Child Still Wetting

Generally speaking, having him not drink liquids before bedtime is not going to help - not at this age, anyways. Chances are, he is just going to have to outgrow this. A bed wetting alarm may help, but it depends on the kid (helped mine somewhat). It seems like some kids are more prone to having this issue. My pediatrician said that she believe that kids are at higher risk who:

Are generally bigger than other kids their age
Snore or suffer from sleeping issues
Had a parent who wet the bed
Have ezcema

She said there are no real statistics to back these up, just what she has encountered in her practice.

She also reminded me that my daughter wasn't going to graduate and still be wetting the bed and that this too shall pass. In the meantime, stock up on GoodNights and try not to stress about it.

Good luck :)

Hello,

My son was 10 when he stopped wetting the bed (pull-ups, actually), and he wet every night until then. He was such a deep sleeper I thought he'd never get over it. He was motivated to stop though, so I got him a pee alarm. It really worked! Within a week he'd stopped peeing at night and hasn't had an accident since (2 years!). I actually bought a used alarm on eBay, but you can also buy them (or research about them) at bedwettingstore.com.

Good luck!

Oh it is so frustrating, but hang in there. It is very common and can go on until they reach puberty. For boys sometimes until the age of 12. My daughter wet the bed also, about 4 months ago it just stopped. But we also noticed little spotting in her underwear so she basically hit puberty early. I also have taken her to dr's, made her take pills, did bed alarms etc.. i will tell you it is all a waste of money, oh and also has NOTHING to do with what time he stops drinking. It is actually considered a sleep disorder in a way, the brain in children who still wet the bed doesnt ever reach the R.E.M sleep patteren which is the rapid eye movement part of sleep. There are 3 stages of sleep (i forget what they all are) but anyway, the REM part is when the bladder tells the brain to wake up and go to the bathroom. Well children who wet the bed TOTALLY SKIP that pattern. So, just encourage him that it will end, it is not his fault, and even research it on the computer and show it to him. Hope this helps, good luck and remember it will end. Oh and it is usually hereditary, so someone in yours or his fathers family had the same problem.

Hi mom,
Many people will scoff at my response to your dilemma but i hope you give it a try. I would try chiropractic. I am a chiropractor and many of my pediatric colleges would agree we've all seen children, sometimes up to the teens, whom still wet their beds. Its so embarassing for the children and so restrictive for their social lives, no sleep-overs. Chiropractic has been known to help, often because the issue isn't a mental one but a physical disconnect between bladder and brain. The sacrum,or tailbone, and sometimes the lumbars are most frequently the underlying culprit that puts a blockage ont the nerves that tell the brain that the bladder needs to go potty, especially at night so they just go in the bed. its really a simple fix and doesn't require a lot of "twisting" which i know many parents are scared of. I can't begin to tell you how many times i've heard great success stories about this issue. I wish you best of luck.

Once ruling out all possible physical issues...I made my son wash and make his own bedding. Not because I'm mean...I was not mean to him about it at all. I just suggeted that maybe you should start helping me since I have 3 other children and a hubby to keep up with! It was EVERY night. Much to my surprise...he only had to do it once! I was astounded. It almost made me mad...after all these years of struggling and money on Drs and such. He did not like to make the bed, he told me. Phsssh!

A couple of thoughts-
Has he been seen by a pediatric urologist? If not, that's the first place I'd start.
Have you investigated the bed wetting alarms. They can help train his body. They have them for the mattress or you can get them that will attach to the front of his undies and an alarm sounds at the first bit of wetness.

I was told by a nurse friend that her son had the same problem and his doctor (she said was amazing about really knowing everything) told her to give him magnesium every day. And that was it.
I buy Kid Calm by Peter Gillham from any health food store or online. Follow the directions on the label.
Good luck!
C.

Did you take him to a Pediatric Urologist? They usually treat constipation and see if that helps, a bowel full of poo presses against the bladder and a little movement can make it all come flooding out. If he is having this issue then either he needs to be seen by a doctor that is for that area or you just need to wait it out. My 11 yr.old grandson still wets the bed about 3 times a week. Restrictin fluids doesn't do anything but make them dehydrated and have even stronger urine which in turn can cause UTI's. All the alarms did for us was wake every one up numerous times throughout the night and made tons more laundry because the bed got changed more. he was grumpy because of lack of sleep.

