I have a son who just turned 5 years old in June! Ever since I had my second boy in January he has been peeing in his pants!!! I ask him multiple times a day if he has to go and he says no! He was even peeing his pants at school before it ended!! Has anyone else had this problem and does anyone have any advice on how to fix it???
Sounds like he's jealous of the new baby. Can happen. Don't ask him if he needs to go. Tell him to go, period. Talk to the teacher at school if it continues in the fall and ask them to make him go at certain times. If he hasn't done this for years and it's new then it's in his head, not a physical problem.
K. B
mom to 5 including triplets
Five year olds are "busy"...a LOT. I still have to remind my 8 year old to stop what he's doing and pee sometimes...he's like a camel--he'll hold if for 6 hours at times!
We didn't have this exact problem, but we do have problems with playing. I started just making ours go potty every hour to two hours to avoid accidents. Sounds like though he is doing this to get attention.
I would think it is a probably a combination of the fact that there is a new baby and that he is 5. Like another poster said, 5 year olds are busy! I, too, had to stop and remind my son at that age to go to the bathroom. He is just too busy playing to go.
Just make sure to give your son lots of one on one time to minimize any jealousy of the new baby and to make him feel more comfortable with the baby's arrival. Don't ask him if he has to go pee, make him go pee, even if he says he doesn't have to.
Good luck!
Might I add that just because we understand WHY he is doing it (new baby, just being 5 and a boy) - doesn't mean that there are no consequences. In cases like this, I'm a HUGE believer in natural consequences. He has to go in the bathroom, remove his wet clothes, put them into a predetermined place (a bucket or tub), go in his room and get new underwear and pants and put them on. Then go get a cloth and clean up any puddles. EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. No fussing at him, no lecture, no shaming. Just matter of fact "oh, my, you wet your pants - now go take care of it!"
It is stress/anxiety... a new baby in the home.
Just comfort him.
He is young.
Just to let you know: ALL of my Daughter's Teachers, from Preschool, Kindergarten AND 1st grade, ALL SAID that kids this ages have accidents. NO biggie. They just have you bring in extra clothing for your kid, to change into.
Even my daughter's school Health Room, has Extra clothing/clean underwear for the kids at school who have accidents.
It is childhood.
Don't stress him or punish him for it.
It will pass.
When I had my 2nd child, my fully toilet trained daughter, had accidents. We did not scold her nor her Teacher. We comforted her. We did not pressure her. We KNEW it would pass. We talked with her and comforted her. We did not make her feel like she was inadequate or that something was wrong, with her.
I told her, that I understand. Its okay.
I told her, I KNOW she is a little girl, not an adult.
And then, it passes and she stopped having accidents.
Also, kids this age "think" they can hold their bladder longer. But they can't. Keep in mind that kids this age, even if toilet trained, CANNOT have total 100% control over their biological urges.
Night-time dryness for example, is not something that is BIOLOGICALLY attained, until even 7 years old. It is about the body's brain/bladder/nerve development. And yes, even at this age.
all the best,
Susan
I agree with Scarlett, he's preoccupied and busy, AND he's worried about the attention the new baby is taking away from him. Peeing his pants gets your attention, and negative attention is way better than no attention to most children. Be sure you are noticing his finest moments and appreciating him in every possible way while he's adjusting to the baby being part of his family. He really needs it.
And personally take him to the bathroom every couple of hours. Make a game of it. With my grandson, I would go into the bathroom and begin noisily ejecting all the dinosaurs crowded in there. The child simply couldn't resis this game, and would come in and personally remove the baby dinos sitting all over the toilet seat. Then he'd take his triumphant pee.
Sometimes kids have this problem when they have a bladder infection, be sure it's not medical...
Try to give him more one-on-one attention. He's going it because of the new baby and he may not even realize why he's doing it.
And I agree with Robyn R's answer.. he's doing it for attention but make it annoying for him to have to clean up. If you notice it before he says anything just wait for him to tell you then just be like oh, ok, well go clean up. Show him the first time then after that he's on his own. I bet it would stop pretty quickly..
