https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Sun, 05 Apr 2026 12:36:03 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-with-lots-of-potty-accidents#post-2928316 Mon, 24 Jul 2023 15:59:36 +0000 Corduroy 2928316@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For one of mine this was a phase. She thought if she just peed in her pants a little she could skip a trip to the bathroom. For my other kid it is closely tied to constipation and we need to dose him Miralax if he has daytime accidents (nighttime too but we haven't totally solved that issue). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-with-lots-of-potty-accidents#post-2928314 Fri, 21 Jul 2023 07:24:05 +0000 MACSUNSHINE 2928314@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My middle went through this when she was almost 5, her pre K teachers said they were seeing it with many of the kids. Too busy to make it to bathroom. It lasted a few months and has since passed, to echo others, reminding to slow down and listen to body calmly helped us. Believe me I had my moments frustration. For her I think some of it was the stress of school changes, kindergarten, and just feeling it coming. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-with-lots-of-potty-accidents#post-2928313 Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:10:05 +0000 HappyBaker 2928313@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: @Aria: thank you for sharing, the solidarity helps as I feel like I’m losing my marbles over this ha! My other 2 kids didn’t have this phase but good to know yours grew out of it eventually. I’ll try rewarding him for going on his own, that seems better than trying to continually punish for all the accidents! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-with-lots-of-potty-accidents#post-2928312 Thu, 20 Jul 2023 13:29:31 +0000 Aria 2928312@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My oldest did something similar around the same age, and now we are going through it with my 4.5 yo. It is so frustrating. </p> <p>My my oldest she would start to pee her pants then run and finish in the bathroom. We just stayed cool about it and reminded her to go change her underwear. She stopped sometime before 1st grade I think. She wouldn’t do it at school, only at home. </p> <p>My youngest is a whole other story. She will full on pee her pants and then not even say anything and go around all day with wet pants until we notice, both at home and at school. We are currently bribing her with a prize if she goes for a week without accidents with minimal success. We are making her go every 2 hours or so and she fights it almost every time. It is exhausting. We’ve been heaping lots of praise on her every time she goes to the bathroom without fighting and during the times her underwear stays dry and that has helped a bit. </p> <p>All that to say, I think this is a pretty common phase and it will end eventually! I hope it gets easier for you soon. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-with-lots-of-potty-accidents#post-2928311 Thu, 20 Jul 2023 10:03:45 +0000 erinbaderin 2928311@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>This was 100% my son, who is 7 now and has mostly outgrown it but still not 100%. For what it's worth, I found it was better in kindergarten - he would still have accidents at home but rarely at school (although the number of days in the winter when he'd leave school without peeing and then get home and say "I peed in my snowpants"....I don't miss that). We talked a lot about listening to your body, your body is trying to tell you something, and you have to listen to it, and did rewards - whenever he "listened to his body" and went to the bathroom on his own he'd get a candy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/5-year-old-with-lots-of-potty-accidents#post-2928310 Thu, 20 Jul 2023 06:17:45 +0000 HappyBaker 2928310@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know it’s quiet here now but I could use hive help! My 5 year old son has been potty trained for a couple of years. He still wears a pull up at night because we’ve tried ditching them a few times and he really just doesn’t wake up at night to pee. No big deal, we’ll wait for that part. But more and more he’s having accidents, mostly pee but sometimes poop too. He 100% knows he needs to go - is dancing around like crazy if it’s pee or sitting funny if it’s poop, and when we see that we tell him to go try but he usually refuses until the last minute and then has an accident. He starts kindergarten in the fall so we really need to get this under control! I’m not sure if we should go back to just forcing bathroom time every X amount of minutes or if there’s another way to help him, the issue is definitely he doesn’t want to stop what he’s doing to go to the bathroom. Thanks! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926541 Tue, 29 Mar 2022 09:30:46 +0000 ALV91711 2926541@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 3.5 year old will not poop on the toilet. He’s done it twice at daycare over the last month but that is it. He’s been peeing on the toilet probably 4-5 months now and wears underwear with no accidents. </p> <p>It frustrates me because he knows when he has to poop. He comes and asks for a pull up to go in. So the rule is now that he has to sit on the toilet and try. When I put on the pull up he has to stand in the bathroom to poop. </p> <p>I’m hoping it clicks soon. We’ve tried sticker chart which he doesn’t care about, a small prize when he poops on the toilet which he likes but doesn’t care enough about. