DD is just 3. She pretty much potty-trained herself over a year ago (I only bought pants when I realised she'd only had one wee in a nappy the whole week and had been going on both the potty and loo without prompting - seemed daft not to really). In the last year she's gone through several 'wet pants' phases, but generally just doing 'dribbles' before being able to hold it in until we made it to a loo/potty/hedge. And each time they seemed to be 'about' something different - firstly it was the novelty wearing off; once it was definitely not wanting to leave a game or worrying another child was going to take a toy or food from her if she left it; another time she just seemed to enjoy going through several changes of clothes a day; once or twice I thought it might be associated with being unsettled because of lots of visitors coming and going (she doesn't like people leaving - but then who would?).
Since grandparents visiting 3 weeks ago, and then another lot of grandparents and a load of friends at the weekend coming for her birthday, she's been in major attention seeking behaviour mode - much more obviously than I've ever seen before. I also suspect she's gearing up for, or having, a growth spurt, and she also seems to be working on improving some skills, all of which I associate with 'fussy' behaviour of some kind in her since babyhood. All week she's had the odd dribble, but has at least made it to the loo most of the time, but yesterday she sat down on the kitchen floor and quite deliberately had a full wee. And today, with DP, she only went to the loo herself once - several wet pants and then when I got home from work, had a full wee on the sofa.
After a year of knowing she's entirely capable of both knowing when she needs a wee and holding it in until she's somewhere appropriate, it's very hard to not go absolutely ballistic. I've managed it, but am slightly at a loss as to what the best strategy is.
I'm torn between a) completely ignoring the event, to the point of not even talking about it and going back to wild jubilation when she does ask to go in time/playing loo games or singing weeing songs (don't ask), and b) telling her that we are fed up and upset as she's a year older and completely able to understand that stuff now. And perhaps saying there are certain places I'm not willing to take her until she's asking to go again.
Please don't suggest star charts or other tangible reward systems - I'm just not going there yet (I have my reasons and don't want to debate them just now!) but any other ideas/opinions welcomed
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Behaviour/development
DD going through another pants-wetting phase, not sure on strategy
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Mij · 20/06/2009 20:25
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