3 Yr Old Holding Bladder

B.,

My daughter is only 20mos old so I am not well versed in the potty training stuff yet but I do have a reason for responding to your post. Many of the girls in my family have a hereditary condition where the ureter (the tube between the kidneys and bladder) is positioned too high on the bladder. This makes the sensation to "go" much more delayed because it doesn't kick in until the bladder is too full. Anyway, I had this problem, it didn't become evident until I was about 4, my mom had the same problem too so she was on the lookout but I think the main problem was that I suddenly started wetting the bed, would go long periods of time without "going" and run a fever. It was all fixed by a relatively simple surgery when I was 5 and the only outstanding issue is that I was warned I could be prone to a lot of Urinary Tract Infections. One of my friends in gradeschool had the same surgery too.

All that to say, if she keeps holding it, perhaps you should discuss with your doctor, just in case. Most likely it's just a weird phase she's going through and hopefully some of the other moms will have similar situations to share with you. Just wanted to bring the medical side of it to your attention. Best of luck!

My two year old would always hold her bladder to the point where she would get infections. We went to a urologiest they put her on Miralax which is a laxitive which I know sounds strange but it worked she stopped holding her bladder and stopped having so many infections. Miralax is over the counter and I just gave her a tablespoon in her drink once a day she hasn't had any infections for the last three months and I have stopped with the Miralax.

I think you are right to be concerned about her holding it that long. Try to build "potty time" into your schedule, just like they do at preschool. Before snack, or lunch, or her favorite show, EVERYONE goes potty and washes up.

B., my daughter does the same thing and she is 5. My oldest did it for awhile, she wouldn't go at the babysitters, preschool whatever, but did fine at home, no accidents. My youngest who is 5, can get up in the morning and not go for hours. I too have to bribe/threaten/beg etc to get her to go. Also, throughout the day I really need to make sure she goes. Rarely does she have an accident, she has never had an infection. I think she can just hold it longer. It's so hard for me as I go all the time. But still, I make her in the morning and before we go somewhere whatever. I guess that is just her style.