You mentioned that you have a 3 1/2 year old little boy who, for the most part, is potty-trained, but he has frequent accidents. You mentioned that he'll have anywhere from 1 to 5 or more on any given day, and you're becoming frustrated about it, and wondering if this is normal and if you should talk with his pediatrician or not. Now the time at which a child is ready to potty-train is different for everyone. Some kids are ready at age 2, some even a little bit younger than that, others at age 3, and some aren't ready until age 4, so it's possible that he's just not ready yet. Kids need to have all of the development necessary to make them ready for potty-training. This includes physical, emotional, and mental development. So he needs to be able to associate the need to potty with the need to go, he needs to have the ability to pull his pants up and down, and to verbalize to you that he needs to go.

Now kids are easily distracted at this age, and they lack the ability to prioritize stimuli. So if he's playing with his friends, or he's outside, or enjoying a TV show, then he may not be developmentally ready enough yet to prioritize the fact that he has to go potty and know that that should come first instead of continuing with what he's doing at that moment in time. Association is a very powerful thing, so many parents have success with a timer, or they associate certain activities with going to the bathroom. You could try going back to square 1 and trying things like the timer method to see if it helps him. Set a timer to go off every 20 minutes, and take him to the bathroom, and this will help to remind him and his brain that he needs to make it a priority. As far as bowel movements go, they usually happen after a child eats, and so sit him on the potty every time after a meal. And again, this will hopefully help to train his body to go at certain times.

Accidents are also very common when a child is outside of their own element. So in the home, a child might go to the potty really well, but if you're at a restaurant or at a friend's house, they get out of their routine and they may not be as likely to go to the bathroom, or they might be scared of different surroundings. So if you're going out, make an effort to stop by the bathroom and show it to him, and say, "Let mommy know if you need to go potty. This is where it is, and I'll gladly take you."

Talk with your son about using the potty. Ask him about his feelings, and see if there's anything that he might share with you that would shed light on the situation. Maybe there's something going on that he can express to you that will help you understand why he might be having accidents. Talk to him more frequently about it by reading him books, or showing him TV shows or movies about the topic. There's tons of different things out there that you can access, even just at your local library, for free, and this might get him more excited about going to the bathroom.

Above all, be sure to positively reinforce successes. You can use sticker charts or rewards - whatever you think might work for him. But avoid being demeaning or yelling at him when he has accidents. This will make him associate it with negativity and probably make him digress even further. With time, it should come. But if you are concerned about it, especially if he mentions that it hurts when he urinates, or he's having constipation problems, talk with a pediatrician. And after asking you more specific questions, they can decide if further action is necessary. Good luck with it, and if you have any other questions for me in the future, feel free to ask them on our Facebook page at [ Ссылка ], and recommend us to your friends and family too.

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