holding on to wee for over 5 hours??

[marymalone]

hi, i have just recently started potty training my son of 25 months. Had brilliant first few days with inevitable couple of accidents but on the whole did great by putting him on the potty/toilet every 30mins or so. Made good start again this morning also but this afternoon he refused to wee. After 5 hours he was holding himself, crossing legs and getting REALLY upset but wouldn't let anything out when i put him on the potty, in the end he flat refused to get on it and i eventually coaxed him into some training pants as i was worried he'd do himself damage after such a long time not weeing. he eventually did something but what do i do now? when he's had accdents i have not made a fuss, told him it doesn't matter etc so why would he hold it? HELP!! i don't want to put him off and he was doing so well. the only thing i can think of is that he was pretty tired, (is now having a very late nap) but could that cause this whole episode? its as if something happened to put him off? thought gratefully received!

maybe he is just not ready to be trained. realistically if you are putting him on the potty every 30mins he is not potty trained. he needs to be at the stage in his development when he knows he needs to go otherwise you are just catching the wees.

Sounds like he is getting there if he has that much control but its not the same thing.

thanks for that but surely you have to start somewhere, and if he held for such a long time, he MUST have bladder control??? why isn't it the same thing??

Its kind of like he is nearly there but they sort of have to have the mental development to think ahead as well as the physical control, know that they need a wee. He knows the physical side of what he has to do but until he sort of realises it in advance then you will just spend a few months taking him to the toilet every half an hour.

For example if you stopped taking him to the toilet regularly so he never has a full bladder would he make it known to you that he needed to go or make some signal to you that he needs to go or would he just go anyway?

I noticed and lots of friends noticed that there was something that changed in their kids just before they properly potty/toilet trained. A growth spurt either mentally or physically but there was a long lead up to that when they had the general idea but couldn't do it for themselves. Its worth just waiting a few weeks or months and sort of keep talking to him about it in a relaxed manner but don't force the issue and it will suddenly change.

For what you say, he has bladder control but seems to be worried about the potty bit.

What about leaving him naked on the bottom half, leave the potty around and don't insist he uses it. He might use it on his own, if there is no pressure to do so.

DD1 did this. I knew she was ready as often had dry nappies and asked for the loo. she never would go on a potty. Day 1 of going without a nappy she held it in all day! Until teatime when she had a huge paddy and demanded a nappy back on. I refused and locked us both in the bathroom (seems a bit extreme now). She was biting the loo seat at one point in temper. When she finally couldn't hold it in any longer she climbed aboard and did it on the loo - and never looked back. not one single accident [smug emoticon]. Your DS sounds like he has a bladdar of steel already - going naked sounds a good idea then he may recognise the link between feeling full and where to do it. good luck

My dd is very similar. She is 29 mo and seems to have bladder control - but wont wee in toilet or potty. Will sit on them but then gets up walks away and has accident/asks for nappy. She was dry this morning when I got her up. And had a cup of milk. But as in knickers/being out on potty - no wee. I can see her getting more and more agitated as bladder fills up but she says ' I cant do it, mummy do it!'

Not sure where to go from here.
Glad to know Im not the only one.

hi there just thought i'd update you if this helps anyone in a similar situation......one week since we started potty training we're doing really well.....i know its very early days and there are bound to be many set backs along the way but i think the problem when he held on was that he was annoyed with me for putting him on the potty too often. he now goes every 1 to 2 hours and if i ask him and he says he doesn't need to go, i leave it. Not one accident since last friday (touch wood etc etc!) so there's hope for us all!! thanks for all your advice and comments.