4 1/2 y.o. Having Accidents

I'll say if she does let you know that she doesn't feel it coming it's safe to say it's time to see her doctor. This could be a sign of bladder stem troble, her bladder has troped, nerve issues, or something closly related. I'm thinking some kind of nerve disorder. Don't be alarmed until you hear what her doctor has to say.

It could be nothing more the rlapes since you have a younger child. My son of three started to do good on the potty, yet when my 2nd son come along he backed tracked, plus My husband and I had problems to where we are going through an divorce. Keep us posted we are out here for you.

Hey A.,
It is always smart to consult the Ped., however, we just went through the same thing with our 3 year old. Did great for months and then started having trouble. We went right back to what worked the first time. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it so I told him, over and over, he was a big boy and big boys use the potty. Then, when he did use it, we rewarded him with a small piece of candy. Oh, and did the potty dance. We thought we didn't need a reward system anymore but it's worked well the 2nd time around.
Hope this helps.
Melissa

My daughter began having accidents after being potty-trained. She is chronically constipated, but not like you would think...instead of not going, she was going many times a day...the soft stool was leaking around a large mass. If they get so backed up, then it presses on their bladder and they have problems with wetting their pants, too. She has been on Miralax. (I am having her tested for a gluten allergy next, but that is far down the road for you).

Ya know I was once told that if there are changes in your family life this can make them revert. Maybe if you can just reashure her that everything is ok and spend some just her time things will get better.

To be on the safe side I would call and make an appt with the ped.. She could have a bladder infection and if she's having problems with her bladder if can have an effect on her having poop accidents as well. I wouldn't punish her I'd just get her to the ped asap and mean while I'd have her make more often stops in the potty to be safe if at all possible.

Do you think she maybe having these accidents because something is bothering her? Maybe she is doing this to get attention from you guy's? She also could be doing this because she is going through new changes? Any new situations, any new routines,?
You might put a call to the kid's dr. so you can talk with him/her about your concerns. I hope it works itself out. S.

My daughter was nearly 4 when she started having random accidents, so we just slowed her down a little bit. We took more breaks from playing and movies and went back to something like potty-training mode where we asked her constantly if she needed to go and if it had been an hour or so, we'd make her sit on the pot for a bit. We celebrated the times she succeeded and used rewards for encouragement. We even bought new princess panties that she could wear when she was accident free and helped her realize that Cinderella did not want to get wet! After several of days of this she seemed to have the hang of it again and we have not had any problems since. However, if it had not worked itself out in a timely manner or not helped to pay closer attention, we would have had her checked by the doctor. Best wishes!

My sister had this, long time ago of course. My parents took her to a chiropractor. She had a pinched nerve in her back, it took a single agjustment and the problem was fixed. Your nerves run from you back to the groin and down into the legs. When she said she couldn't feel it, she couln't. Hope this helps. The poop issue... I don't know. Good luck.

I might mention it to the pediatrician. It might be something as innocuous as laziness "I'm busy and I'll just hold it as long as I can" and not being too averse to what we find NASTY. Or it might indicate something more -- anything from physical to emotional... Try sitting her down for a talk. Ask her what's going on. Is there anything bothering her - anyONE bothering her - let her know that not only CAN she come to you with anything, but that you want her to. Then make it clear that you would like her to keep her panties clean and dry. Maybe the pep talk(s) would be enough.

My niece was having issues like this a couple of months ago and we thought maybe she was regressing (she was 3yrs. old in March and has been potty trained since Aug. last year). Her mom took her to the doctor and she had a yeast infection. The doctor said that when kids have yeast infections, UTI or bladder infections they don't have the sensation that tells them they need to go.

You might want to take her to the doctor just to rule out any of those. Good luck.

could just be an attention thing. My cousin's oldest son was 3 when his little brother was born and he reverted back to wetting his pants. But you might need to have her checked by a doctor, it could be something else. good luck

A.,

Have there been significant changes in her life? Is she jealous of your 1 yr. old? I too am a working mom going through divorce with 5 yr girl and 1yr. boy. I think both challenges affected her tee tee and "pooh pooh" accidents. You may also want to make sure she is not feeling shame at school/home- I think that made my daughter's problem worse...may be why she is hiding it. Glad to talk to someone who is doing it solo too...talk anytime...I could use the support too.

-T. M.

My daughter had issues like this last year (when she was 4). It was frustrating because she had gone without accidents for so long before it started happening. I attributed it to her just being busy (playing) and not taking the time to go the restroom. Often, she would feel so confident about her ability to make it to the restroom in time that she would wait until the very last minute...and then not make it. I do like the idea of taking her to the doctor to rule out infection. Other than that, I'd say it's a pretty normal phase that she'll outgrow.

My daughter had similar situation. We double checked for UTI because that had caused the reversal earlier. In addition to consulting her homeopath and working with her correct remedy, I treated her for intestional yeast (using natural supplements - but you could try something prescribed from doc like nystatin). Her ped was no help to me here, but yours may be better. Natural style doctors get that this is more than a "I forgot", usually that only happens once and then they don't do it again. I could tell that she lost a little control over herself (whether the bladder was the problem or not). If she has constipation, exzema, skin rashes on her bottom or elsewhere, irritability, etc., yeast treatment may be the thing for you.

Good luck!

We just went through this with my 4 1/2 year old girl. No fun!! I talked to the pediatrician about it and she said there are a lot of kids who have this problem because they are backed up. When their rectal muscle is constantly holding in the poop, they start to not notice the difference for when they have to pee, and it just keeps going downhill. When my daughter went to the bathroom it didnt look like she could be backed up because it was still soft, and she went atleast 1-2 times a day. Anyway... I was desperate and did what the doctor told me to do. I just gave her miralax (you can get it over the counter now) every day. It was amazing how much came out of such a little thing! Once I knew she had to be cleaned out I lessened the amount, so it was just enough to keep her really soft. It took a little bit of retraining, so she understood the cues again... but it really helped. If it hasn't been too long she may just pick right back up and not have accidents. For me it was worth a try since there aren't really any side effects. Just make sure she drinks plenty of water! My neighbor had the same thing work for her too. Good luck!