8 year old who is not potty trained...?

Question

I have a friend whos 8 year old child is not potty trained. She wears diapers and does not change the diaper after she goes in it...we have to tell her that we can smell it and she needs to change. I watch the kid after school, and really want to help her. Any suggestions?

PS the kid is seeing her school therapist

Answer 1

it's not normal but if it works for them then works for me. have fun changing diapers

Answer 2

I hope this child has had a physical exam regarding her condition. As a young child my nephew had similar issues. It turned out that there was a problem that had to be surgically corrected. And all was well after.

Answer 3

That is the saddest thing i've heard. Is it the mother's or child's problem?

Answer 4

this is not good a eight year should not be in a diaper it should be potty train by now have the teacher change her diaper in class when the kids have freetime. then say teacher i need you to change my friend diaper Can you please do it here is baby wipes and, baby powder, a new diaper

Answer 5

something is very wrong here.what is her mom and dad like.could she be retarded or slow.this is not right.the parents should be turned into child protective services,unless they really are trying than they need medical help now

Answer 6

before you go off reporting the family for neglect, how about talking to the parents about it? if the kid is seeing a therapist, it sounds like the parents aren't neglecting her at all, and odds are they've seen a pediatrician, too.  it's quite possible the kid simply has a medical condition that makes her unable to control her bladder or bowels.  any amount of "help" you give her isn't going to resolve anything if she has a medical problem.  people (i don't mean you, i mean some of the people responding to your question) are often way too quick to judge what they know nothing about.   what a shame it would be to be blaming the family for what might be a medical problem already under a doctor's supervision.

if they haven't consulted a doctor, they should do so.  if that doesn't resolve the situtation, then presumably it can be handled by the therapist.  you can certainly ask the parents what you should do (and what they're doing) -- and get a sense from that as to whether the parents are handlign it appropriately.  barring some inappropriate response or other signs of neglect or abuse, it really doesn't seem a reason to report the parents for abuse or neglect.

Answer 7

sounds like the parent is lazy.   i hope someone has report them for neglect.  it would help the child tremendously.  you need to slap some sense into your friend.

Answer 8

Tell her parent's to take her to the doctor's about it.

Answer 9

how bout u try to talk to the mother/father...and if they don't do anything...try t potty train the kid urself...8 year olds should be fully potty trained...usually by 2 or 3...but in rare occasions parents are too lazy to do it...and sometimes it could be too late to train the kid....I wish you luck

Answer 10

..0_0.....

thats...seriously... not good....

Answer 11

they should try to potty train her as soon as possible i mean its kindia bad not to potty train them and if the child is having this much trouble mybe the child should see a real therapist and talk to a doctor

Answer 12

Dose she just not care?

The parent needs to take the child to a doctor.

This is a very odd situation.

maybe if there is a chart that if she uses the toilet she gets a sticker and once the week is filled she gets something.

Normally this worked for little kids so i dont know if it will work.

Answer 13

8 years old and not potty trained is simply INEXCUSEABLE on behalf of her parents. Can they spell L A Z Y?  At this point getting rid of all diapers and putting her in normal underwear is the only way it's going to get better. Insist that when she has to go she uses the actual bathroom.  I don't care what kind of "issues" the kid has emotionally with a therapist, this is simply not acceptable at 8 years old.

Answer 14

Does the child have a condition that you do not know about that is keeping her in diapers? Maybe you should ask her parents, sometimes there is circumstances that children have to go through that isn't always made known to the world bc it is embarrassing to them!

Answer 15

Do you know for a fact that she is seeing a therapist? If you dont have proof, this needs to be reported to child protection, this is common in victims of sexual abuse. I know no one thinks it could happen to their kids but it can and does more than you think.

Answer 16

There is probably a physical if not also psychological reason for it.  You probably can't do anything to make her more aware of what she already can't feel or smell, yet, anyway.  What you can do for her is remind her to use the restroom on a regular schedule, even if she doesn't actually use the toilet and uses that time to change her own diapers.  I'd set a timer to go off every hour and tell her to go when the timer goes off.  Or, if you have structured activities at the same time every day (snack time, a certain TV show, whatever) you can also have her do it at those times so she gets in the habit of going on a regular basis.  I did this with my 3.5YO who was doing the same thing, showing no signs of progress, and in six months she suddenly became potty trained on her own.  Even if that doesn't happen for this kid, at least she develops habits to deal with it more effectively.