13 Year Old Still Bed-wetting

I hope that this has been going on so long that she isn't actually wetting the bed anymore, but rather is wearing a Depends or other type of product. Our daughter wore pull-ups until she was 7. We let her know that her body would figure it out, probably before she was 21, and that it didn't bother us at all. We would buy the pull-ups and put them in her drawer so she could empower herself to keep the bed dry. She did eventually start waking up when she needed to use the bathroom.

If you want to try some other simple suggestions you could offer up limiting liquids 2 hours before bedtime and setting an alarm for the middle of the night to awaken her in order to use the bathroom, instead of sleeping through the event.

Depending upon how the girl is handling the issue (meaning if it is really bothering her and impacting her self esteem negatively) perhap some counseling would be in order.

Good luck.

I def think they need to have her looked that
I don't think it behavioral or discipline..

I'm an 80year old great grandmom and I have to report that as a youngster I wet the bed until I was 12, and then for some reason I just stopped. I had no control over wetting, nor of stopping! There was nothing wrong with me, but sometimes I did have a dream that I was on the toilet....no, it was more a dream of wetting (don't know if I thought I was on the john or not!). I'm sure this is minimally helpful, but it's possible that as she goes into puberty she may just stop by herself, as I did. Have you inquired whether she had anything happen to her (for example, might she have been sexually messed with?)
Of course she hates wetting the bed, so keep your prayers aimed at helping it! Good luck! Gma

Suggest to her parents to have her see a doctor about it. She might just have an underdeveloped bladder.

She should definitely see a doctor, especially if it's EVERY night. It's so hard on them at that age. When my oldest son was about that age he had a birthday sleepover and I noticed that one of the boys who was there wouldn't get out of his sleeping bag the next morning. He stayed there till about noon or later and when he left I noticed a huge urine spot on the rug where his sleeping bag had been. The boys were so nice though, no one said anything to him about it. I felt so bad for the poor kid.

Try giving her Sudafed at bed time , It tightens the sphincter muscle. My sister wet the bed until she was 15, she would dream she was awake and on the toilet, we didn't know about Sudafed.

The best thing you can do is simply tell your niece that it is completely normal for a small percentage of people to wet the bed, even at her age (1-2% of those age 15). Most likely there is someone in the family line who was also a bed wetter. I would make her feel as comfortable as possible by telling her that eventually it will stop on its own. Only by supporting her will she have her self-esteem bolstered. Make it an unimportant event. In other words, don't ignore it, but don't make it much of a focus either. It is just a normal part of her adolescence. That's all you can do.

Hi N.,

We are going through the same thing with my almost 11 year old son. We are participating in the following clinic, and the results have been amazing. If you read everything on the website and watch the videos, you will be more informed about the cause of bed wetting. Check it out! www.nobedwetting.com

L.