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926538 Mon, 28 Mar 2022 19:05:13 +0000 nana87 2926538@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Lo1 didn't have constipation issues but just didn't want to potty train, and honestly this might not be what you want to hear but we just waited it out. She liked to poop under the dining room table in her diaper 🤷‍♀️ I forget exactly when she went diaper free for real but it was maybe 3.5. We just didn't make it a big deal, offered the potty frequently and when we saw that she was needing to go, emphasized listening to her body... and eventually she was just over diapers herself </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926519 Thu, 24 Mar 2022 20:30:49 +0000 togetherthroughlife 2926519@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@bhbee: It’s worth asking! Hopefully they can steer you in a good direction. :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926515 Thu, 24 Mar 2022 12:35:58 +0000 periwinklebee 2926515@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Sympathies. My 4 yo refuses to potty train. I talked to the ped about it at his 4 year checkup, and she is super against rewards or pressure in potty training, says she is not concerned, and that she has seen many cases where pressure leads to UTIs and unhealthy habits. But seriously, the kid announced last night that he does not intend to use the potty until he's 5 years old. I have tried the oh crap method, and he just pees on the floor and then cries about it and says he can't use the potty because nothing comes out when he tries. </p> <p>For awhile my 2 year old was showing some readiness that we encouraged, but has lost interest. I'm thinking they may end up training at the same time, as I suspect he won't want to be in diapers once his little sister is not. </p> <p>So this is not helpful, you clearly have your act way, way more together than I do. But just sympathy. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926512 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 20:23:40 +0000 bhbee 2926512@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@JJ2626: I know it’s true about the waiting I am just in denial :silly: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926511 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:45:50 +0000 JJ2626 2926511@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know this isn’t what you want to hear but you may need to wait. My daughter was the same way. Very capable of holding it and no interest in using the toilet. At 3.5 she just one day decided to use the toilet. Our pediatrician said some kids aren’t trained until after 4. That said, I’ve also heard that choosing a future date to take away diapers and then doing it can work with older kids. They can even choose the date on a big calendar and then you cross out the dates. Poop may take longer anyway (did for us-she still asked for a diaper for poop for a couple more months) so maybe the constipation won’t be an issue. Especially if she’s wearing diapers at night? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926510 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:17:22 +0000 bhbee 2926510@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@togetherthroughlife: thanks I should ask her urologist if they have a recommendation - actually I’m surprised they haven’t mentioned this idea! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926509 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:15:09 +0000 bhbee 2926509@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catgirl: yes soooo stubborn here too. I like the gradual idea! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926508 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 16:14:29 +0000 bhbee 2926508@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@erinbaderin: so far I have found zero prizes motivating to her. Little toys, big toys, candy, other food, stickers … not sure what else to try but open to ideas! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926507 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 12:51:19 +0000 togetherthroughlife 2926507@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>There is likely a urologist and/or occupational therapist in your area who can give a specialized plan for your family! Withholding is pretty common and can happen for all kinds of reasons! I would seek out an OT first. :) I hope something works for her! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926504 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 10:46:24 +0000 catgirl 2926504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We started potty training just before DD was 3. Within days she had mastered peeing in the toilet. Has never had a pee accident. But she would not poop on the toilet. Would always ask for a diaper. She also suffered from moderate constipation so we were hesitant to push. So we would give her the diaper but she had to be in the bathroom (not on the toilet but in the bathroom). After 6ish months we still let have the diaper but she had to sit on the toilet. Just after she turned 4 she started going on the toilet without issue. </p> <p>Honestly she has just always been a stubborn, strong willed kid who needs to do things on her own time. We tried bribes - she turned everything down or didn't care. For her it was time and feeling like she was in control of the process. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926503 Tue, 22 Mar 2022 10:23:50 +0000 erinbaderin 2926503@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Bribery? This sounds like a joke but I'm serious - will a sticker chart or something work, if she can earn towards a prize? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/3yo-who-just-wants-diapers#post-2926502 Mon, 21 Mar 2022 22:23:56 +0000 bhbee 2926502@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>So our 3rd is 3.5 and she still just really wants to go in diapers all the time (I say “go in” because she can happily wear panties and ask for diapers as needed). She will go on the small potty some, but rarely poop. She has zero accidents in panties - she just doesn’t like to use the potty. I’ve never convinced her to go in the regular toilet or at ANY public place, even though our local mall has private family bathrooms with nice small toilets that helped our others get started away from home. She has a short enough preschool day to hold it there. </p> <p>I’m just kind of at a loss. I’ve considered just pulling all diapers but she also is treated for difficult constipation (already takes a lot of miralax and doesn’t have dairy due to allergy) and has repeat UTIs related to that so I’m very hesitant to do anything that will contribute to more holding of anything. So every time it’s a negotiation and I cave more than I’d like to admit. </p> <p>But man I’m ready to be done with diapers. She has more willpower than us for sure though :silly: </p> <p>Any genius approaches?? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926364 Mon, 14 Feb 2022 12:55:00 +0000 caitcat 2926364@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Umbreon: My daughter did this when she was little, and she did eventually get herself up to use the bathroom rather than using her pull up. It worked itself out with time (and didn't mess with day time potty training in the process). Thinking back on it, I miss when she would just rest in bed and not come get me right away!! