Frequent peeing

[sunnydays]

I have a new dcg who is almost 3 and has been toilet trained since August (was completely trained when she started with me almost a month ago). She is the sweetest little thing and so well behaved, but she is constantly needing to go pee-pee! In the beginning I thought it might be nerves because she was in a new environment...I talked to her mom and she agreed that it was likely that. She did say she had been checked out by a doctor previoulsy because she was starting to have this problem at her old daycare before she left. The doctor said she is fine. Now, after almost a month, she is actually getting worse. Today she went 3-4 times per hour! I thought maybe it could be attention-getting behaviour, so I took all attention out of it by making sure she is able to pee and wash her hands all by herself...she now does that really well, but it isn't helping. I have also tried distracting her..."hey you just went 10 minutes ago, let's go read a book", but it mostly doesn't work and she is clutching herself like she really has to go. I'm not sure if she is just peeing little bits each time and then has to go again (like a dog peeing on bushes), or what?? Any ideas? Advice?

[giraffe]

I hate to tell you but my ds is just like that... he can pee every 20min!! What I have started to is to start to delay him. Started with a few min at a time we are now up to almost an hour between pee's. I figure that i just need to train his bladder.

[JennJubie]

Does she have any problem with constipation? Things like encopresis can cause frequent urination.

[Crayola kiddies]

It could also be a uti .... I have a dcg that was just over three when she started with me and was going pee constantly .... I cut back a bit on her fluids at her moms request then one day she was totally panicked and she walked circles around my play room and went to the bathroom every 10 mins we went outside and she walked circles around my van and she had this worried look on her face. So when mom came to pick up I told her and suggested she get checked out cause she might have a uti or a bladder infection ..... And sure enough it was the beginnings of a uti and she drank cranberry juice for the next few days ..... So maybe suggest to the mom to get cranberry juice .... Can't hurt!

[sunnydays]

Well I have asked the mom to observe her at home and see if is happening there too. If it is, then a trip to the doctor may be in order. If not, then it is more psychological and I have to figure out why she is doing it at daycare. She doesn't actually drink that much so I am sure it is not that (I am trying to enoucrage her to drink more actually). She does sometimes have problems with gas and possible constipation (her mom told me she gets gas pains and I know that one day she was having a hard time pooping here), but a doctor would have to assess that part if it is something physical.

[sunnydays]

My son was like that in the first couple of weeks of toilet training, but once he was trained, it wasn't an issue anymore. Has your son been trained long?



I hate to tell you but my ds is just like that... he can pee every 20min!! What I have started to is to start to delay him. Started with a few min at a time we are now up to almost an hour between pee's. I figure that i just need to train his bladder.

[JennJubie]

My son had problems with constipation, and ended up with encopresis. Basically the way it was described to us by the doctor is that when they are constipated for long periods of time, the bowel distends. That causes them to feel the need to pee frequently because of the pressure. We were told to watch for teeny tiny instances of soiling between bms. The treatment consisted of stool softeners and natural laxatives if need be.

[Inspired by Reggio]

In absense of a UTI or other medical reasons I second the need to 'train the bladder' ... I have a new one who just started and is doing the same thing every 30 minutes cause that is how he was 'trained' by being sent to the bathroom every 30 minutes to try to get a success and avoid accidents ... so I have been doing the same thing trying to 'delay' by small increments because we go outside for at least 1 hour if not 2 hour blocks sometimes and I do not want him having to fly into the house every 30 minutes specially when the snow flies ... so training the bladder it is ... we are up to an hour now!

[giraffe]

My son was like that in the first couple of weeks of toilet training, but once he was trained, it wasn't an issue anymore. Has your son been trained long?

Yup, rained before the summer (June ish) and we are still kinda dealing with it... started the delaything in Augustish

[sunnydays]

Hmmm...well I have pretty much ruled out something physical as parents have confirmed that she doesn't do it at home. Today was better...but I am now keeping a written log of every time she asks to go and jotting down what was going on around her at the time. It could be the bladder training as many of you have mentioned, but the thing is, sometimes she goes 2 hours without going and when we are outside she never asks to go...so I know she is quite capable of holding it for good chunks of time. So I have started to wonder if there is a psychological reason she suddenly needs to go. I am trying to see if there is any pattern to it to see if I can get to the bottom of it. Otherwise, I am also working on trying to distract her and get her to wait a bit in between bathroom visits. I am not sure if it has something to do with negative experiences at her previous daycare (according to parents she definitely had some)...she is also very routine oriented...needs to remind herself of the routine often (ex. "After that I'll put my slippers on, then we'll do this, and then this")...I think it's her way of feeling secure. Maybe it will just take longer until she feels fully secure here. Poor thing :(

[Inspired by Reggio]

Oh good catch Sunnydays ... if she is capable at other times to go for long periods it could be just BOREDOM where going pee is the thing to do when she does not know what esle to do?

