Bed wetting at age 5!?

Joanna - posted on 10/26/2012

Hi my daughter is 5 and has been out of nappies during the day from 2 years old but has always been wet at night. I have now been referred by the health visitor . She has advised not to give orange juice or blackcurrant juice there is nothing saying to stop giving you child fluid before bedtime.



my first appointment was wednesday amd i was given a bowel chart to record and record the amount of urine passed . My daughter can't empty her bladder properly so this is the problem which i am seeking help for



Could take up until she is 7 they said

Lori - posted on 10/31/2011

My almost 7 year old was having issues. Once medically cleared the dr. put her on a medicine called desmopressin acetate 0.2mg She started taking 3 pills a night and after each month we cut the dose by half a pill. She is now down to 1 pill nightly and no accidents. Ask your doctor about it - good luck

Darlene - posted on 10/31/2011

every kid is different. sh may have a slower maturation of her bladder. more common in girls but is very common up to age 9. get a plastic bed liner and be encouraging to her. try to never make a big deal of it cuz nerves can really mess with a bladder ;) talk to your doc and be willing to let her pick out some pretty night gowns and unders she may get more confident as she gets alittle more control. I have one daughter and six nieces. all but 2 of them had issues w/ bed wetting they all grew out of it, and only one required medical intervention. they make make under jams and goodnights for reason! good luck!

Sarah - posted on 10/28/2011

Well i had a very close family member who did this and well she went to the doctor and got a pill and she stopped wetting the bed ever since.... hope this helped! ♥

Josephine - posted on 01/02/2010

Jan is bang on with the pull ups!! I did exactly the same with my little man & it works a treat!!

Good luck x

Jen - posted on 01/02/2010

It is actually a chemical issue (can't remember the name) where his/her brain does not wake them when they need to relieve themselves. They aren't lazy and should not be made to feel bad about it. They can't help it. Doc said to just wait it out and when his brain decided to click on the magic, it would... and it did, just not on my schedule. My son wet the bed until he was almost 7. I have a 5-year-old daughter and she is still wet almost every night. Neither of my children have any medical problems, just late bloomers for lack of a better term. You should always check with the pediatrician to be sure though. If all is well, you can try the potty pager, but it is rather expensive and was a little traumatic for my son, so we didn't bother with my daughter. She'll outgrow it. We just use UnderJams and are discrete with friends until she does outgrow it. Good luck, be patient and remember it's not their fault.

Kelly - posted on 01/02/2010

My daughter is is 6 and still wets the bed almost every night. I know how frustrating it is. We bought one of those expensive alarms and it not work. The alarm is so loud that it scares her and she refuses to wear it. We are now trying the help of a chiroprator. She is getting adjusted twice a week. He has had great success with other kids. I am crossing my fingers he can help us. He has helped me greatly with anxiety issues. I strongly recommend chiropratic therapy.

Tami - posted on 01/01/2010

There can be many reasons for this! At 5 it is still to early to start to worry about medical problems. Holding back liquids however is not the answer. It will only stress her out more. Many times it is that she is sleeping to hard at night to wake to go to the bathroom. If she is small she may also have a small and /or week bladder. Make sure she knows that every one is different. The fact that your 2 year old is not having the problem is most likly causing her stress. If she is stressed when she falls asleep she will not enter REM sleep. Try playing soft music while she is falling asleep. Most important let her know that it is not her fault and you know she is doing the best she can. It may be medical or it may be stress but it is not her fault. she needs to know that.

Norma - posted on 01/01/2010

It is tough to deal with this type of problem but lots of moms deal with it. I have 5 children and the older four had a different father. they all wet the bed when small, most quitting by 10 or so. The youngest only wet a few times when she got cold....so it appeared. my oldest son still wets. He is grown and has a job and gonna be married. I tried everything and nothing has fixed the problem. I am going to try to get a bed alarm... however i have a brother who wets sometimes, especially if he drinks alcohol. good luck and happy new year!

