My 3 1/2 Year Old Is Having Daily "Mini Accidents" in Her Pants

No no no !!!!!!!
No punishing for accidents!!!!

Just more reminders to go through out the day & if you are preggers & life is changing trust me she knows it.

Accidents happen, even if you don't want them to, that is why they are called accidents .

Please mama don't make her feel worse if she is potty trained she already know she did something wrong :(

I never punish or get upset for peeing or puking, they already feel awful. No need to make it worse.

This happened with my daughter for a while, too. She was about 3 1/2 and it lasted for a few months (almost every day). There was nothing physically wrong with her; she just waited until the last minute to go, and by then it was too late. She was too busy playing or doing something else that she didn't want to leave to go potty. Her doc says this is very common. We didn't make a big deal about it; we would just tell her that "accidents happen" and that when she feels like she has to go potty she needs to go right away. It may help to bring her to the potty every so often & ask her to try to go, even if she thinks she doesn't have to. Good luck!

I haven't read the other answers but I have heard that children can have accidents like that when they have a UTI or bladder infection. They feel the urgency and it starts happening before they get a chance to run to the bathroom...My son is 6 and still has those episodes every so often. Not sure if it is an infection or if it is him being lazy and not going tot he bathroom because he is busy doing xyz. Her bladder can also be considered 'immature' which will cause accidents to happen as well

Don't punish her for this! She isn't wetting her pants to make you mad. She needs your help.

This could be a medical problem, a matter of being distracted by something, or an emotional issue. You can help by taking her to the bathroom on a regular schedule for awhile. Mentioning it to the pediatrician is also a good idea.

we went through this too...i think they get lazy because it's not new and fun anymore, it's an experiment just like anything else..."hmm what happens when i just don't go to the potty right away?"

we went back to the basics as well. whatever worked for her then, do it again. sticker chart, reward, what have you. she will get it straightened out.

You didn't mention if it happens when she's busy playing or watching TV or using the iPad. If it's any of those instances it could be that she doesn't want to stop doing what she's doing. You could tell her she'll have to clean herself up when this happens, then take her from whatever she was doing, have her undress, rinse her own panties and pants in the shower, then take a short shower to wash herself up and dress herself in clean clothes. Once she realizes she's missing out on a fun activity she may try harder to get to the bathroom. And go back to the basics, taking her hourly to have her try, particularly around the time she has her mini accidents.

Kids are funny, too, in the sense she may be absorbing the fact that there will be someone younger than her coming into your lives and this may be her way of dealing with it. Be prepared for major regression once the twins arrive and know that it is very common, it can happen in children even older than she'll be.

Maybe go back to some potty training basics. Tell her when she needs to try to potty (we call it making sure there's no sneaky pee) instead of only letting her be in charge. Remind her everywhere you go where the potties are. My DD will get nervous if she needs to pee but doesn't know where to go.

Hello, I'm sorry, but this is quite normal. Many children "slip" on their training. As someone who had accidents at night when I was a child, I will say that I don't feel that punishment is the answer. Two of my kids also had accidents. I just made them responsible for changing their clothes and cleaning up then putting the clothes (or sheets) on the washer. However, my children were older when I had them to do this. There was no punishment and eventually, they outgrew it. I think for a three year old, I would just clean them up, change them and move on. I used to be so worried about having an accident that I would be terrified to go to sleep at night for fear I would wet my bed. Sure enough, I would be so tired that I would fall into a deep sleep and then I would wet in my bed.
Your daughter may either be very into what she is doing and doesn't feel it coming, or she may not know what that feeling is.
Good luck with your precious little girl.
K. K.

Although you say you have not changed her routine, she DOES know that you are pregnant and she may feel she needs to find ways to get your attention, even though the babies are not actually here (in the flesh) yet. You should make it a point to have special time for just the two of you. Go have lunch out or go to the park, but make sure there is NO mention of the pregnancy or the twins during this time. It is crucial that she understand she is still important to you. Anything her young mind sees as negative - you being too tired, you being sick - is automatically going to be associated with the twins. So even though you don't realize it, they are impacting her life even before they are born. Cut her some slack. The further along you get, you may be prone to an "accident" or two yourself! (and if you do have one, share it with her so that she sees even mommy has them).

I am on child #3 and I have moved away from punishing at this age for accidents. I think rewards work much better when it comes to potty training. It's not like she is deliberately trying to hurt someone with her accidents. So I would change the taking of the iPad or TV to a reward-- if she goes the whole morning accident free, she gets the iPad after lunch for a period of time. If she is accident free all week, she gets a to choose a movie to watch at home on the weekend. Something like that. We are currently doing marshmallows for wiping by herself. If my 3 1/2 yr old has a mini accident, I tell her to change her clothes and remind her that it is important to get to the bathroom quickly and put the pee only in the toilet. We talk frequently about cause and effect related to pottying. Like if she holds her pee in a long time it will hurt her body or make her feel sick. Or, if she wets her pants and doesn't change them she will smell stinky and so will the things she sits on. I know it is even harder when you are pregnant to deal with lots of peed on clothing and bedding. Just remember she is still quite little and regression for any number of reasons is quite common. Keep up a positive attitude for her sake and she will improve eventually. Good luck!

I think this is not abnormal when mom is pregnant. You can probably google it.

I would not underestimate the effect of those babies in your belly, nor would I continue punishing her for having an extremely common and well-known reaction to younger siblings. You even recognize it is a possibility or you would not have mentioned them.

Instead, spend more time focusing on her. Show some compassion. Not every kid automatically thinks it's so amazing to have little ones come along. Doesn't make her bad; it makes her normal. Reassure her.