Is 5 to old for diapers at night?

Question

My kid wets every night even though we have taken him to the bathroom and give him nothing to drink. But he will pee a couple of times a night. So I have him in diapers at night. He fights about wearing them. So I wait till he is asleep and put them on him. To save money I use cloth diapers and plastic pants. In the morning he will pull them off and leave them on the floor. They are always wet. Even though he does not want them he never says anything about it in the morning. He really does not want them but I just can't deal with changing the bed a couple of times a night sometimes. The doctor says he will outgrow it. He will pee his pants during the day like on a long car trip if he falls asleep so I use a diaper and pants then. He just does not seem ready yet. Am I ok doing this?

Answer 1

yes...my friend went through the same thing

Answer 2

No, 5 is not too old to still be wearing diapers at night. Medical proffesionals don't even consider bedwetting a problem until age 7 and even then most will leave it till about 9 but I wont go on about bedwetting because your question was about the use of diapers.

The problem here is the type of diaper you are using, you are obviously trying to be eco-friendly and economical (no pun intended) by using cloth diapers, but think how this is from the childs view.

Any kind of diaper will make a child feel slightly babyish but cloth diapers are by far the worst. Cloth diapers are generally quite bulky and thick between the child's legs causing their walk to be like a slight waddle also plastic pants rustle and are quite noisy. Add all these things together and it is really quite obvious when a child is wearing a cloth diaper with plastic pants, your 5 year old probably doesnt like them because of this especially if in public whilst on a car journey.

Try putting him in disposible diapers instead. If the above reason was why he was refusing to wear the cloth diapers then this might solve the problem.

On the other hand maybe he is embarressed by the fact that you are putting the diaper on him, in this case buy him some pull ups whick he can put on in private and they are far more discreet than the other types of diaper. However, be warned pull ups don't hold as much!

Try these things but remember that no-one is ever too old for diapers if they are needed otherwise people wouldn't bother selling adult diapers.

P.S. Ignore what "juss toya" said, just because her child was trained at 19 months doesn't mean that everyone else's children should be - I hate people who are so ignorant of others.

Answer 3

My 6 year old was potty trained at 2, but still wears good nights at night time. He is only this last week started wearing underwear to bed at night, so far no accidents this week, but my fingers are crossed. Kids will get that night time bladder control in time, just give him that time.

Answer 4

No, I don't think 5 is to old for diapers at night if he's still wetting the bed and agrees to wear one. However, your child does not agree to wearing a diaper and should not be forced to wear one. I know your trying to save money but cloth diapers and plastic pants are very "babyish" (even thought they work the best). You may have better luck with him wearing a Pull up or Goodnites. Your doctor is right, he should outgrow this  but it can last into his early teens.

Answer 5

I have 2 kids that had the same problem. My oldest was 7 when she got out of pull ups and my son is 6 and still wears them. He used to get upset about it, too but he is ok now. He doesn't complain anymore. My Dr. said the same thing. Their bladders just weren't ready yet. I also have a 4 year old who is completely out of diapers and has been for a long time. the older one used to get upset about that, too. :) Hang in there.

Answer 6

My daughter Wet the bed till she was 13. We found out her bladder did not work well

Answer 7

I'm sure that's very hard for you. My friend has this problem and her son is 8. She has taken him to the dr and was given some spray which didn't help him either. The only thing I can suggest is getting Pull Ups and taking him to the bathroom a couple of times a night. I'm sure you'll hate to have your sleep interrupted, but maybe if you set your alarm and take him at the same time twice a night, he'll get used to it and eventually get up on his own. My daughter is 6 1/2 and I usually wake her up once a night to go to the bathroom. Sometimes she doesn't use it, but most of the time she does. She doesn't wake up wet as long as I take her at 1 or 2 in the morning.  Just do the best you can. I would get rid of the diaper because they probably make him feel like a baby, though. Good luck

Answer 8

i am so happy some people said it is normal until the age of 13. i actually used to wet the bed until about 12-13-not every night but often enough. i couldnt hold it in for too long during the day either when i had to-like on the bus, tube...i really struggled and had to cross my legs-other people were ok. i think its weak bladder muscles-im ok now so i obviously grew out of it too. even adults suffer from mild bladder weakness-they even sell 'nappies' for adults-of course they r not called nappies-i think its tenna lady-so its obviously very common.

Answer 9

You could possibly try those new "under jams".  I understand the concern about cost, but they may help lessen the struggle to get him to be protected at night.  I'd say you're doing all you can.  You're a great parent and only wanting what's best for your child and his health.  

Good Luck

Answer 10

You are ok doing this. Some children don't develop the ability to hold urine until 7 years old and sometimes a bit later. Good job taking care of your son and his best interests!

Answer 11

5 yrs old is to old for diapers anytime of the day. 5 is old enough to grasp the concept of peeing in the pot/toilet whatever you use.  Your doctor also sounds a little loopy.  Good luck!

Answer 12

it is normal until the age of 12

Answer 13

Yeah, I can understand not wanting to change the bedsheets all the time. Maybe pull ups would be better?

Answer 14

YES!!!!!!! My son is 3 and fully potty trained. Potty Training is VERY HARD I must say(especially with boys) When I first start with my son I bought a kid's potty seat from Walmart for $35.00. Attached with the new seat was a toliet holder, and each time he would go to the bathroom he was able to pull the handle just like a REAL TOLIET!!!In the morning I would sit him down to pee and then have him flush"his toliet". A few hrs of playing and I would have him seat down again. After lunch again, after dinner again. He would not receive any drinks after 8 pm. After a mth of the same scheldue he would then go himself. I found that going number 2 was the hardest to teach him. It's all about a scheldue and keeping the scheldue the same. Now his able to go himself and wipe himself (with assistance of course) For the scheldue with number 2 I had to learn the potty song from,"Look Who's Talking" He loved it and within a 3 mth he was fully potty trained. It's hard and there were so many times I wanted to give up. And then he started to learn the scheldue and I was sooo happy for him and proud of myself for not losing it. Be patience and take your time with the scheldue and have your son out of cloth diaper by Sep. Trust me IT WILL WORK, and after he start to get the hang of potty training purchase boys boxers and PullUps. Use the Pullup only at NIGHT TIME and the boxers during the day. Good Luck. Your going to be o.k.

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