Toilet training can be a little trickier for some children and while one child may get the hang of it in as little as a week, for others it takes a bit longer. Most children are toilet trained by age 3, keeping in mind that boys do take longer than girls. Even so, once a child has reached 4 years of age and is still wetting during the day on a regular basis it is a good idea to follow-up with your doctor to ensure that there are no medical causes such as a urinary tract infection or an over-active bladder. Once you have ruled out any underlying medical issue you can refocus on training. Typically I tell parents not to start training until their child is showing that he is ready. One of the key signs of readiness is your child being able to tell you that they need to go, are in the process of going, or have just done it! Additional signs include taking an interest in other’s using the toilet, not wanting to wear nappies or absorbent pants, being able to get to the toilet by themselves, having dry nappies/pants for up to 2 hours (this shows you that he is able to hold on). I’m assuming from your question that he is in control of his bowels and it is only bladder control that he is experiencing difficulty with. There are a number of reasons children experience difficulty gaining daytime control – starting before children are ready can delay the process. Some children develop a fear of the toilet – but if he using it for poos this should not be a concern. If children feel pressured or there is tension they may have trouble training, children are very quick to pick-up on our emotions even when we try our best to hide our frustration. Help him to recognize what it feels like when he needs to go to the toilet – be aware of his signals so that you can remind him and help him to get to the toilet in time. Be patient and praise all successes – not too much though as this can cause additional anxiety when he does fail. Remember that accidents will continue – do your best to ignore these and they will reduce in frequency over time.

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