6 yr old wets the bed every night?

Question

My 6 year old son wets his bed every single night without fail.

We have tried no liquids after 4 pm, we have tried waking him in the middle of the night to take him to the bathroom, we have tried putting a potty in his room, we have tried pull ups (he takes them off when we leave the room), we have tried an alarm clock to wake him in the night to go pee, and none of it has worked. he still pees in his bed every single night.

I am at my wits end about it. Washing sheets, pillowcases and blankets every single day and night is making me nuts.I hardly get any sleep, because I'm up sometimes twice a night changing bedding.

How can I get this situation resolved? I'm pretty sure it's not a stress issue, because I talked to him about it and he says he just doesn't feel like he needs to pee, it doesn't wake him up in time... Thanks.

Answer 1

OK, first of all, relax, you are not alone.  My daughter wet her bed til 5-6th grade I think.  That hormone someone else mentioned??   That was our problem...I was speaking to a urologist I was working  with, he asked my if she was put on this pill, I said"what pill"   Till then we did everything you've been doing, so I really get where you're coming from.   He put her on Primonil.  First she took 2 a day, then one, then every other day, you get the picture.  It took a few months, at least, but you should know, from day 1 when she went on them, she was dry almost every night.   Talk to your dr, urologist, neuphrologist, anyone,  just find out about this medication, I swear , it does the job!  Maybe it's right for your son, too?

Answer 2

There is a hormone most of us develop around the age of two and a half that stops our bladder filling during the night at the same rate it fills during the day.

The same hormone 'triggers' us to wake when we need to pee.

Some children don't get this hormone until later - my friends son still wets the bed at age 10 (although not every night)

It doesn't sound like his fault that he won't wake BUT the pull-ups thing is in his control and really he should be made to wear them.

I know wearing them might be embarrassing for him so you might need some sort of 'bribe' if he wears them for a week and saves your sheets!

I would have him checked out by a doctor and hopefully this is something he will grow out of.

Meanwhile you might have to wake him 2-3 times in the night to make him go.

Answer 3

you are placing too many restrictions on your son. let him sleep in a tub of his own juices and frolic as younguns do :)

Answer 4

Some children have bladder issues, and "addressing" the situation through talking to the child may be the stress that's causing his night-time urination. Seek a doctor's help first. Dont make the mistake of yelling at the child, or blaming them for doing it, they dont have control over the situation, and it will only make it worse.

Answer 5

it's a sleep disorder, my son did the same thing, as did my brother. they sleep too hard for their bladder to wake them up. even when we would get him up to go to the restroom he would act like he was out of it, then in the morning he would not remember it. so he was still sleeping when he was "up." he grew out of it about the age of 8. i know it's hard to deal with, but every time you have to change his sheets make sure he wakes up, use a wet rag, or something you know will get him awake, not just up out of bed. that helped my son, but remember it is a sleeping disorder, it's not his fault.

Answer 6

He may have bladder issues! I have had that once, take him to the doctor! or sit him up strait and let him stay still for a few minutes and try gettin his mind off or peeing dont give him anything to drink at nite, no water, soda, milk nothing!

Answer 7

Wake him up an hour after he goes to bed, then again before you go to bed.  

The more callous thing would be when he wets the bed early make him sleep on the plastic mattress cover without sheets.

Tell him the only solution to that would be wearing the pull ups so the sheets don't get wet and he can have the sheets.

Also try nothing to drink after dinner, if that is earlier than six.

Answer 8

So far all I see is "we have tried".  I see NO consistency at all here.  You have to be consistent with ALL of the remedies, meaning they have to be ALL of the time.  You have to get him up EVERY night until he forms a pattern and starts doing it on his own.  You have to omit liquids EVERY night.  You have to omit all soda drinking EVERY day.  

Take him to the doctor as well, if he doesn't know he has to urinate then obviously there is a problem there.

Answer 9

He might have bladder issues. Take him to a doctor, and don't give him any liquids before bedtime.

Answer 10

Please let him know it isn't a big deal-that lots of kids go still don't have bladder control at night and you know he can't help it. Please don't make this an issue because he already feels bad enough about it. This is honestly something you can't help. Let him drink liquids-it isn't helping and kids usually don't get enough liquids. Buy him Goodnights. They even have the ones now that look like shorts instead of pull ups. Please don't put him through the humiliation of wetting himself. If you are miserable-please imagine how a young child feels about it.  This is very common, honey. He may not outgrow it for a few more years so please don't make it an issue for him and hurt his self esteem.

best of luck to you and your son.

Answer 11

He will grow out of it.

Answer 12

A lot of kids wet the bed well into their teens because their bladders are still developing and they're just heavy sleepers so they can't control it at night. Throw a pull up on him, there's no sense in washing his sheets EVERY day. He'll outgrow it. =]

Answer 13

I had a problem like this until I was almost 7, I was born 6 weeks premature and the docs told my mom that my kidneys were under developed, I eventually outgrew this, your son may have a medical problem, I would get him checked out.

Answer 14

Usually bedwetting in kids up to age 7 or so is considered normal. If he doesn't stop soon. You should talk to your doctor about it. There are medications out there that can help but they come with some pretty bad side effects.  If you offered him "protection" to wear and he won't. Then I hope you make him clean up and change sheets at night and then wash them the next day. At age 6, he should be able to take some responsibility.