Also definitely watch for precursers like was she just asked to do something by a peer or you she does not want to do? I have had kids who use 'I have to go pee' as an excuse to get out of doing something they do not WANT to do cause they have learned that it is a get out of jail free card ... just like every kid has to suddenly 'pee again' when nap time is announced :rolleyes:

[sunnydays]

Reggio: I don't think it is boredom because sometimes she will say she needs to go right in the middle of doing something she is enjoying and she will come back to that activity. BUT, she is a very quiet child and being that she had some bad experiences at her old daycare and seems to be kind of the worrier type, my thinking is that it could be anxiety producing situations that are causing it....such as too much noise or another child invading her space (she doesn't really know how to stand up for herself), etc. She is very happy to do things I ask her to do and extremely helpful, but I am thinking more the interactions with other kids. Or even, I have seen a worried look on her face when I am disciplining another child...I have actually told her not to worry many times because I can see her tense up (and believe me I am not yelling or doing anything particularly scary)...I think she is going to take longer than normal perhaps to feel secure and I am trying to find ways to reassure her, but maybe it's just a matter of time. It helps to think out loud on this forum ;)

[Inspired by Reggio]

Anxiety could do it for sure ... as a kid I use to pee my pants when someone yelled at me or I got scared :o

[sunnydays]

That's exactly what I was thinking Reggio. I'm just goign to keep an eye on it and take it from there. Any tips on how to reduce anxiety in a child like this? I always make sure to follow the same routine (if someone puts her slippers in a different spot than usual at naptime, there will be tears, so I know I have to be careful with these things), I tell her what we are going to do next and lay it out for her (she likes to repeat it like a mantra), explain things to her as we are doing them, give her lots of smiles and hugs and positive attention as well as praise for things she does well...is there anything you can think of that I can do otherwise to reduce anxiety?

[JennJubie]

Is it possible for you to make a schedule for her? My son has some behavior issues, and experiences anxiety if we stray from our routine. I put together a visual schedule for him, and he gets a dry erase crayon. As he goes through the routine, he gets to mark the square he just finished. It gives him a feeling of control in his life while still getting him to move forward in his day successfully and without anxiety.

[playfelt]

Being told what is coming next and being able to go see is another. With children with autism, etc. they like to have a picture clue chart that shows the order for the day and it can often be an event far down the list the child has issues with that is throwing off everything else. Instead of enjoying the moment they are worried all morning about wanting juice at lunch instead of milk or that you might serve a food she doesn't really like.

It could also be that discipline was harsh at her previous daycare. She is afraid to pee her pants so at even the slightest inkling that she might have to pee and we all know whenever we think about needing to pee that we do need to pee - or piddle as the case may be then she will go do it.

Another reason I like pullups is to prevent the power control that having to go potty gives to a child. If you can't hold it till the next potty break then you aren't trained - they are sent before the next event not during.

[Inspired by Reggio]

I was going to suggest the same thing Jenn ~ a visual schedule helps and you can make them with Velcro pics of different events so if your schedule needs to 'change' it can easily but still be a visual for them.

[sunnydays]

Thanks JennJubie! I really like that idea! I will have to give some thought to how I can implement that in the daycare...but it sounds doable and I am sure all of the kids would like it. I have never really had a schedule per say...although the general routine is always the same. But, I could certainly make up a schedule for the day...maybe with a little white board or something and pictures. I think I will work on that :)

[JennJubie]

I really like this site, it has a whole range of printables, and you can put together your own schedule. I used them, and then laminated the sheet.

http://www.do2learn.com

[sunnydays]

Thanks Playfelt and Reggio! Visual schedule seems to be common to all of your suggestions. She will often ask me throughout the day "And daddy's gonna pick me up?"...just needing to check...and when I say "of course",...then she can relax for a bit. Playfelt, actually according to her parents she was disciplined in a harsh way...which is why they pulled her out (she was left alone in the basement for 30 minutes because she was crying and cuoldn't say why). I don't know how she was disciplined for potty accidents, but it is very likely that the reaction was overly harsh. The crazy thing is, I cannot even fathom how this child would ever need to be disciplined in a harsh way...she is sooooo well behaved and polite and sweet. Maybe it was the tears over anxiety producing events that led the provider to get frustrated instead of realizing that if she had just let her keep her slippers in the same spot every day for example, those tears could be avoided! I am going to work on coming up with a visual schedule. I am guessing photos would work best as she is barely 3 and abstract illustrations may be misunderstood.

