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Five-year-old needing to wee very often during the day

24 replies

ArizonaOne · 14/05/2026 16:53

My 5 year old boy seems to need to wee so often during the day, like every few minutes slme parts of the day. I understand this can be habit, but its not consistent. He is dry through the night.

For info, I have previously taken him to the GP to check for diabetes already and all was ok there.

Anyone know any other reason he could be doing this? Is it a health problem?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
SisterMidnight77 · 14/05/2026 19:37

Sometimes they just get it in their head that they need to keep going. One of mine was like it around that age or so. It passes, usually.

Withthe2Ls · 14/05/2026 19:38

I went through this from about 9-11 it was completely anxiety based. Is he an anxious child at all?

Threeagain · 14/05/2026 19:41

DS did this, it was anxiety based, the start of ocd in his case.

celticprincess · 14/05/2026 19:52

Poor interoception. Either misinterpreting body signals or not getting them or being over sensitive to them. Also may not be fully emptying bladder when he goes.

HoraceCope · 14/05/2026 19:53

is he constipated, sometimes that makes a difference

WhatNoRaisins · 14/05/2026 20:02

I have one who has these phases while a urine test is negative. Sometimes there is a trigger like some sort of soft drink which I usually try to avoid or a bout of constipation.

Allmarbleslost · 14/05/2026 20:05

What does he drink? Artificial sweeteners used to make my dd pee constantly.

JulieJo · 14/05/2026 21:26

Artificial sweeteners made my son pee a lot. Fruit shoots were the worst.
Make sure your son is drinking lots of water, if dehydrated or wee is too concentrated from drinking flavoured drinks their bladder can become over sensitive making them wee more.
Plenty of fibre to reduce constipation too.

Bumble6 · 14/05/2026 21:53

Mine will do this if constipated and also when they have some sort of virus sometimes. No idea why!

Chilly80 · 14/05/2026 22:07

Stay away from blackcurrant and other red/purple squash as they agitate the bladder. My son was the same and switching to orange only fixed this issue.

PloddingAlong21 · 15/05/2026 02:15

This was happening to my son, also diabetes was ruled out. Eventually showed through a flow test and scan he wasn’t emptying it properly. Had surgery. No issues after that.

LiveTheDream8998 · 15/05/2026 03:51

The ERIC website can help with information. As others have said, fizzy drinks and cordials (red juices in particular) can cause more wees.

ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 07:54

Withthe2Ls · 14/05/2026 19:38

I went through this from about 9-11 it was completely anxiety based. Is he an anxious child at all?

Thanks. Yes he can be very anxious at times. I thought this too, but he can be doing it while just at home as well as at others houses!

OP posts:
ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 07:56

Threeagain · 14/05/2026 19:41

DS did this, it was anxiety based, the start of ocd in his case.

Oh thanks for replying. Can I ask how his OCD is now? I have thought about it being due to anxiety, did he continue doing it at home as well as other places?

OP posts:
ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 07:57

HoraceCope · 14/05/2026 19:53

is he constipated, sometimes that makes a difference

No, I had read about this. He is definitely not constipated as goes very regularly!

OP posts:
ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 08:11

WhatNoRaisins · 14/05/2026 20:02

I have one who has these phases while a urine test is negative. Sometimes there is a trigger like some sort of soft drink which I usually try to avoid or a bout of constipation.

Thanks. He doesnt ever seem to be constipated and I stick to giving him water only when at home, I will keep an eye on what hes drinking when with others though!

OP posts:
ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 08:12

Chilly80 · 14/05/2026 22:07

Stay away from blackcurrant and other red/purple squash as they agitate the bladder. My son was the same and switching to orange only fixed this issue.

Edited

Thanks, I do stick to water at home. He sometimes has squash when out or at others houses. I had heard about the darker
Juices like blackcurrant being worse!

OP posts:
ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 08:15

PloddingAlong21 · 15/05/2026 02:15

This was happening to my son, also diabetes was ruled out. Eventually showed through a flow test and scan he wasn’t emptying it properly. Had surgery. No issues after that.

Can I ask how you got these tests done? As the doctors don't seem to suggest checking anyrhing other than for diabetes

OP posts:
SkibidiSigma · 15/05/2026 08:21

My 7 year old DS goes through phases of this. Urine test negative. Only seems to happen when we're at home though so I'm assuming it's psychological

Threeagain · 15/05/2026 08:39

ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 07:56

Oh thanks for replying. Can I ask how his OCD is now? I have thought about it being due to anxiety, did he continue doing it at home as well as other places?