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926362 Sun, 13 Feb 2022 08:37:08 +0000 Umbreon 2926362@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I'm wondering if this is a problem... my son tends to wake up and just lay there. He doesnt come get us. If it's been a long time he might start talking to himself, but usually he just lays quietly in bed. We also have a baby and I've noticed sometimes he is awake at 5:30am when I get up for her. If I leave him he falls back asleep. (Pleasantly surprised he doesnt get out of bed and come to us top early in the morning, that's wonderful- but I worry it's not good for teaching him to pee in the potty)</p> <p>I guess eventually he will call us or get out of bed if he needs to pee and doesnt want to do it in the pullup? He is on a mattress on the floor and there is a potty in his room. We tell him to get us and he will repeat and say "mommy daddy have to pee" to show he understands. He only actually did this once or twice when we ditched the diaper though.</p> <p>He will go to the potty by himself during the day but not always.</p> <p>This morning, baby slept till 7. My son is still asleep at 7:45 and i bet he woke at 6 or earlier, laid there and fell back asleep. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926272 Tue, 01 Feb 2022 14:57:42 +0000 Mrs. Carrot 2926272@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I learned from this group that night training isn't really a thing, it's biological development, and it saved me a ton of sanity. We never did anything for nighttime until my daughter just started waking up dry. She actually managed without a diaper for nights before she figured out the daytime training. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926268 Tue, 01 Feb 2022 11:11:13 +0000 Mrs. Champagne 2926268@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Diaper for sure. My youngest just started waking up dry and he’s 3.5. My older two were around 5 when they stopped night time diapers. Both of my good friends kids are closer to 7 before they stop.</p> <p>ETA: is he still peeing normal amount during the day? drinking normally? If he’s suddenly extremely thirsty and peeing more and wetting the bed, you’d want to see the doctor but if it’s just a regression, then ya totally just go back to diapers. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926259 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 23:57:20 +0000 ALV91711 2926259@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Team pull up here. When DS1 was just over 4 we ditched the night pull up and this was because he was waking up dry for a while and would willingly go to the washroom when he got up. DS2 is 3.5 and he still wears a pull up at night. He hasn’t woken up wet in ages but with baby in the way I’m just going to wait and see and make sure he doesn’t regress. I also told him he has to poop in the potty before he can wear underwear at night. </p> <p>It won’t hurt to go back to pull ups. And I think much better than to wake up with a wet bed every day. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926257 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 22:35:20 +0000 MACSUNSHINE 2926257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Ditto everyone, night training is different and their bodies have to be ready.</p> <p>My son is 6 and night trained at almost 5 and still wets the bed maybe once a month. My 3 yo daughter, night trained at 2.5, when she insisted on no longer wearing pulls ups, and has NEVER wet the bed (watch she will tonight). I can’t explain it other than trusting the doctor and that their body has to be ready. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926254 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 17:35:23 +0000 LadyDi 2926254@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I echo what everyone else has said! Put a pull up on at night and don’t stress. He won’t become dependent on it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926249 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 15:03:55 +0000 Bluemasonjar 2926249@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My 6 year old DS still wears a pull up a night. He wakes up dry about 85% of the time but I got tired of being surprised with wet sheets before school. Usually it happens when he is overly tired and sleeps extra hard. </p> <p>The 3 year old has been potty trained during the day for a long time now but wakes up wet almost every morning. I'm in no rush to get him out of pull ups. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926248 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 12:48:11 +0000 agold 2926248@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I've also heard you cannot night train. I would never wake up a sleeping child for anything unless medically necessary. If you love someone, let them sleep. That's the hard rule in our house for all living beings. :silly: My kindergartener is still in a night diaper and i'm learning that many of her classmates are, too. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926247 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 12:24:28 +0000 poppygirl15 2926247@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Umbreon: I agree with everyone else - put the pull-ups back on. Like others said, being able to stay dry at night requires a hormone to be released and it happens at different times for different kids (or something like that - I'm no doctor - this is just what I'm remembering). For my DS, he night trained at 3 yo because his body just happened to be ready. It totally shocked me because his sister hadn't night trained until she was almost 5. All of this is to say that I don't think pull ups will set you back since night training is a biological issue. When he starts keeping the pull ups dry all night, then you can try switching back to undies. Good luck! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/potty-training-at-night#post-2926243 Mon, 31 Jan 2022 11:04:26 +0000 KT326 2926243@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>You can’t night train. </p> <p>Their bodies have to be ready and produce a certain enzyme that helps them produce less urine at night. Happens at different ages. </p> <p>My 5 year old has been dry at night since he was 3.5. But my almost 10 year old still needs a pull up. </p>