4 year old still not fully dry??

[lemonmama]

Anyone else's kids just not seem to ever really "get" the whole toilet training business. My son is 4 years 3 months and still we go through multiple pairs of pants and joggers a day. He's been in pants for over a year now.
There was a big change at home 7/8 months ago with me and his dad separating so I'm sure this set him back a bit as it did with his behaviour but I really thought he'd be ok by now.
He rarely has a full accident but always seems to have damp pants whenever I check and always comes home from preschool damp and smelly. He will hold his wee in and doesn't tell me he needs a wee unless very randomly. He is better with number twos but sometimes starts in his pants.
He starts Primary school in September I know that's still a long way off but he's just not improving ?? Do I take him to the GP or just wait it out and ignore it?

I'd call the health visitor first tbh, I never found GPs to be terribly helpful with continence issues. HV can offer suggestions and/or refer on to your local children's continence service - there could be a long waiting list though so I'd do this sooner rather than later if you want support before starting school.

In the meantime, you could do scheduled toileting? Use a timer and send your DS off to the toilet to try for a wee at regular intervals - we started with 1 hour and gradually increased. Small reward if he goes and tries without fuss (even if nothing comes out).

My DD wasn't completely dry as she started school last year despite being potty trained at 2. She was getting upset as her younger sister is dry both day and night. We spoke to GP and were referred to the continence service who diagnosed her with a small bladder. We were advised to ensure she was drinking regularly (100ml an hour) to stretch her bladder capacity and going to he toilet every 90 minutes like clockwork. Also advised to avoid orange/blackcurrant squashes as these irritate the bladder. After 3/4 months of putting the advice in place she now will very rarely have a daytime accident, and her bladder has expanded in size to what's typical for her age. Still a while off being dry at night but daytime is sorted finally!

Thanks for replies. I will contact my HV and see. Thing is I work with toddlers so have tried loads of the normal things you would think to try.
I have tried taking him every hour for a while and it does reduce the amount of accidents but once I stop he's back to having damp patches and ignoring the urge to go again.
Example just now I noticed he had a damp patch so took him for a wee and made him get changed, he didn't do one just jumped straight off. Dribbled again few mins later through fresh pants and joggers and had to bribe him to go for a wee with the promise of making pancakes. It's bizarre! Wondering if maybe he doesn't feel the urge?

Our oldest is 2 and he is trained asks to go when he needs it and our girls are over 1 and dry days now. It could have been the separation upset him a little.Keep working at it 🙂

Some children just are not fully ready at 4, my son started school in nappies. They've been horrible to me about it but there isn't much I can do.
That said if I were you I'd go to the go and rule out constipation, that can cause urge incontinence.