Almost 4 and wetting the bed

Question

I have a little boy who will be four at the end of August. He still wets the bed every night. I put him i pull ups to sleep because of this. I have tried just letting him sleep in underwear, but he wets the bed anyway. He doesn't even seem to know that he has done it. He doesn't wake up. One morning I got him out of bed after letting him wear underwear, and he was dry. I was so excited until I smelled him and his bed an realized that he had wet the bed at some point in the night and it had dried.

Has anyone had any experience with this? He is completely potty trained during the day... except the occasional time that he waits too long and wets himself on the way to the potty.

I am worried that it may be some kind of medical condition, and will ask at his well- child check up, but I would like to hear from you.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Some kids simply cannot control themselves at night.  It's not unheard of.  There are big kid pull ups and plastic sheet covers for things like this.  Make sure he doesn't drink a lot of fluid before going to bed, and that he uses the toilet just before going to sleep.  This will decrease his chances of wetting.

Answer 2

The only condition he has is that he's not fully potty trained which is perfectly normal.  He is only 4 years old and shouldn't be expected to stay dry all night.  Rather than pullups he should  probably still be in a diaper at night. However if you insist that he is potty trained I suggest that YOU set an alarm for yourself to get out of bed and take him to the batrhoom at around midnight or 1:00am.  Cease all liquids past 5:00pm.  Absolutely no soda at all because soda causes gas, gas causes bloating, and the bloating puts pressure on his already small bladder.  

Answer 3

I'd say he's perfectly normal.  I wet the bed when I was small and my oldest son did it for years.  He just didn't feel the urge to go when he was asleep so he would have accidents.  His dr said it is due to his bladder growing slower than his body.  He did outgrow it eventually and I suspect your son will too.  Pullups is a good idea.

Answer 4

Haven't you seen the shops, they have night time pull ups that go up to about age 11yrs!

I have only just taken my 6 yr old out of pull ups. yet my 2 yr old is dry at night! My other 2 (boys) were about 4 before they were dry at night!

Don't fret, it will happen!

Answer 5

I think you are right to ask your doctor at his well check-up.  Kids are difference when it comes to potty training.  My best friend's son is 7 years old and still wears Good Nights, she says it's because he is a hard sleeper.  My son is 22 months old and doesn't have an accident at night, but he wakes up super early, goes to the bathroom and goes back to sleep for another 2 hours.  

Answer 6

First you need to limit all liquids approx 2 hours before bedtime, next make sure he goes potty before bed, if that doesn't work then do all of the above and wake him up in the middle of the night or set an alarm for him to get up and go potty... Good Luck!

Answer 7

some kids just wet the bed. some for years.  

Answer 8

Sometimes kids just have this problem. They will, I promise, eventually out grow it. I know it is frustrating. Just keep getting the pull up or those other nite time things they have now. And don't razz him about it. Hurting his feelings or giving him a hart time just shames him. It will not correct the problem.  How do I know? I had one of those kids. He is now 21 and does not wet the bed. :)

Answer 9

I had 2 daughters who wet the bed til almost 11 yrs old.  The doctor said its because their urinary system is closely related to their reproductive system and usually when they hit puberty it stops, and it did.  I bought some really good bed pads to put under them so you didnt have to change the whole bed in the middle of the night.  It does suck, but i don't think you can do much about it...we tried meds with one of the girls but it made no difference.  Good luck

Answer 10

That is SOOO normal! Wake him up every two hours to pee at night for one week! This will become habit!

Answer 11

Yea, my young sister is 5

and she wears pullups just incase

when she was about 4 i think she wet the bed almost every night too

now, she doesnt wet the bed anymore,

but they make her wear pullups to bed just incase an accident occurs

the point is, i dont think there is much to do about this..

i guess he will grow out of it.

my sister sure did!

hope i somewhat helped! =)

good luck with your little boy!

Answer 12

it's concidered normal for children under the age of 5 or 6 to wet the bed. My advice is to keep him in pullups at night until he wakes up with dry pullups 5 consecutive mornings and then try letting him wear underwear on the 6th night . hope this helps

Answer 13

This isn't uncommon.  My parents rented a machine that an alarm went off when I wet the bed.  I slept so sound that my bladder didn't wake me when I needed to go.  It only took a month and I was broke of it.  You can still rent the machine all these years later.  I see it at the grocery store's where you can put all the ads up.  you can also try not letting him have anything to drink after 6 pm, make him go potty before you put him to bed, wake him up an hour or two after he goes to sleep to go potty and again before you go to bed.  Good idea having the Dr check him too!

Answer 14

It is a medical condition - called nocturnal enuresis. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturnal_e...

I had it when I was younger, and that was before pull ups! My parents dealt with it in different ways: They put plastic under the sheets to protect the mattress; I was not allowed to drink anything after a certain time before bed; I was on medication for awhile that would help me not be such a heavy sleeper; one of my parents would wake me up in the middle of the night (1 or 2 am) and take me to the bathroom.

I didn't fully recover from it until I hit puberty. So you can believe that this was quite a hardship for me. Just remember that it is not your son's fault. I would encourage you to do some research and talk to your son's pediatrician. He will outgrow it eventually.

Answer 15

oh its perfectly normal for boys to do that at night, just as long as its not during the day. ive known many boys who had that problem while sleeping at night. infact, ive known some who had that problem until they were around 7. girls usually are better at not wetting the bed at that age. anyways, they sell plastic paddings for this problem, so id recommened putting a plastic padding where he lays in the bed, or one of those special blankets that absorb the pee so it doesnt soak through to the mattress.  staying with the pullups is a good idea. but if it continues when hes much older, the problem may be hes to lazy to get out of bed and use the bathroom, or maybe hes afraid of the dark? anyways, dont give him any liquids within 2 hours before bedtime. make sure he goes potty before going to bed.  good luck :)

Answer 16

this may be normal or it may not just go to the doctor to make sure and if its normal the doctor can give advice. sorry im not much of a help

Answer 17

Well it verys so much what the reasons could be. In my family i had stopped at 3yrs old, when my brother had stopped at 7. Just have your child go to the bathroom right before bed. Its rarely serous, but if you are that worried you can ask your doctor about all this.

Answer 18

At only 4 it is VERY common to be wetting the bed.  Some kids are not even potty trained during the day at this age.  A childs bladder does not mature until around 6 or older and if a child is a heavy sleeper, has a small bladder, or an overactive bladder; these are all common causes of bedwetting.  My daugher is 7 and wets the bed every night because of all of the above working against her and my 5 yr old does on occasion.  If you are seriously worried, you should always talk to your Dr. to at least put you at ease.  Give him some time and he should grow out of it eventually.  I know that changing sheets is never fun.  Have you put a waterproof mattress cover on the bed?  Pull-ups don't always do the trick and matresses are not easy to clean-I KNOW!  

To help with the bedwetting you could cut off his drinks at least an hour before bed, wake him up in the middle of the night to use the potty, and teach him some keagal exercises (when he is peeing, have him stop and hold it for a second and go again and stop...)to gain better control.  Good luck!

Answer 19

Some kids have small bladders. There are pills for reduceing pee. Pee isnt fun when its in bed...

Answer 20

as a mom of 6...i would just keep him in the pullups....some kids take a while long at bedtime because they sleep so hard...he'll grow out of it....just wash the bedding etc and don't make him self concious of these....hes ok

Answer 21

My daughter wet the bed till she turned 5.  don't worry about it.  he will quit in his own time.   It has to do with the size of the bladder and the size of the urea.