Potty Training, Should I Worry?

My sister has an extremely large bladder and did the same thing as a child -- she also ended up with a load of UTIs :( In school she could go from before school (and we went to a before school program too) the whole way through the end of the day and then would be dying to go at home when we got home. Try to teach her that there are at least certain times when she should "let it out" -- like morning, before or after lunch, before or after nap (if she naps), before or after dinner and before bed. That will at least set expectations of times when she should not be holding it.

Good luck!

I think she's doing great. My daughter can hold it 8h at a time and other days she goes every few hours.

The only thing you could try is giving her more fluids.

M.

Let her work this out on her own.

I know, as a preschool teacher, believe me, I KNOW this is hard to watch. However, once children have mastery of the whole toileting thing, many of them like to 'test' themselves and see what their capacity is. I have a little "pee camel" in my group who can hold it FOREVER. While the child is at school, I don't ask--but SEND the child to the bathroom at regular intervals, just as I do the rest of my group. But if it were just she and I, I would do this less often. It's obvious this is an area she likes to feel control of.

If it were me, I'd relax about this phase as much as I can, and if she has accidents, let her change her clothes/help with cleanup. Otherwise, she's eventually going to figure it out on her own. For what it's worth, in my 19+ years of taking care of children, I've never seen a bladder infection from "holding it". Occasionally, because of poor wiping habits, an infection will develop. Your daughter seems to have her own way of doing things, so I wouldn't worry until a tangible reason which she can understand (accidents or infection) presents itself.

Hope that helps!
H.

PS--Good to hear from Allison-- I haven't seen everything yet!

Make it a game or a reward for her going 5 times in a day... AM, am snack, after Lunch, pm snack, before bed or something like that, this will make her pee frequently happily.

I understand your don't want her to get an infection....Keep doing what you're doing. Gently reminders and trips to the potty will eventually encourage her to go on her own. Right now it is a power play on her part. Also, she is obviously active and most likely doesn't want to stop her activities to go potty. Reward her with praise and stickers etc...for going potty...She'll get there.

My daughter also seems to hold it for a long time. Instead of worrying about it I just have her tell me when she needs to go. She is really good at telling me when she needs to go without having accidents. I agree with the other mom that suggests giving her more liquid, if you are concerned about how frequent she goes to the bathroom. Otherwise I think your daughter is doing great. Keep praising her for her progress. If you are really concerned about her holding her bladder for a long time and getting an infection, talk to her ped.

Try to work peeing into her normal routine, when she wales up, before meals, before bed, etc.

My son (now 4 years old) did the same thing when we started potty training - in fact I stopped training for a few weeks because I was afraid he would get an infection from holding it too long...and I was tired of flooded diapers that needed to be changed twice in the night. He is doing great now and will go with reminders. A short break worked for us.