Problem of Bed Wetting?

Question

Hi frens!

I'm back with another issue this time & that is 'bed wetting'. My +6 yrs old son wets the bed almost every night & I'm yet to find any remedy for it. Praise, scolding, encouraging, lecturing have not worked so far & its giving me nightmares [literally] now. Some nights he doesn't wet the bed if I wake him up after 2 hrs of sleeping but other nights he wets the bed even then..... Pls help me if you have faced & overcome a similar problem, with your valuable suggestions.

thanks,

Shelly.

Answer 1

I have a 10 year old who still wets the bed every night and wears Pull Ups.  First and formost, do not scold your child.  It is not his fault and it will accomplish nothing.  Second, I have tried everything myself.  I have been to two doctors inculding a urologist.  The reason for it is simple.  His brain has not caught up yet.  His bladder is not sending the message to his brain that is't important to wake up and pee.  Sit him down and explain to him that it's not a big deal.  Pleanty of kids up to age 12 continue to wet the bed.  Let him know you're not mad at him nor do you blame him.  Do let him know that even though it is not his fault, it is something he needs to deal with.  Leave out clean pjs and clean sheets for him.  If he wakes in the night he needs to clean himself up and change his own sheets and pjs.  

If you're truely concerned, you can try a bed alarm.  They aren't very expensive, between $50-100.  They attach to his underwear and have an alarm that clips to his shirt.  The alarm will wake him the minute moisture is sensed.  They don't always work for all children though.  They may wake him but in the end not really "cure" the problem.

There are medications, but most children aren't able to take them till they are around the age of 9.

Don't put pressure on him.  I'm sure that he feels bad enough about it.  I have never once fussed at my son over it as I know it is not his fault.  We are dealing with it but understand it is something he will out grow or we will deal with with meds.  Be patient, loving, and supportive.  You don't want to wreak his self esteem over something so minor!!

There are many people saying to restrict fluids.  They are absolutely wrong.  You still produce urine wether you drink or not.  I work for a peditrician and she said that is absolutely the worst thing to do with small children as at this age they still only drink when they are thirsty.  Never ever restrict fluids!!!!

Good luck!!  I know exactly how you feel!!!

Answer 2

the most important thing to do is to find out whether it is a primary or secondary problem.in a primary problem he can have a problem with his bladder functions, in which case no amount of praising/ scolding really helps.in a secondary problem it can be due to stress/ psychological factors. so please consult a paediatrician asap.

some techniques u can use till then are:

1 ) record the usual time at night when he wets the bed, wake him up 30 minutes before that time and make him go to the toilet.

2) restrict fluids after 6 in the evening, no fliuds from 1/2 hour before bedtime.

3) make him go to the loo right before going to bed.

4 ) using a wet pad so that  even if he wets, both of u dont feel THAT bad...

Answer 3

Hi, My daughter is 8 in June and still wets the bed! I got an appointment with the specialists and then a teacher told me best not to attend because they ask questions about the biirth, her bowel movements and everything, this only led to the teachers daughter being embarraessed which probably dint help. I dint take my daughter and yes im washing bedding most days but it used to be everyday and to be honest she is gettin lots better it just takes time... Another friend of mine took her son to docs and they prescribe tablets and advise not to drink Blackcurrant juuice before bed xx

Answer 4

My now 12yr old daughter had this problem.  We talked to our Pediatrician at her 5yr check up because of being invited to sleep overs & being too embarrassed to attend them wearing night time pull-ups.  We had already tried restricting fluids & waking her before we went to bed, which didn't work.  She was such a sound sleeper that she didn't wake to the urge of having to pee.

Our Pediatrician put her on a medication called DDAVP.  It's a small tablet that we had to crush and give in applesauce prior to bedtime.  It stopped her bedwetting almost immediately, after one dose adjustment.  She was on it for a couple of years and then we slowly weaned her off of it to see if she started wetting again.  She didn't!  It was such a big boost to her self-esteem!!!  

Bedwetting runs in families, if one parent was a bed wetter then your child is most likely to be a bedwetter.  If both parents were (as was our case) then you're just doomed! LOL

Anyway, I hope this information was helpful.  Good Luck!

Answer 5

The most common cause is a sleep disorder, and it is often accompanied by symptoms that seem like dyslexia and/or ADD/ADHD.  The problem is that some of us sleep too deeply, don't get enough REM sleep, and consequently don't slow urine production overnight.  I had quit bed wetting by about age 6 or 7, but went through it again from 12 to 15.  Since then I've had to get up 2 to 3 times per night, and have wet the bed occasionally as an adult.  My youngest son is 13 and just stopped bed wetting about 2 months ago.  Pull-ups, Goodnights, etc., aren't made and sold in larger sizes for no reason, use them - and don't ever punish him for bed wetting.

Answer 6

Yes don't make it a big deal. I'm sure they feel bad enough. No drinks after six pm and bathroom before bed. I would suggest also waking them up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom. My child had this problem until 11 she thought it was over and she would go months and then it would happen again. They have a small bladder that's all. OH definitely get a bed protector one that zips up so you wont keep having to buy a new mattress.

Good luck!

Answer 7

wear a nappy or dont give him water for a week

Answer 8

make him drink less near his bedtime and go toilet just before he goes bed

Answer 9

this is a common problem with middle children - he could be lookin for attention - could be a psychological problem - or he's a very sound sleeper and just can't get up - usually kids outgrow this but it can go on into the teen years - see if he havin problems in school - this also could lead you in some direction as to what is wrong

Answer 10

NO PROBLEM:

Drink lots, lots of fluid (but not forced ), as much as you can, hold for as long as you can, in the A.M.  

