story time if we were going to spend so much time in the bathroom. The good news: the behavior was short-lived.
Good luck,
J.

well you know your daughter best, but it sounds to me like she I'd definitely doing this to draw out the bedtime routine. I have a daughter the same age who has tried the same tactic except saying it was poop. It never was! I tell her now that it's okay that is why be wears a diaper to bed. I know it's hard not to feel guilty but remember toddlers are always seeing what they can get away with. My daughter has tried it all at bedtime including saying that she's really hungry and crying. That one got me the first time but after I fed her she claimed hungry again as soon as she was back in bed! To try and avoid all these tactics I give her extra attention before bed. We read some stories and then we snuggle until she is calm and close to sleep. That's helped. Good luck! Remember that YOU are in charge :)

This sounds a LOT like my little girl, who also loves to stretch out the bedtime routine. My daughter, who is 2.9 and mostly potty trained (except she wears a pull-up to bed) will often get up and say "I have to pee" and then we have the whole debacle of taking off feetie pajamas and the pull up and getting her on the potty....anyway, I digress.

My initial reaction/response would be to try to have her use the potty (or at least sit on it) before bed, with an incentive for peeing before bedtime (an extra story or song always works with my daughter). Then if she does pee in her diaper, would you be up for letting her stay in it for the night? Maybe create a "one diaper per night" policy with an incentive in the morning if she only wore the one.

I find it really hard to stick to a strict bedtime routine and my daughter sometimes gets away with so much! I wish you the best of luck! :)

I agree that a "one diaper per night" rule sounds like a good idea. Continue to toilet her before bed, but with the understanding that if she doesnt pee then, and she pees in her diaper, she will be staying that way. Dont let the idea of having her stay in a wet diaper make you feel guilty. Thats what diapers are for... You already said you dont change her when shes wet during the day, so why would you do anything different at night? (except of course thats shes asking you to). I think she is doing it for attention and to draw out the bedtime ritual. My son is too young for this kind of thing, but I nanny for 2 girls, one of which is 4 and does something similar.

How about the Huggies overnites...they are great, and hold a ton and baby does not feel it.

Hi,
I have a 3 1/2 yr old that plays the samegames at night. He is potty trained (for the most part) during the day but still wears pull ups to bed. We had/have a lot of trouble potty training him so everynight when we put him to bed he will say I have to go pee pee momma or I need to go poop. We went for it a few times but after that I said oh well. Most likely your little girl will not get a rash if she pees a little. He goes the same thing with the hugs and he is very charming. In the passed few weeks wse stoped and made it very clear to him before he goes to sleep, that he has to use the potty now or not at all and that these are his last hugs and kisses for the night. I felt horrible about it at first because he would cry when we wouldnt come in for one last hug but he has moved on and knows that its not happening so don't ask. If you do the same for a few nights I bet she will realize your on to her little games and she will give up on it.
Hope this helps!