Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

DD toilet obsession

2 replies

Cuwins · 29/08/2025 17:36

DD is 3.5, been daytime toilet trained for about a year now. She has always been keen to go to the toilet in new places and would ask to go regularly at home and out.
However this has now reached almost an obsession. At home she can go 4/5 times in a 2hr period, out and about she can ask to go several times an hour. If I say no because she has just been she will get really upset about it- today an epic tantrum in the shopping centre car park as I said I wasn’t going back in for the toilets when it would actually be quicker to drive home. Most times when she asks to go she will produce something but often only a little bit, sometimes she sits and then realises she doesn’t need to go.
I would be worried about a medical issue but the thing is she can go long periods without if she is distracted- 2hrs+ in the last couple of days when playing with friends. She didn’t even ask. She often only goes once or twice during a 3hr pre school session.
Sometimes she is obviously using it as an opt out of an activity she doesn’t like or a way to get our attention if we are talking to another adult. Other times there is no obvious reason.
She does drink a fair amount- I would say often more than her friends do but not crazy amounts.
Anyone else had this? Any idea of how to stop it or do we just need to wait it out?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
24Dogcuddler · 29/08/2025 18:25

Sounds like it could be anxiety related. Our eldest DD used to always want to know if there would be toilets especially if we were going somewhere new.
Promising that she manages at Preschool where she knows that toilets are available.
Hopefully it will settle once she’s at school. Tricky one to deal with as you clearly don’t want to limit access.

Cuwins · 29/08/2025 18:29

No I don’t like saying no because you never know when it’s a ‘real’ need.
Anxiety out and about is a possibility but she carries on even when we are in the same place she has just been to the toilet. Plus she can be like it at home too.

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page