So, buy the pull ups, cover the mattress, let yourself get the rest you need and wash the sheets when needed. He will outgrow it eventually unless there is a biological issue.

I would also say if you are determined to have your son wash his own sheets that you would suggest he start washing his own clothes because he is big enough to handle the chore and you are going to teach him a new skill. Not that you don't want to handle pissy sheets...not that you would but some might. His self image and self esteem are already fragile because he can't control his body.

Why are you changing his bed?

This is not something he can control right now, but he is old enough to change his own bed and place the wet sheets in the washer. Get a rubber sheet to protect his mattress. Keep a couple of sets of sheets in his bedroom and have him take care of this.

Not allowing him to drink after a certain time is not the problem. His bladder has not caught up with his body or he is a very deep sleeper. You could also consider a couple of alarms to go off at different times of the night so he can go to the restroom in the middle of the night. Place the alarms across the room so he has to get out of bed to turn them off.

I am sending you strength.

you cant get him to stop.. it is developmental. he will stop someday.

my friends son is 15 and still wets the bed.. they have been to a urologst and taken the medicine your son took.

Dont stress just buy the pull ups and someday it will stop.

Have you tried an alarm? We used Wet-Stop withour youngest son and it worked well.

I potty trained btoth my kids at night by setting an alarm & I got up & got them up. I realize your son has genetics that are playing a role here, but the reason I mention it is because my daughter was such a sound sleeper that she would pee & never wake up. She would go several times & never even know it. I got tired of the laundry & the smell & just decided if I could survive breastfeeding & all the sleep loss then, that I could handle a few potty breaks at night & it paid off. After a few months, she begged me not to wake her that she would do it herself & she did. Apparently back waking her at set times 7 keeping a schedule we some how got her on a schedule where she wakes up enough to realize she needs to go. My daughter would go to bed between 8 & 8:30. I would wake her around 10 - 11 & have her go. this is when I usually go to bed. I then set my watch alarm for 1:00am and have her go again. Then hubby gets up at 5:00 & would get her up to go but she couldn't always go, so we stopped that & I would get her up at 6/6:30 to go & she would and she decides if she's ready to get up or go back to bed. If she goes back it is usually for just about an hour. I'm up at 1:00am for 10 min. & I fall back to sleep fast & really never felt any sleep loss over it, but it helped her self confidence immensely. The accidents & the cleaning up daily can be humiliating. I think if an alarm in his room & he doesn't wake for it, then he really is going to feel hopeless. Plus, with your help, he will know you are there for him & support him. Besides, if it doesn't work, what are you out? if it does, then you save $ on diapers & $ 7 energy on laundry. Hope this helps you & best of luck. My best friend's son is 6 & has this problem too, but her husband was like that as well, so they know genetics is the cause.

just like everyone else here...my son is almost 9 and still does it. he had improved for a while (staying dry for about a week at a time) but now, he's wet almost every night. i know he'll grow out of it and so will yours.. good luck!!!!

I wet the bed until I was 12 years old. I had a nose spray that I would take and it helped A LOT! I was a very rare occasion that I ever did. The doctor thinks the reason why I kept wetting the bed is because my bladder hadn't been growing as fast as the rest of me (I was a tall kid) and it will and did catch up. Perhaps ask your doctor about a nose spray. I'm sorry I don't know what it is called, but I didn't pay attention to any medication names. Perhaps he might, if not try asking an older ped. This was 10 years ago so I don't know if they still make it.

I'm sorry you are going through this. It's common, actually. My kids went through it and the only things that helped were time and the nighttime alarm. My boys didn't mind the alarm, but my daughter really didn't want to wear it. If you go with the alarm, we would attach it to their underwear, then put a Pull-up over the underwear so that they wouldn't soak their clothes and bedding each night. All I can say is that eventually he will grow out of it. Along with the issue of growing into his bladder, it could be that he is a heavy sleeper. Mine were like this, they slept through EVERTYTHING. Fire alarms, tornadoes, the house alarm, etc. Be patient. He won't have night wetness forever(although it may seem like it)
*From what we were told by the pediatric urologist, the Imipramine should only be use when he needs a short- term break, like an overnight at a friend's or something like that. It's not meant to cure nighttime wetness and shouldn't be used on a daily basis. We found that even when we used it for my oldest son to go to a friend's house, it still didn't work, so we always sent a Pull-Up anyway.
Good luck!

wake him up before you go to bed... or around midnight!

try the buzzer. look it up.