[Inspired by Reggio]

Ya I do not have a schedule as in 'following a clock' but our day flows the same basically every day .... arrival, free play period with access to creative art / sensory, snack, outside or morning field trip, free play period, prep for lunch watch TV or sensory at table in kitchen, lunch, stories, quiet time, free play period, snack, outside and so forth.

[playfelt]

Thanks Playfelt and Reggio! Visual schedule seems to be common to all of your suggestions. She will often ask me throughout the day "And daddy's gonna pick me up?"...just needing to check...and when I say "of course",...then she can relax for a bit. Playfelt, actually according to her parents she was disciplined in a harsh way...which is why they pulled her out (she was left alone in the basement for 30 minutes because she was crying and cuoldn't say why). I don't know how she was disciplined for potty accidents, but it is very likely that the reaction was overly harsh. The crazy thing is, I cannot even fathom how this child would ever need to be disciplined in a harsh way...she is sooooo well behaved and polite and sweet. Maybe it was the tears over anxiety producing events that led the provider to get frustrated instead of realizing that if she had just let her keep her slippers in the same spot every day for example, those tears could be avoided! I am going to work on coming up with a visual schedule. I am guessing photos would work best as she is barely 3 and abstract illustrations may be misunderstood.

One of my daughters has learning disabilities and the only teachers she did well for were those that realized things had to be done a certain way or not at all.

Try taking actual pictures of things as the clues for her such as her shoes, the front door, daddy's car - even daddy. Then put the pictures in a photo album in order. She can go look whenever she needs to and sees what she has done and what still needs to be done.

[sunnydays]

Thanks Playfelt! This is an awesome idea! I remember when my oldest son was in daycare and having a lot of separation anxiety, I made him a little album with picutres of the family members, to comfort him. Of course, seeing a picture of Mommy or Daddy can go the other way too and make them upset as they are reminded too much. But, I like the idea of things being in order and photos were my first thought too because she is a bit young to really connect a cartoon drawing to reality. I will try either an album or a poster or pocket chart...in fact if I use the pocket chart, I could actually get her involved herself in putting the pictures in order...that would help her feel that she has control. I wish I didn't have houseguests coming this weekend so I would have more time to work on this! Oh and of course an ever so exciting workshop to attend...with Playfelt herself :)

[playfelt]

A pocket chart works great because then she can turn over the pictures already used and know what is left.

Oh great. see you Sunday - I never know who is coming to the workshop till I get there and Doreen leaves out the list for signing in.

[gramma]

I would advise the mom to have her sugar levels checked. Frequent urination is a sign diabetes along with being thirsty, sweet smelling breath and strong odour to the urine. Extreme lethargy is also a sign but that usually occurs closer to the time of diagnosis because its the lethargy that usually causes parents to take the child to the doctors. It can be very serious if sugars get too high, I would ask that she be tested asap.

I have a new dcg who is almost 3 and has been toilet trained since August (was completely trained when she started with me almost a month ago). She is the sweetest little thing and so well behaved, but she is constantly needing to go pee-pee! In the beginning I thought it might be nerves because she was in a new environment...I talked to her mom and she agreed that it was likely that. She did say she had been checked out by a doctor previoulsy because she was starting to have this problem at her old daycare before she left. The doctor said she is fine. Now, after almost a month, she is actually getting worse. Today she went 3-4 times per hour! I thought maybe it could be attention-getting behaviour, so I took all attention out of it by making sure she is able to pee and wash her hands all by herself...she now does that really well, but it isn't helping. I have also tried distracting her..."hey you just went 10 minutes ago, let's go read a book", but it mostly doesn't work and she is clutching herself like she really has to go. I'm not sure if she is just peeing little bits each time and then has to go again (like a dog peeing on bushes), or what?? Any ideas? Advice?