5yo toiletting issues. when would you see GP?

[MegBusset]

DS2 is 5.5 and been out of nappies for three years but is still having regular wee accidents in the daytime. There seem to be three issues:

1. He is hypermobile so his bladder control isn't great and when he needs to go, he can't hold it.

1. He doesn't want to stop playing to go for a wee so leaves it to the absolute last minute.

1. He does not seem to be confident in telling other people that he needs a wee (is fine with me and DH but often has accidents in an unfamiliar environment).

Accidents at home are now rare but that's because if I see he needs to go, I TELL him to. He is also ok with the childminder. But It has got to the point where I am worried about enrolling him in after school activities because I think he will end up having more accidents. Today he had an accident at lunchtime and stayed in wet clothes all day because he didn't tell anyone (his trousers are quick drying so I guess nobody would have noticed, but his posts, socks and shoes were soaked).

I don't know if this is the point where we should be considering medical help or if this is still considered normal and we should just wait for him to grow out of it? Has anyone been through similar and can advise?

we had a similar problem with our son. we contacted our school nurse and she referred us to a specialist. for the life of me, I can't remember what it is called, but they specialize in this. first we had to make some changes to how we managed his water intake making sure he drank the expected amount of 1 -2 litres of water a day. we even spoke to the school and he was allowed to have a water bottle in class. we gave rewards for him to finish the bottle by school pick up. we then worked with the school to make sure he went to the toilet for example at breaks getting him out first and reminding him to go. we then ensured that we stopped any drinking 2 hours before bedtime. this was not a problem when he had enough to drink during the day.

it seemed strange to have him drink more water but this helped him to feel that he had to go.within a couple of week the problem was much better. we also had a night issue. they gave us a hormone pill to help but we had to stop due to an allergic reaction. I would suggest contacting the nurser for a referral. in our area it was fairly quick and they were very supportive. there is also a website ERIC which has a parent forum and lots of information on this.

Thank you JWP. I had a chat with his teacher this morning and she has reassured him that it is fine to go whenever he needs to (he was a bit worried that in Y1 you weren't allowed to go at playtime) and prompt him to go before hometime (he sometimes struggles to make it back home or to the childminder's without needing to go). I am hoping that some of it is new-term nerves, if it doesn't settle down I will have a chat with the GP (don't think there is a school nurse).

When you first saw the GP/nurse did you take DC with you? I don't want to stress him out too much about it, I think he's already feeling embarrassed...