Our daughter is mostly daytime potty trained, but when we are gone during the day she will sometimes hold it for very long periods of time. For example, today we were gone from 10:30 am to 4:30 pm and she didn’t go to the bathroom at all while we were out. This doesn’t necessarily concern me aside from the fact that sometimes she will have accidents in the car ride on our way home because she has held it so long. I always put her on the toilet several times when out including right before we leave to head home from a location and let her know how long it will be before we get home. Not sure what to do to curb any possible accidents.
Answer:
Thank you for your question! Well at least we know that your daughter has great bladder control, but of course holding it for so long can lead to UTIs, etc. Since she is mostly potty trained, I suggest adding some reinforcement to the situation to help motivate her to go to the bathroom when she is out and about. Pick something highly preferred and isolate it so she only gets it for going to the bathroom when out in the community. Talk to her about it before you leave to go out and of course have her go to the bathroom before you leave which I am sure you are already doing. For example say, "If you go to the bathroom while we are out you will get X (M&M, etc.)." If she successfully produces on the toilet BEFORE you leave your house then you can probably wait a good 2-3 hours into your outing to take her to the bathroom. As you are walking to the bathroom remind her what she is earning for peeing on the potty and I would have her sit a good 5-10 minutes to give her more of an opportunity to produce. If she produces, lots of praise, special treat, etc.! If she does not produce, try again in an hour or so. She may not go the first time, but with repetition and a highly preferred reinforcer you should see her starting to produce. Push fluids, too while you are out so she is more likely to have to go! Do this consistently for a week or two every time you go out and let us know either in a call or back on "Ask a Coach" how it is going. If you are not seeing progress we will try something else. Good luck!
Thank you for your question! Well at least we know that your daughter has great bladder control, but of course holding it for so long can lead to UTIs, etc. Since she is mostly potty trained, I suggest adding some reinforcement to the situation to help motivate her to go to the bathroom when she is out and about. Pick something highly preferred and isolate it so she only gets it for going to the bathroom when out in the community. Talk to her about it before you leave to go out and of course have her go to the bathroom before you leave which I am sure you are already doing. For example say, “If you go to the bathroom while we are out you will get X (M&M, etc.).” If she successfully produces on the toilet BEFORE you leave your house then you can probably wait a good 2-3 hours into your outing to take her to the bathroom. As you are walking to the bathroom remind her what she is earning for peeing on the potty and I would have her sit a good 5-10 minutes to give her more of an opportunity to produce. If she produces, lots of praise, special treat, etc.! If she does not produce, try again in an hour or so. She may not go the first time, but with repetition and a highly preferred reinforcer you should see her starting to produce. Push fluids, too while you are out so she is more likely to have to go! Do this consistently for a week or two every time you go out and let us know either in a call or back on “Ask a Coach” how it is going. If you are not seeing progress we will try something else. Good luck!
Thank you, we will try these this week. Today we also had a long day with medical appointments and she held it for over 5 hours. I’ll try these techniques on our next outing.