How do you deal with bedwetting on planes?

Question

I have a 7 year old son that wets the bed and I have always put his nappy on before he goes to sleep.

We are going to disney in florida in the summer holidays and part of the return plane journey is during the night. (leaves 3pm U.S. time and arrives at 5am U.K. time)

The problem I have is figuring out how to get him in his nappy on the plane where there is really quite limited space.

What should I do:

make him wear a pull up instead (but I generally find these can tear easily and often leak)

Wake him up often during the night (this might annoy him as it can be quite hard to get to sleep again on a plane)

Put his nappy on at the airport and make him wear it for the whole flight (seems very harsh on him to have to wear a nappy from 3pm onwards)

or do you have any better ideas?

for people who would call me lazy for my son still wetting the bed we HAVE been to see a doctor and he said it is that he has a small bladder and the message doesn't get to his brain to wake up.

Answer 1

Have you heard of Good nites training pants.  I would use them.

Answer 2

Don't let the kid drink any fluids after a certain time, and put some pull-ups on him or her.

Answer 3

I think you will find it wont be as big an issue as you think, there isnt a huge amount of room in the loos but there is still a changing table (check which loo it is in as they dont have them in all of them).

You only have to do it once during the flight, so deal with the discomfort, put him in the nappy you know and trust and enjoy the flight - although you will be lucky if he sleeps a full night!  You will probably find he is constantly asking to go the loo for the 'thrill' of it!  Have a great holiday.

Answer 4

I think pull ups are your best option. Get him to put it on in the plane toilet at his usual bed time. Or maybe he can put his nappy on himself in the toilet if pull ups leak too much?

Answer 5

I think the pull-up is the most convenient option here.   He would probably be able to put it on himself in the bathroom, if necessary.   They make some decent quality pull-ups nowdays, and you should be able to find one that will do the trick for one night.  Bring a hand towel and put it on the plane seat under him, just in case.

Definitely don't wake him up....it is hard enough to get to sleep on a plane, and he may not fall BACK to sleep again, which will leave him tired and cranky the next day.

Answer 6

Perhaps you could go back to your doctor and ask him about Desmopressin. It is not something that should be taken permanantly but it works by stopping the body from producing urine and a lot of kids use it for sleep overs etc. Appart from that let him practice putting the nappy on his self so that when you are on the plane and he is getting tired he can discreetly (in a backpack or something take himself to the toilet and put it on himself. He will probably feel quite embarrased about his wetting so by letting him take some responsibility may help. Bedwetting is not really that uncommon and there is probably another child in his class that wets as well.  In fact 1 in 12 children experience a problem . This may be comforting for him to hear.

For more information you can visit

http://www.eric.org.uk/

or drop me a e-mail if you need anything.

BTW HAVE A GREAT HOLIDAY (and say hello to mickey for me)

Answer 7

If he's wearing a full blown diaper then he may be more comfortable with what he already knows.  I'd try a Goodnight first however as he could wear it from airport to airport without any hassle and change in the bathroom at the airport once he lands...or if needed, do a quick change in the plane's bathroom.  If pull ups and Goodnights haven't worked well, then consider taking him to the bathroom on the plane before bedtime and helping him change.  Yes, its cramped but it can be done quickly.  Once he's up for the day after bedtime, another quick change in the bathroom can get him feeling ok again.  This way he's not in a nappy for the entire flight but still protected when he needs it.

Good luck and have a fun vacation!

Answer 8

pull-ups or "pyjama pants" and send him to get changed in the loo.

Small bladder or not, at 7 it's time he was getting a grip on all this

Answer 9

He's old enough to be able to change his own nappy in the toilets. Just get him to put one on when he's ready to sleep and change it if necessary when he wakes up.

Answer 10

Make him wear a Pullup on the flight or a diaper (your call with your son's input, put either on before you leave) and wake him up rather often. The UK is 5 hours ahead of Florida so it will be a 9 hour flight, wake him up before the meal. Once he eats have him go to the bathroom on the plane and if he falls asleep wake him up after an hour or so. Don't worry about him getting it on in the bathroom, he can do it himself.

Answer 11

This is a really tough one and i can't really see any easy solution.  Wearing a pull-up nappy,  however,  seems the best option.  He isn't a toddler,  so he should be old enough to be able to change his own nappy.  Make sure you have a good supply of them and get him to visit the loo regularly.  It may seem cruel but it is the only way of keeping him dry and comfortable.

Answer 12

Just wake him up.  Yeah, its not easy to sleep on a plane, blah blah blah.  But sitting around, stewing in nappy full of his own urine, on a semi-long international trip isnt exactly a great solution.  Neither is mum and child trying to squeeze into the very small confines of an airplane toilet to put on said child's diaper.

Answer 13

use dry nites pyjama pants theses can be worn under his clothes and no embarrassment is caused

Answer 14

You'll get ZERO criticism from me!  I have a boy close to your son's age and it took quite some time to get him dry thru the night!

For your trip, I would take him to the bathroom on the plane to get him into a pull up once "bedtime" rolls around.  Try as much as possible to follow his at home bedtime routine (visit the toilet prior to sleeping, etc).

Enjoy your vacation!

Answer 15

Contact  the airline about the problem and ask them to have an attendant ready to help you with making a place for changes.

Answer 16

When I had this problem with my child I found that the goodnights work really well. They look like shorts but are lined like a pull up. look them up online and see what you think. good luck

Answer 17

I had the same problem with my 8 year old.

We recently went to the Dominican republic which was a 9 hour flight.

I used the  XL huggies pull ups they have like a Velcro fastening at the side which are really easy to put on the child.

I found that whilst on the plane he didn't fully go in a deep sleep so didn't wet himself, also dont no if your son is anything like mine but mine was fascinated with the toilets so was going every half hour.

And also if you let the stewards on the plane no that he is a bed wetter they do have protective covers for your child's seat.

Dont worry and enjoy your flight and holiday

Answer 18

Why can't you get him to put it on in the toilet?  Not pleasant I know but it must be do-able...