My son is 3 and has been fully potty trained for several months now. He knows to go in the potty and has had very few accidents since we got out of diapers. He wakes up every night several times a night to pee in the potty, never wetting his bed or pull up. I usually have to go help him get his pj's back on correctly and pulled up. So I am getting up several times a night too. My problem is that a few nights ago I did not hear him get up and he wandered around the house. (I am opposed to locking him in his room and to having a potty in his room) He decided to pee in our dog's water bowl instead of the potty! Then he did it again in the middle of the day, in the dog's empty food bowl! (I was putting away laundry in the other room) Now he has done it again at night in the water bowl (again I did not hear him get out of his room). He can not verbalize to me why he has done this when I ask, I understand at this age he may not be able to. I just can not understand why he has done it and how to stop it. If I help him in the potty and back to bed we have no problems, it is only if he is unattended these last few times. He used to come to my room at night and ask for my help if I did not get up and come to help him. During the day he goes to the potty without instance, he just need's help getting his pants up but otherwise he goes freely in the potty. Oh, he does like to potty outside (in the yard or at the playground) and will pull his pants down out there if no one is looking and will do it instead of asking to come inside to potty. I had him help me put the pee in the potty where it goes, "clean" the dog's bowl, and apologize to the dog. We used all positive reinforcements when we were training him, no shaming, etc. (Althought I admit to flying off the handle when he has done this particular behavior) I am trying some extra positive attention for going in the potty again to reinforce that we don't go anywhere else besides the potty but am afraid of him doing it again. He does not get caffeine during the day, the 2 glasses of juice he gets is watered down and it stops before 5pm, he gets one glass of milk with each meal so no fluids after 7pm and he is in bed before well 9pm. I have run through all the possible causes and can not come up with anything - besides the fact that he is 3 and just trying things out to see what happens. I am mortified to have to ask this question but hope someone has been through this and can give me some advice. Sorry my request is long, venting helps!
Maybe you can ask him again to come wake you up in the middle of the night when he needs to go?? I have a girl so this is new to me.
Angela,
I HEAR you! My son doesn't wake up in the middle of the night to potty, so I can't help you there. But I hear you in regards to your son using alternative places to relieve himself. My DS, also 3 and potty trained, has decided to relieve himself in the BACK YARD! UGH! He knows better too. He usually tells us when he needs to go and we make sure he gets to the potty.
I do feel for your dog though. Other than putting the dogs bowls up when it's not eating/drinking...??
I know it sounds horrible to lock them in their room, but I just think they are safer that way. My husband, when he was little, used to sleep walk (he ended up in the bathtub one night) and since we have stairs right outside their bedrooms, I locked them in for fear they might do the same. We just turned their door knobs around so the lock was on the outside. My pediatrician actually agreed w/this and said they are much safer that way at that age. My fear was a fire, but if they are locked in, you'd know right where they are and wouldn't have to search for them if they left their rooms. Just a thought...also try not giving him drinks after a certain time at night so he doesn't need to get up. We don't use the locks anymore since they are older, but it really helped me sleep better at night...I wouldn't "lock them in" until I went to sleep so they usually never even knew the door was locked.
I'm glad you won't consider locking him in his room. I can't imagine how scary that would be for a child, to wake up and not be able to get out.
I know it's serious for you, but I laughed when I read your post. What a boy thing to do, peeing in the dog bowl! :) I'm so sorry to be thinking that's just a little bit naughty-cute. :)
I don't know that I have any advice other than to get up before him to take him potty. Maybe once before you go to bed & then you or your husband get up again a few hours later to take him again. My husband and I did this for awhile when trying to get our daughter out of pull ups at night.
Also, I think at three he's old enough to understand when you tell him it's yucky to pee pee in the dog's bowl, since nobody - even the dog - wants to drink pee. ;) So maybe try to keep reminding him of that.
