Q: My daughter is 4 years and 3 months old. She does not tell when she needs to urinate, be it in school or at home. We told her politely that it is a bad habit and she should tell her teacher or mother but she doesn't do so. But at night if she wants to urinate, she asks her mother or me. What should we do?

A:Since the problem started about 4 months ago, you should try and remember whether she was upset with anything at that time. Perhaps, a new baby arrived. Perhaps you moved house. Perhaps, there was some family problem. I am only guessing. Children who have been toilet trained will regress (or go back to the features of an earlier age group) only when they have some emotional problem. You will have to find out and help her yourselves or seek the help of a professional counsellor. I think that a child who wakes up at night to urinate will surely be able to ask somebody during the day. There is a problem, I think. You should also rule out the possibility of urinary tract infection, by taking her to a child specialist.