A new book about potty issues for little and big kids. Accidents, bed wetting, constipation, UTIs... all covered with important facts and hope for parents and kids.
I ignored the first e-mail that came my way asking if I’d like to review a new book about potty issues for kids called It’s No Accident: Breakthrough Solutions to Your Child’s Wetting, Constipation, UTIs, and Other Potty Problems. Nobody really likes talking about this issue, and even if I’m struggling with some of these issues in my home, I really didn’t want to talk about it publicly.
The truth is… I really needed to read this book. And if you are a parent with a child who struggles with any of these issues — bed wetting, accidents, constipation or UTIs — you should read this book, too.
I’m glad I finally said yes when the PR folks came around the second time. Here are some of the topics covered in the book:
• Potty accidents are not normal – they can be caused by physical issues or stress – the most common cause being physical.
• Chronically holding poop or pee makes a child’s body go haywire – you can help get your child on a schedule and provide the right setting to help them go regularly and stop holding it.
• Children can poop daily and still be constipated – Dr. Hodges asserts that even if your child poops regularly, even every day, they could have a stored mass of poop in their colon – the size of a softball or even a cantaloupe! The only way to confirm this is via x-ray.
• Virtually all bed wetting is caused by undiagnosed constipation – If there is a large mass of poop stored in the colon, it leaves little room for the bladder. Dr. Hodges cites many, many cases where he is able to eliminate bed wetting with his clients by focusing on constipation first. Many times people focus on the bladder first, but this is useless if the bladder is being pressed on.
• 25 percent of 5-year-olds have wetting problems – this is higher than I expected, one out of four is a big number. This is probably because we don’t all talk about our kids potty problems on Facebook the same way we talk about their achievements. It’s embarrassing for the kids and the parents, yet we are starved for answers – more than just “it’s normal.”
• Kids who trained earliest and most easily tend to develop the worst problems – interestingly this goes against the crunchy elimination communication theory and all the potty boot-camps to get kids out of diapers as early as possible.
• Wiping from front to back does not prevent UTIs – interesting information on UTIs, debunking what causes them (wiping, baths) and sharing real facts and diagrams on what causes them (mainly kids holding their pee!).
For my children’s privacy, I’m not going to share specifics about which of my children is struggling with which issues, but I will share that as a parent I felt relieved and empowered reading this book. There were a number of things that really opened my eyes. I read the entire book in one morning (because it was so compelling) and I found myself jotting down notes and made my own action plan of 10 new things I can try in our home. TEN new things?! That’s pretty empowering compared to the “Be patient – they’ll grow out of it approach” that frustrates so many parents.
I’ve already told a few friends about this book and want to share it with all of you, too. I highly recommend you get a copy of this book for you or anyone else you know struggling with constipation, bed-wetting, UTIs or accidents. You can learn more about It’s No Accident on their official website or on Facebook.
I’m giving away one copy of It’s No Accident to a reader. Simply leave a comment below to be entered by Friday, May 11 at midnight. Giveaway closed, winner was JoAnn K, who was drawn at random and notified. Thanks everyone!
Dr. Hodges also agreed to answer your questions as a guest of my Expert Q&A series – leave a question in the comments below (feel free to be anonymous) or e-mail directly with your question. I’ll compile the questions and send them to him, then post his responses soon.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy of the book, but was not otherwise compensated. I only post reviews of books or products I find useful personally and believe my readers will benefit from.
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16 Responses to “It’s No Accident:: book giveaway & ask the expert”
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I would love to win a copy — as a parent who has children struggling with a few of these issues I would love to read more about them and see what we can do!
Please help.. I have a 9 year old that has never had a dry night.. He wets thru the pull ups and we have to do laundry every day!
Julie – your comment broke my heart. These issues are so tough for the kids and parents. I’m not sure what your experience has been with pediataricians or other docs, but I think this book would give you some good ideas. The web site has some basic info – also there are some bedtime wetness monitors on pottymd.com that I saw today that might be helpful. Hugs to you.
Sounds very interesting – Esp since my child who was completely potty trained before 2, has trouble staying dry all night…
Looking forward to reading this based on your recommendation!
Missy – You are the 2nd person who has mentioned this book “to me” in the last month. I’d love to win a copy as we are dealing with some issues here that I hope might be helped by it.
I have a 5 yo who cannot stay dry at night, and even though I know we are not alone, it is refreshing to see this post. I would love a copy of this book because aside from the night issues, we also deal some of the other issues you mentioned. Thank you for agreeing to review the book!
Sounds like this book could help my family. I have a kiddo who has been put on a laxative because she won’t go poop. She will hold it in for as long as she can. I would love to find a solution to getting her off the laxative. She has been on it for several months.
Brittany, the book gives some good ideas on how to encourage kids not to hold it in. I was impressed with the number of things to try, which included the best times to get them on the potty, a chart to help kids identify different kinds of poop, a way you can demonstrate the colon & poop getting backed up with socks… mostly it gave me more confidence on how to have these conversations with my daughter and why it’s so important. Good luck with the giveaway but if you don’t win you should get this book.
I’d like to enter and will email my question to you tomorrow. Thanks for doing this post.
Such an enlightening subject not only to be helpful to children but also adults in many ways!! I wish I had this book when my children where alot younger.. But still interested in learning from this book. Also would love to read and share a copy for my nieces and nephew, who could use the information.
Joanne – you are the winner of the book (by random drawing). I’ll e-mail you with more info.
I would like to enter- we go through periods of doing great with the potty and then he regresses. So frustrating! Thank you for this post!
Many issues here as well, we’ve been thru the wringer of not making it throught the night, constipation causing UTI’s, the cycle of antibiotics, etc, etc. Having some success recently with a wetting alarm (a week so far straight). Probably going to change Peds due to this whole episode…..would love the book.
I’m really curious about this book. I have an 18 month old and am coming to the realization that potting training (and the issues and challenges along with it) will be in our future very quickly and I’m scared to death.
Are there any other potty training books you would recommend?
Our guy has been trying to ran the same Transformer for more than a year. We need a new strategy.
ran = earn