No water or watermelon etc. 5hr. before bed.

This is like taking your kidney to the gym and making it stronger..  

Think about it??

Answer 11

Well its very likely that no manner of scolding talking or praise will help. Its fairly common for young children to have smaller then normal bladders. which forces the matter and they really cant help it.

  Here is an interresting read to find out most if not all you need to know about the problem.

       http://www.wetbuster.com/parents_good.ht...

This site even contains some interresting ideas on how to assist parents and kids thru this rough time as it not only effects that parents having to clean up every morning but it also makes the child feel bad.

i am a parent of twin boys myself.

Hope this helped

Answer 12

Try restricting liquids within a couple of hours of bedtime.  Try to keep track of how much he drinks after say 2 hours before.  Then let him go potty before bedtime.  

Bladder control at night is something that takes body maturing and is not under his control when he is asleep.

They make a night time pull up type underwear that is absorbent.  You could try that for a bit.  Check with your doctor and see if they have other recommendations.  It is not uncommon for bed wetting to occur for a while.  My children stopped having night time accidents when they were about 9.

Answer 13

Stop giving him fluids after dinner and make him sit on the pot before bedtime until he goes. That might help.

Also, don't make a big issue of it with him. Some kids take longer than others.

They also make special sleeping underwear with alarms in them that go off with the slightest moisture. We've used them with my daughter who wet the bed until high school. She just slept too deeply and couldn't sense it was time to wake up to go.

Answer 14

They don't know that they are doing this, they are in what is called the 4th phase of sleep which is a dead sleep. My son went through this until he was 13. I took him to the Doctors and found that his bladder was not growing as fast as him.They do eventually grow out of it. You have to be patient.

I know it's allot of work taking care of the linens but try to accommodate him. It's very embarrassing for him. I put one of the plastic covers on the bed before I made it up. Can't get mad, it's not his fault. Tell him this won't be forever. He will be fine.

Answer 15

Visiting with a pediatrician is the only best answer.

. . .

Six years old ain't exactly a baby.  As long as he helps (cleaning-up), we can all rest easier. Cleaning-up is important, because urine is the medium for ridding the body of ammonia and other toxins.  Filtered at the kidney, some p**s is more golden than other leading streams; but, it wastes the same.  Perhaps, if you hunt for gold then he'll helpout.  Mission accomplished!

Answer 16

My oldest son wet his bed until 13. We did all of the doctor visits, etc. All they said was his bladder was not maturing as fast as the rest of his body. He toilette trained at about 3, not many problems, but was wet every night.

    When he was 6, he would wet his pants during the day if he had to wait more than about 15 minutes. Does your son do this too? The waiting time got better with age and disappeared around 9 or so. This always seemed to happen if we were away from home shopping or traveling. To help with this, the doctor said we could exercise his bladder by having him hold it longer at home in small increments. This did help out. We would have him tell us when he had to pee, and then have him come over to us, tell him to hold it in, and talk to us about how it felt. He got used to the feeling of a full bladder, less anxious about it, and felt in control. When he gave us the first signs of losing control, we let him go to the bathroom immediately. These times began to get longer and longer over about 6 months. And we kept them random, and don't forget tons of praise, hugs & kisses. This also gave us a measure of how soon we had to get him to a  bathroom when one was not around.

    At night, he was like your son. We put him to bed around 830/9p. Every night we would take him to pee before we went to bed at 1130, and he would 90% of the time by dry. However, he would be bursting to pee, and not really conscious of what he was doing. We would get him up, and walk him to the bathroom. Sometimes he would pee his pants on the way, still asleep. If we missed it, he would be  soaked by midnight, and he was a heavy wetter. Then change him and go to bed. If we didn't catch it( out & babysitter was there, etc), then he would take off his wet pajamas sometime during the night, and go back to sleep. In the morning, he would have already peed again, naked, and its everywhere. Or he would come into our room, at God only knows what time, and sleep on the floor, by our bed, with his extra blanket. Then pee on the rug sometime before my alarm went off at 6am. He outgrew goodnights after about age 8. All of this was post goodnights. I could not get a fix on what time he peed in the early a.m. Even when our twins were born, and both of us were up all night, it was never consistent, and we were exhausted. I usually got up around 6am for work. Sometimes he was wet, sometimes not. I do know that it was never on purpose.

    The few times he wet in front of me at night, when we were trying to get him up,he was completely sound asleep. You can't be mad at that kind of innocence. It only made us love him more. It really wasn't his fault. We never made a big deal out of wet rugs in our room. He always had a protector on his mattress. He helped do his own sheets.

    In the morning, he would sometimes wake up soaked and upset. He was one of those boys who could sleep through all of his pees. So on these mornings ,all you can do is love him and comfort him, and remember its worse emotionally on him than you. Especially as he gets older. After age 10 or 11, he didn't pee as often, and handled it without us, but it still upset him. He would sometimes bring it up at breakfast, and we would remind him of how much better he was getting. When puberty hit, it ended.

    Sorry this got long. Here are some tips: 1) drink plenty of water during the day, not just juices or soda. 2)always pee before bed. 3)make sure medical is clear. 4)empathy is stronger than scolding or lecture. He knows he's supposed to be dry, why humiliate him when its an involuntary action? 5)have him help with clean up now. 6) Hugs and kisses will heal self esteem.