My 7 yr old goes through "phases" where she will wet the bed every night, pee her pants during normal social interactions and go on as if it never happened. She will try to hide it by changing her clothes and saying she is "cold" or whatever she comes up with. I have tried to give her more attention and I am not sure what else to do. She must know she has to go and now we remind her every hour to go. But she also will go on her own. Any ideas??!
I am monitoring things. We have not had many incidents recently. She seems to have phases where it happens a lot and then it almost stops completely. So I am watching it and taking her to the Dr if it gets bad again. THANK YOU to everyone for your replies and Kind words.
Definitely get her to pediatrician. Night time wetting of
bed I could understand. Daytime, no. Maybe she has
infection?
I went through that as a kid, and looking back I realize it had to do with anxiety though I couldn't have articulated that at the time. Outwardly I was a happy, effervescent child, but I had tremendous anxiety due to a volatile home life. I'm not saying that is your situation at all - but it might help to try and see if your daughter is undergoing any kind of anxiety or fear in her life -- in school, for example, or with her peers. Her bed/pants-wetting may not be the call for attention you think it is.
I had the same problem for awhile. All of a sudden my daughter started to do this out of nowhere - I was thinking it was laziness - since it happened alot when she was playing or involved and didnt want to stop - then it happened for no reason at all and we began to think it was due to some changes going on at home with childcare. My daughter is competitive and we started a simple heart chart and when she reached 10 hearts she got a small gift for her remembering. I never pressured her cause that always seems to make it worse...And she wasnt perfect every day - we just said - ok - lets try again tomorrow...And sure enough we did this for about a month and she stopped and we havent even had to return to the chart...Good luck.
I think the anxiety concern with social situations might make sense. Have you talked to your pediatrician? I also was a "bed wetter" at night until I was 11, in spite of medications and doctor's visits. I slept like the dead and could not wake myself to use the bathroom. We just managed by making it as easy as possible (mattress cover, I knew how to toss my bedding in the laundry, wore Goodnights when I was younger, etc.). It might be a combination of concerns, but it sounds like she is not doing it on purpose, so I would just make sure that she has what she needs to change herself and clean herself up. She will probably grow out of it, but talk to your doctor, too.
I would definitely take your daughter to a pediatrician, but I would also just be sympathetic and patient with your daughter. She obviously is embarrassed by this and would stop it if she could.
My heart goes out to your daughter.
My daughter had problems like this and it turned out her bladder was just small for her age. dont panic, think its all your fault...ok? Ask the doctor to do an ultrasound on her bladder. Once we knew what the prob was, she no longer tried to hide it. She realized there was nothing to be ashamed of. We kept her pullups quiet from most people (she grew into her bladder finally at the age of 12) But at least she knew it wasnt her fault either......its worth shot...
sounds like she may be going through something physical, see a pediatric urologist. or emotional, see a social worker, psychologist.
Dear J., Have you taken her to the doctor to make sure she does not have a medical problem? Grandma Mary
Like the other moms, I don't think it's an intentional plan for attention, I think either there is a physical problem (UTI, etc.) OR, an emotional one - a lot of fighting at home (siblings or parents), a bully at school, going to a new school, stress to get good grades, etc. It can be anything, but she's internalizing the stress and somehow it is causing her to wet her pants. Also, if she is 7, she is probably mortified by this, and she may not really know what is causing her stress.
I would take her for a physical first to rule out a physical cause. If you know your home life is idyllic, I would talk to her teacher to see if she/he notices any potential problems in class or the lunchroom or playground, and then I would talk to your daughter either about specific problems that were found, or in general and see what she has to say. Don't mention the pants wetting, just say something like "you don't seem like yourself lately, is there anything making you upset?" Just try to find some one on one time, where you are not being pulled in 10 different directions, and really talk to her. If she comes up with an answer that you can help her with, great! If she seems to indicate a problem, but won't really talk to you about it, you can ask her if she would like to talk to someone, like a dr, who's job it is to talk to people and help them with their feelings, you can try a therapist. If you do nothing, she'll probably outgrow the problem, but the issues may remain.
Hi J.,
My son was a bed wetter for many years, however he never had accidents during social situations. I would have her checked out by the doctor. I doubt a 7 year old would willing wet her pants just for attention. There could be something physical going on, or emotional. Is she having any issues at school? If she is trying to hide it from you then I don't think she is doing it for attention. If seems that it is something she is having control of. I would start with the pediatrician and then go from there.
