How can I get Mom to go to the bathroom more frequently and not wait to the last minute?

Although my Mom is incontinent, I bathe her on the toilet. I bought 5 white cotton skirts on clearance online for her. They are fantastic, light weight, pretty with any color top, so easy to get on and off, and I can bleach them if she should wet them sitting in her recliner. I also use Tena diapers, depends are awful. Good Luck.

Every hour on the hour she goes to the bathroom. That said, she must have been drinking water (liquid) for this to have any results you want. Then put her in a skirt. It is much easier to raise a skirt than pull down pants which usually have elastic and it is much more difficult. Good luck!

A schedule may be the answer. And it is very important to note that she is not waiting until the last minute. Her brain isn't getting the signal until the last minute. There is not much she can do about it. Acknowledging that may help preserve her dignity a little, or at least not make her feel guilty or defensive. "Mom, I don't know why it happens, but a lot of times as we age the urge to pee just doesn't work promptly enough. To help avoid accidents, let's try going to the bathroom regularly and not waiting for that defective urge." Explain it any way she will understand it, but let her know that you do not consider this her fault and that you are only trying to help overcome a problem she can't help.

It's common practice in hospitals and home health to get the person to the bathroom every 2 hours. If she has an accident before the 2 hours are up try every 90 minutes. Or every hour. Try to figure out how often your mom has accidents and take her to the bathroom accordingly. And like someone else said, your mom may not recognize the urge to go until it's too late so try to set a bathroom schedule so it's less work for you.

I used a digital timer. I set it for 2 hours and the alarm would sound for a minute and then reset itself for 2 hours. I had to hide it so she wouldn't turn it off. Even with this, I would have to remind her the meaning of the alarm, but this worked for us.

You might be able to set up a bathroom schedule. Some have used a clock or timer or perhaps when TV shows change. "The show is changing so let's go to the bathroom". It is possible that she is not "waiting until the last minute" but, instead, no longer recognizes the signs of needing to go until it is almost too late/too late. If she has an UTI that can impact her ability to control urination as well.