My 10 year old son has been a bedwetter his entire life; is it time to use an alarm?

Question

I've always been against alarms, I feel kids need a full night of sleep. However, he wants to stop wearing goodnites, and he soaks them every night. We have tried a lot of things, this sucks for him. He can't go to sleepovers.

Answer 1

I had the same problem I wetted my bed until the end of my fifth grade year. I ended up going to the doctors and they put that jelly stuff on my tummy and my bladder is half the size as normal. Also it was genitic my dad wetted his bed until sixth grade. Have him stop drinking water or anything about two hours before he goes to bed and also get up in the middle of the night and make him get up and use the toliet. After all of this I was good and now able to listen to my body.

Answer 2

What about taking him to the doctor?

Answer 3

He wouldn't be sleep deprived for long. As I understand it, he would be retrained to his own body within a few weeks. Pretty much, if it has been ten years, it's time to try something.

Answer 4

Ok, you need to understand that the bladder is the slowest growing organ in the body. I have actually dated two men in their 20's that still wet the bed. One only did it once or twice a month, the other, it was every night. I broke him of that. What I did was I got up every two hours or so and MADE him go to the bathroom. After about a month, we was good, no more accidents. Good Luck and do not be frustrated I no that it is hard.

Answer 5

I wet my bed regularly until I was 10, and at times of stress I still wet it until I was about 14. I have never had my bladder checked to see what size it is but I can now drink lots of water before bed and don't need a pee until 7am the next morning.

I had an alarm at about 8 years old, but all it did was make my younger brother (whom I shared a bedroom with) wake up and moan at me for waking him up. My mum also had to come and change my sheets, as I would be crying hysterically and anyway the clean laundry was on a high shelf in the airing cupboard in my parents' bedroom (they never left any out for me, and at 8 years old I did not think to ask them to).

I think that I just grew out of it. The alarm put me back, if anything.

I would say try the not drinking for 2 hours before bed idea, and also perhaps try discussing with him what it feels like to have a full bladder (perhaps an hour or so after giving him a large drink one morning), and encourage him to empty his bladder when he feels that sensation. This will bring the thoughs associated with feeling a full bladder into his conscious mind, which is where he needs them to be for that feeling of fullness to wake him up.

I think I read this in a parenting magazine somewhere, and remember having vivid dreams about needing a wee when I was a kid, and sometimes was able to wake myself up after these.

Answer 6

I don't know what a alarm is sorry...but I would have him not drink anyhting before bed and tell him to get up when he has to go...not just wet his pants. I hope this helped.

-Tara

Answer 7

I had the same problem a long time ago. My parents had me sleep on a mat on the floor with towels underneath me. I would sleep with an alarm set at around 2 a.m. (in the middle of the night from the time I go to sleep till the time I typically wake up). So every night, when my alarm rang, I would get up and go to the bathroom. Every once in a while, I wouldn't set the alarm (or I just forgot) and eventually I didn't need it anymore.

Answer 8

Okay you need to get him an alarm! It's very important that he has strides to improve his non-bed wetting. If he doesn't then he may have this for a long time. My friend had a son with a wetting problem and she has helped him cure it. But always be nice about it, they cant help it! You can even go to the doctors and they will give him medication for that.

Hope he gets better soon!(Keep on chugging!)

Hope this helped. =]

Answer 9

just tell him not to drink any liquids before bed time, and hes problably afraid of getting up during the night, and an alarm wont help and sometimes you just have too give time