son reverted after 1 year. now weeing pants constantly

[ConstanceCross]

hello. I have a son who is 3yrs 6mth and has been toilet trained for a year but in the last month he has been weeing and poohing his pants/trousers all day. in other words, he's completely regressed. has this happened to anyone before? is it something that I'm not doing, a cry for attention or a normal occurance for a little lad?

my little charge did this around the time of her 3rd birthday.... having been quite reliably potty trained since 23 months

basically we did the following:

In the morning she chose her pants.... has loads of pink / sparkly / charachter pants... and had some influence on her clothes

If she had an accident she was given white (or the most plain and boring pants that we could find) and her least favourite clothes out of a rather extensiive wardrobe for a 3 year old

Basically if she said she needed the loo we put EVERYTHING that we were doing on hold.... we paused the telly (sky+) IF it was on (hardly ever watch TV but anyway)..we would 'pause' any games we might have been playing / stop building lego (or whatever) and wait for her to come back before we continued... loads of praise etc...

(I would go with her and say well done / good girl etc!)

IF she had an accident the following happened...

whatever she was doing she had to stop immediatly (no 1 more lego brick etc)....

she would have to walk herself to the toilet (NOT be carried)

sit on the loo and try to do some "more"

take her wet clothes off herself

Carry her wet clothes herself and put them in the laundry basket

Walk upstairs herself...

Be given her next set of clothes (she had no choice, unlike in the morning)

put on her clean clothes by herself (she would get a bit of help with tricky things she really couldnt manage, but she COULD manage to dress her self in most clothes IF she persevered... so she had to

then go and wash her hands by herself

ALL while all other play and activities continued as normal!

During which time there was as little communication as possible.... Ie Sit on the toilet.... do a wee, put these in the wash basket etc.... no general chit chat conversation at all

IE it took a LOT longer if she had an accident.... she had to sit on the loo anyway and wash her hands regardless AND would miss out

This worked pretty much perfectly after a week, and she has been almost bone dry ever since!

Before embarking on the programme suggested, just make sure he isnt ill/sickening for something/having a urine infection. Also ask yourself if there has been an emotional upset eg new baby, relationship ending, new nursery, friend leaving etc.

Our DGS regressed to wetting only at 3 and a half, but had been through a lot emotionally.

im inclined to agree with peaches too...there is prob a reason that needs to be addressed before you treat the problem.

thanks for your advice girls. I don't think anything obvious has gone on in his little life to unsettle him - he is a sensitive soul and needs reassurance, kisses and praise but i like the idea of formal, coldish dealing with his accidents. i get too involved in conversations about why he's done it - blah, blah and perhaps that's him seeing some additional attention along the way. I give it a go and let you know - a week you say .......