Son Wetting His Pants

Has something happened in the last two weeks where he may be wanting extra attention?? Maybe try to sit a time aside for even 10 minutes that is just for him, playing catch, or reading a story. Then espically brag when he is a big boy and does go to the bathroom, and don't pay any attention when he wets for a few days and see if you can tell any difference.

My step son is about to be 8 in three weeks. This summer he started wetting his bed. I would find hidden clothes in suitcases, under the bed, in the closet, everywhere! I was losing my mind. My husband was worried that he might be diabetic since my husband was diagnosed at 10. However, the doctor said he was fine. The doctor listed lost of things that can make children wet beds; coldness, life changes, laziness, sleeping to comfy, ect. We also went to the store and bought him the Goodnight BOXERS. We called all the kids together (10,9,7,5)and had a family talk. None of the kids wanted to sit or sleep with him. They didn't even want me to wash his clothes with thiers. This really hurt his feelings and the doctor told us we needed to ease up on him. So we explained what was going on to everyone and showed them the boxers. Told him he had to wear them right before he jumped into bed and could take them off right when he got up. It was going to be our "family secret". A week later he stop wetting himself and all was well.

I wish you and your son the best of luck.

My son is also four years old, almost five. He recently went through the same thing. I had a talk with our peditrician about it. She said that he's potty trained, it just isn't high on his priority list. His friends aren't really old enough to make fun of him, so he doesn't even have any social ramifications for it. She ended up telling me that her son did it too. So, my best advice is to hang in there. It will pass! We got my son some Mario Brothers underwear at Kohl's. He just got it yesterday as it has been 2-3 weeks since he's had a bad accident. We went through all the rewards/punishments too. I am not sure it was the right thing, but we did. :) I have tried to stop punishing or shaming him in any way. Good luck. Know that you are not alone!

Hi S. L. Has your son gone through anything different in the past two weeks. Sometimes when something tramatic or any changes like new baby in the house, new daycare, parents arguing more than usual, can trigger incidents just like this. Do not punish your child for something he may not being able to control. It could be anything. Just stop and think,"Have there been any changes in our household lately?" I bet something will come up. But if he doesn't pop out of it you may need to take him to the doctor. Hope this works. Good luck.

Have you asked him if it hurts when he potties? He could have a blatter infection or some infection.

Hi. You said he has been wetting his pants for a "couple of weeks" which would indicate that he had previously been staying dry. I would take him to the doctor to make sure he doesn't have anything wrong. Look at his face, is he surprised when this happens?

**personal note** when I was a little girl, I wet my pants till I was 7 years old. My parents took me to the dr over and over again and the dr's said I was just being lazy. They tried everything you mentioned above to try and get it to stop - but it turns out I had kidney reflux and required surgery to correct the problem. Not saying that your kid needs surgery or anything - I just hate to think of him being punished for something that might not be his fault.

Take him to the doc - sounds like a UTI.
S.

Since this just started a couple weeks ago look and see what may be happening in his life that is disturbing him. Make sure there is no emotional problem. There is something going on so check with a play therapist for his emotional health after you check with your pediatrician that there is nothing physical going on. A.

Well, my son is now 8 yrs old and just recently started having clean pants during the day. I know, but he was just being flat out lazy or getting too preoccupied with playing. We started taking away the toy or toys he was playing with when he had his accidents. We also threw out the underwear if it was really bad so when he asked me one day to buy him more underwear, I told him nope. He was deathly afraid of wearing a pull up to school so that helped us. With my daughter, she was not allowed to go off shopping with us..yes, she is my little shopper in the family. One of us stayed home with her though, of course.

However, being 4, he may just have that too busy to stop thing going on. You may want to restart him on reminding him every 30 mins or whatever you decide. He will get there. It may just take a very embarassing moment for him to realize that it is not very big boy to do such a thing.

I'd see if he might have a bladder infection... does he get upset when he wets? Then it would seem like he can't help it???

I agree with checking with the doctor, and when you tell your son why your going...he might see that it is a big deal. I also agree with the timer. I'm sure if you really stick with it he'll get tired of stopping what he's doing to go all the time. When he complains about it (he will) You might tell him that when he stops wetting his pants you wont have to set the timer anymore. Hang in there...it really is normal @ 4 to have that start happening. It will pass.

Hi S., I suggest taking your son to the doctor to make sure he isn't having bladder spasms or doesn't have a urinary tract infection. Both of these can lead to sudden wetting without warning. If he checks out fine, I suggest showing him how to set a timer for 30 minutes before he starts an activity and when his timer goes off he needs to go potty then he can reset it and play again. He will love using the timer and it will keep him from getting to involved in playing to feel his urges to potty.