Yes, he was doing it mostly at home.
He was/is more likely to mask outside the home. He is autistic as well though we didn’t know that when this started, he wasn’t diagnosed for another few years. OCD is more common in autistic people.

He was initially seen at an enuresis clinic as he was bed wetting too at that age (6). They said the daytime running to the toilet was because he wasn’t drinking enough water, even though he did drink a lot of water and even more milk, and even though I told them I thought it was anxiety based behaviour.

He later saw CAMHs who told us children don’t get OCD (they do).

A pp mentioned interoception, but he is hypo rather than hyper sensitive in this regard.

Anyway, he still has OCD as a late teen now, though in a different form. It is entrenched and very debilitating. We saw various psychologists over the years, without lasting success unfortunately. We are not in the UK and it was very difficult to find someone who specialised in autism and paediatric OCD. Many wouldn’t treat because of his autism…they weren’t trained in that area. And because autism involves repetitive behaviours anyway, it was often dismissed as that.

I would take him to a specialist psychologist or psychiatrist if you think this is anxiety based OP. Try and nip it in the bud if that is possible. With us, it got harder to treat as time went on. I would like to be able to go back in time knowing what I do now.

All that said, I am only talking about my own child and hopefully your situation will be much milder and have a much better outcome. But I’d act on what you’re seeing now. Wishing you both the very best.

ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 14:17

Threeagain · 15/05/2026 08:39

Yes, he was doing it mostly at home.
He was/is more likely to mask outside the home. He is autistic as well though we didn’t know that when this started, he wasn’t diagnosed for another few years. OCD is more common in autistic people.

He was initially seen at an enuresis clinic as he was bed wetting too at that age (6). They said the daytime running to the toilet was because he wasn’t drinking enough water, even though he did drink a lot of water and even more milk, and even though I told them I thought it was anxiety based behaviour.

He later saw CAMHs who told us children don’t get OCD (they do).

A pp mentioned interoception, but he is hypo rather than hyper sensitive in this regard.

Anyway, he still has OCD as a late teen now, though in a different form. It is entrenched and very debilitating. We saw various psychologists over the years, without lasting success unfortunately. We are not in the UK and it was very difficult to find someone who specialised in autism and paediatric OCD. Many wouldn’t treat because of his autism…they weren’t trained in that area. And because autism involves repetitive behaviours anyway, it was often dismissed as that.

I would take him to a specialist psychologist or psychiatrist if you think this is anxiety based OP. Try and nip it in the bud if that is possible. With us, it got harder to treat as time went on. I would like to be able to go back in time knowing what I do now.

All that said, I am only talking about my own child and hopefully your situation will be much milder and have a much better outcome. But I’d act on what you’re seeing now. Wishing you both the very best.

Thank you so much for taking the time to explain. It's so difficult isn't it when professionals don't listen to the parent/child.
I will look into this further.

OP posts:
nottodayfgs · 15/05/2026 14:24

Hi OP, my DD did this around the same age and it seemed linked to anxiety. It was really disruptive in school and in extracurricular activities, and whenever we went anywhere she’d ask to go to the toilet multiple times when I knew she had just been. It turned out to be pollakiuria and did resolve with a few adjustments. https://www.healthline.com/health/pollakiuria

Pollakiuria: Causes, Treatment, and More

Pollakiuria is also known as benign idiopathic urinary frequency. Here's why it happens and what you can do.

https://www.healthline.com/health/pollakiuria

PloddingAlong21 · 15/05/2026 16:25

ArizonaOne · 15/05/2026 08:15

Can I ask how you got these tests done? As the doctors don't seem to suggest checking anyrhing other than for diabetes

We had a referral to paediatric urology and they did a flow test. He had to urinate into a pot on scales which measures the speed and volume then went for an Ultrasound on his bladder immediately after.

I noticed when he was weeing the flow wasn’t normal, it’s was like a fire hose and then he would always need to go again quickly.

TiredFrogs · 15/05/2026 17:49

ArizonaOne · 14/05/2026 16:53

My 5 year old boy seems to need to wee so often during the day, like every few minutes slme parts of the day. I understand this can be habit, but its not consistent. He is dry through the night.

For info, I have previously taken him to the GP to check for diabetes already and all was ok there.

Anyone know any other reason he could be doing this? Is it a health problem?

My little boy also does this. Can go for a wee every 10 mins. Ask the GP for an input and out put test. We did this his bladder is smaller than it should be after having an ultrasound scan.

Have a look on the ERIC website. Thats where the consultant told me to look for advise and tips.

Hope this helps x

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