5 yr old Potty Issues

[Momboss]

Before I say anything to the parents, is a 5 & 1/2 yr old well aware and making a conscious decision to poop or pee in their pullup or underwear? Assuming there is no physical issues.
im tired of this child chosing not to use the toilet and im tired of her parents thinking that 5 days without an accident is enough to keep her in underwear. I want to tell the parents their child knows what she is doing and since she is choosing not to use the toilet, she cannot be in underwear here.
ive never had a child this old do this. I cant figure them out!

[Blackcat31]

Depends on if the child is or has been fully trained and it also depends on the consistency at home in regards to supporting toilet use. If the parents are inconsistent about having the child use the toilet and they flip flop back and forth between pull ups and underwear, the child may not be conscious of their elimination habits.

I can see how a 5 yr old in pull ups would be difficult to deal with but unfortunately there really is no magic number that dictates what is appropriate to being trained or not. The child's home life as well as the parents input in the situation will be the deciding factor as to when the child is/isn't fully trained.

I would focus more in the intentions of the parent than that of the child. Are they saying the child stays dry at home and never wears pull ups?
Either way, I'd make sure to explain to them that what your policies are on how long the child needs to wear underwear with a protective cover before being allowed to come in just underwear. Express the need to remain sanitary.

[e.j.]

It doesn't matter to me if a child is making a conscious decision to pee/poop in their pull-ups or underwear or not. If they're doing it, no matter what the reason, they have to wear pull-ups until they can or choose to control it. At this kid's age, though, I might suggest that the parents have their child evaluated for enuresis/encopresis, depending on whether they're peeing or pooping in their underwear.

When he was about that age, my son kept pooping in his pull-ups and underwear. He was evaluated for/diagnosed with encopresis. It was explained to me that he actually couldn't feel the poop coming until it was too late. It helped me to be more patient when I realized he wasn't doing it on purpose.