Wetting himself, ideas wanted

[Smileygirl79]

Hi, my son will be 4 in September and he has been out of nappies in the day for 18 months. The problem is he often wets himself.

He has no problem going to the toilet and he is fine going by himself but unless I constantly tell him to go to the toilet, he will have accidents.

Sometimes though, he will come and say, “Mama, I need a wee wee”, that’s what he said this morning but just now, he had wet himself. It’s always wee, he never poos himself. I asked him why he didn’t say he needed to go and he seemed genuinely surprised. He also doesn’t get upset by it.

I never get upset with him, I’ve tried lots of different types of rewards and even taking away toys but it makes no difference.

He is in the system for suspected high functioning autism but I don’t think it’s related to that. He is a very routine, habit and structured boy but nothing I’ve done has made a difference.

Thankfully, he has another year before he has to go to school but I’m wondering if this is a medical issue with him not always knowing he needs to go, or something else.

Finally, he started using a potty at a young age, I wish I’d toilet trained when he was 12 months old because he used to give me cues that he needed to go but I was advised by the HV not to. Now, I have lots of issues with it.

Thanks.

[Zigzag27]

Hi,

This sounds a bit like my son. He is 4 in July. We toilet trained a year ago and he has had wetting accidents since. Not full wees but little leaks. I put it down to having a new baby, moving house etc. We soon realised it was probably due to constipation. When he was 2 he had a painful bowel movement and he withheld for a while. When we toilet trained the issue went away as he was happy to poo on the potty. However I think it all caught up with him due to a stretched bowel.

Can you think of a time when he may have been constipated?

We are currently disimpacting. I was really scared of the idea but it’s definitely what he’s needed. Wetting has decreased and there is a lot of poo coming out!!

Perhaps go to the doctor and get them to check him. Due to covid I explained my sons symptoms and they prescribed over the phone and are giving regular phone contact.

Hope this helps x

[Smileygirl79 in reply to Zigzag27]

Thanks, it’s a little different with my son, he has no problem with bowel movements, he always does them in the toilet too. Sometimes he’ll go twice a day.

When he sets himself, it’s not a tiny amount, it’s a lot.

Good call on the doctors, I’ve held off in the hope it’ll get better but it really isn’t.

I’m glad it’s helping your son, hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction. X