Hey everyone,
My issue is this: I have a 6 1/2 year old son, our oldest, who has been potty-trained since he was three. Just this last fall, he stopped taking naps and that's when he started reverting back to wetting the bed. This seemed logical since he's going to be much more tired at night, and so we started waking him up at 10:30-11pm to go one last time before we went to bed. However, we are now months into this and instead of getting better, we're headed in the wrong direction. He often wets the bed within the hour of going to bed, and sometimes when he takes a nap, he pees then too.
I'm at my wit's end with this and all the laundry. We're working on getting his liquids to him earlier in the day, and limiting drinks at dinner and beyond, but it's hard since he is at school all day and sometimes comes home with little already drunk.
Suggestions? Recommended products? I've heard that there is a mattress cover that signals if it gets wet and it's supposed to help wake them up. Has anyone tried this and does it work?
Thanks for taking the time to give your input. I appreciate it.
L. P
How funny, my daycare lady was telling me just yesterday about something she used with her son- it was called something like a "Potty Pager"... it's a device that clips on to a kid's underwear, and vibrates to wake the kid up once it senses wetness. She said it scared him the first time it went off, but he only had to wear it for a week- problem solved. p.s. try visiting www.bedwettingstore.com
Hi L.,
I have a teen, who still occassionally wets the bed. One of the biggest things I will encourage you to do is not get upset and not blame him. We took the stance with him (he was frustrated by it as well) that everyone has issues. This was his issue and will help him to be more compassionate towards others with issues. Some are overweight, some have anger issues, some have a limb missing, blindness, short tempers, we all have some issue, this is his. That said, we have made him responsible for help cleaning it up. Maybe your son can pull his sheet off the bed or just make sure his clothes get in a place by the washer. We our son was 8 we taught him how to wash his sheets. That's another thing - they make zip up mattress protectors that go over the entire mattress. We tried the "beeper" - the device that sounds when they wet - it often ended up being launched across the room in the middle of the night! We tried the waking before we went to bed, cutting off liquids, even food changes. We have a different pediatrician now and he said that many times things clear themselves up at puberty, something to do with the pituitary gland. Our son at 12 - when puberty really hit - really made a dramatic cut back in wetting frequency.
Don't loose heart, be understanding and encouraging. He and you will make it through ;)
Hi L.,
Every thing I would tell you is right on the front page of this web site. I wet the bed till I was 13, my uncle till he was 16 and my dad till he was 12. I bet if you ask around, you will find there is a history in yours or your husband's family. I am fully expecting at least one of my girls to have this problem too. I even found out after a year or so that my best friend was also a bed wetter. One night at a sleep over, which I never wet the bed at someone elses house, she wet the bed, but we woke up and did not know who had done it.
My mom tried everything except trying to understand it. I even wore the pad with buzzer that they talk about on this web site. It worked for a while and definitely helped with laundry, but I learned to turn it off while still sleeping and eventually it shorted out and stopped working. Also it has to be completely dry in order for it to work, so sometimes on a weekend morning I would wet the bed twice. It was good though for a while. There was a pill too that I took for a while that did work, but was also a temporary fix. This was 25 years ago though for me, so ask your pedi and do some research on the net.
The most important thing to know and remember is that it is not his fault. No one wets the bed on purpose. Do see a Dr. for a possible urinary tract infection, especially with cutting back on liquids, this could be the case, now or later. Also know that cutting back on liquids at night may cause a few dry nights or smaller puddles, but will not cure him. Be understanding and supportive of him and have him take some responsibility for his own little problem. He is 6 and can at least strip his own bed in the morning to help you out.
http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/bladder/enu...
Best of luck and hopefully it will not last long. Try a few things, even Goodnights pull-ups. do what works best for him and you.
Actually, bed wetting at 6 isn't that uncommon. You've probably seen the commercials for the "diapers" that pull up and look like underwear. They're made for children your son's age. They're called Good Nights and you can even buy them to look like boxers! Hopefully it makes you feel a little better that you're not alone!
All that being said, I still highly recommend seeing your pediatrician. SOMETIMES there are neurological issues that cause this problem so it's always best to be safe than sorry, right?
Until then, buy the Good Nights or something similar and try not to make a big deal about it. The more attention your son gets negative or positive) the more you reinforce the behavior. Oh - and you can also buy those large puppy pads if you want. If you place them across the bed in the middle area (over the sheet, of course) they will soak up the urine. Then you just change the pad when you get him up to go potty before you go to bed and your sheets are better off too!
Good luck!
Mrs.V
I too have a daughter who wet the bed until about 7 years old. It is very frustrating but as others have said pretty common and I believe hereditary (my brother had the same problem). My doctor said these things usually work themselves out by around 8-9 years old but in a very small number of kids it can go on to the teens. I would take him to the doctor as it sounds like he wasn't doing it before and it's something new, this seems unusual even with the change in naps. Just be sure it isn't something medical and then wait it out. Save yourself some laundry time (and sleeping time!) and get the goodnights and then just try to let it be. Just when I really started to worry my girl was going to be the one that did this to her teen years, she stopped. Even now at 9 years old she'll wet the bed every few months, small bladder & deep sleeper! When I would get really frustrated about it I would just remind myself that a happy, healthy kid is what really matters and this problem is only temporary. Good Luck!
Have you tried not giving him anything to drink at least an hour or so before bed. This worked for us. But if this doesn't work you might want to talk to his pediatrican.
I have friends who have children that have a hard time controling there blatter while sleeping. Hope this helps
I agree with the adive the other moms have said.
My son wet the bed until around the age of 9. I took him to the Doctors, and he said he would grow out of it. I would talk to my son about it, and let him know that it was not his fault, I would help him threw it, and that I was not mad at him. He would get very angry with himself and embarresed. I also had him help clean up the bed and himself. The more I supported him, the less accidents he had. Good Luck!
