Dr. James Helm, an infant family specialist on WakeMed's Pediatric Develpment Team, fields a question about a four-year-old who has started peeing his pants.

Q. My four-year-old is potty trained, but has recently started wetting his pants again. What can I do?

A. Usually the issue is very simple - kids are busy and they don’t want to stop what they’re doing to go to the bathroom.  So the simple solution is to notice if there is a pattern (i.e., do they need to go to the bathroom in the afternoons, two hours after meals/snacks, etc.) then have mandatory pre-activity potty breaks.  In other words, don’t ask “Do you have to go?” rather say “You have to go to the bathroom and at least try”.  The accident phase doesn’t usually last too long but in the summer when kids require more fluids and their routines are more flexible then accidents are understandably more likely to happen.  If there are no noticeable patterns just adding the stop-and-try potty breaks should help.  As always, if the accidents occur frequently one might want to check with a doc to be sure there isn’t a urinary tract infection or other medical reason for the accidents.