Pelvic floor exercises for preschooler?

[Fenellafudgeroni]

So DS is pushing 4 and has been out of nappies for a year. Initially things went well and we ignored the odd dribble. However we’re now at a stage where he is wetting several times a day and preschool are starting to raise concerns.

He’s absolutely great with poos and will do a good deposit at least once a day, he’s probably had 3 or 4 soiling accidents since he quit nappies. So constipation is not an issue.

Secondly his leaks are very small. Enough to stain his trousers but rarely enough to create a puddle. So perhaps one or two teaspoons of liquid? On the odd occasion he has a full blown wetting accident he is very distressed but often doesn’t notice the “dribble”.

Intellectually he knows all about potties and can explain what should happen easily. We have tried to incentivise him to stay dry with treat charts but he just can’t seem to manage it.

Lastly, his friend came over to play and went for a wee that almost filled the potty. Even a big wee for DS would be half that volume. Looking on ERIC website gave an average range for a 3/4 year old bladder, and pouring that amount of water in the potty matched his friend’s amount. So it seems likely he rarely (if ever) has a full bladder.

I’m fairly convinced he has a weak pelvic floor as he seems unaware that he is leaking small amounts frequently. And if he is never getting a full bladder he’s not going to feel the urge to pee in the same way he clearly feels the urge to poo.

We’ve got a gp appointment scheduled but does anyone have any bright ideas on how to get a preschooler to do pelvic floor exercises? My knowledge of them is all postnatal and I’m not sure he’d understand the imagery of zipping up an internal corset...

Why is he using a potty and not a toilet? As for the wetting, it could be a weakness yes but trying to train him to do pelvic floor exercises will be extremely difficult and could lead to more accidents

Whilst you wait, in boots they sell a pants liner for toddlers that fits into their knickers or briefs. Like tena but for kids. Could be a good shout?

These are the things I mean. they do a day and night version.

How much does he drink in a day? And does he drink mainly water and milk or does he have juice?
When ds was wetting at night we were advised to massively increase his daytime drinking to increase his bladder capacity. We also found fizzy drinks and cordials, esp ‘red’ ones like black currant really seemed to irritate his bladder and cause him problems. I think I would try something similar before trying to get a three year old to understand pelvic floor exercises.

Also worth taking a urine sample to the GP when you go so they can rule out an infection.

@fatcow because it's green which is his favourite colour? He uses the toilet when we're out but at home he likes a potty. Don't see why that's an issue?

@3dogs He's already been tested for a UTI and came back clear. He only drinks water and milk but I am going to try to get him drinking more to stretch his bladder a bit. Did you get a volume to aim for? I was thinking of trying a litre a day as he has a 500ml bottle he likes using, so could do an AM/PM drink.

I found something about doing squat type exercises which strengthen the pelvic floor "by accident" which I thought might be better for him as they'd be easier to explain and make fun. Does anyone know how to do them properly? I figure a bit of jumping around can't hurt while we wait to see gp.

Ds was 6 and it was 2 litres a day!

Great, maybe I’ll aim for 1.5l instead. Thanks for your help