Debi - posted on 01/01/2010

My daughter had the same problem first take her to the Dr. if they say nothing is wrong, get a alarm that has two sides that you can set it twice, have her wake up to go to the bathroom at night. Also if they are not getting enough to drink during the day it will make her bladder weak so at night it relaxes to much. So lots of water during the day means she goes more often during the day and it will get stronger (sorry not over night) Once she gets wetting the bed you can set the alarm for once a night and then not at all it took about 6 months for my daughter but it was worth it. Also a night light in the bathroom helps and giving her a prize at the end of the month or week if she gets herself up and goes when the alarm goes off will help. Good luck

Barbara - posted on 01/01/2010

HI, my dd also wet until she was 7. GP told us that most children grew out of it by the age of 7 and if she didnt then we should pursue it then. she also advised us to avoid the juice type drinks as they do stimulate the bladder, no drinks after 6pm but up to that time get as much as possible into her to get the bladder fuller which would train it to cope with liquids being in it and in turn this would help her to get thru the night, all this was told to me when she was 5 and when she turned 7 it just stopped on its own.

Stephanie - posted on 12/31/2009

im having a real difficult time because i have a 5yo AND 9yo that both wet the bed! if i use pullups they stay dry but if i dont use them they wet! i will never understand that!

Dusty - posted on 12/30/2009

check with the pediatrician, it could be medical. my stepson was still wetting the bed at age 13!!!!

Kim - posted on 12/30/2009

I, too, have a daughter who still has some issues, much less frequently, with wetting the bed. What I learned over the 5 year span is to not make a big deal about it. We tried the denying water, waking her up early, etc. We never went to a med or formally saw a doctor about it. It caused her as much stress and we were adding to it by our attention to it.

We found it best just to let it be and let her outgrow it. We heard from medical people that some kids just don't mature (physically) as fast as others. Some times their trigger to wake them up to use the rest room just has not fully matured yet.

The layed-back version of just accepting and learning to deal with the situation - just wash the sheets - was the best way for us. We now have very few accidents and she monitors her own fluid intake. She is the one concerned about it now. Deep sleep still seems to get the best of the situation at times, and she was always a deep sleeper.

Lastly, be careful not to compare your two kids. Kids note that and they never will be the same with everything. That is the beauty of kids. It's not your child's fault that she wets the bed.

Marwa - posted on 12/29/2009

It is genetic. My son is 5 and still wets the bed, The dr. said it is normal specially with boys. I agree don't make a fuss. A give him a happy face on the calendar for every dry night, he feels really proud when he has 4/5 nights dry. I belive it will take its time hopefully. Just you relax and it will happen

Valerie - posted on 12/15/2009

it could be a food allergy....i would check with your doctore and if not helpful i would go to a site and buy a device that helps to train at night...some kids are heavy sleepers and don't learn to train at night because of it...the device helps to wake them and train them...check with the doctor first...milk can be a culprit too

Lisa - posted on 12/15/2009

Quoting Madelein:

I had the same with my daughter. It is genetic and will eventually pass. My daughter only stopped at age 7 without any help from me. I used to set the alarm and wake her at 5 and take her to the toilet.. She usually wet the bed round 6 just efore she got up in the morning. I She know gets up at 6:30 and goes to the toilet immediately. You need to try and train her bladder for a set time. She is ow 10 and we have had no wet beds for the past 2 years. My younger daugter has never wet the bed.

pretty much the same with my daughter. She is 7 1/2 and about 8 months ago just stopped. She too was wetting at about 5:30 am. Her little sister never had an issue. The stopping of drinks at night didn't help either.

Sharon - posted on 12/15/2009

hi .

my son is 5 and still wets the bed i just went to the doctors to get a referal to pmh so we can do rhe alarm system ., i just finished reading a book by dr janet hall called boss of your bladder its a great book telling you what you should and shouldnt do which is with holding drinks and waking them in the night are two big no no's worth a read. good luck. .

Carley - posted on 12/14/2009

I know people who have told me they wet the bed till they were 15years old!!! Its not uncommon, I wouldn't worry so much because its mostly common at that age, its when they get older that you'll really be concerned.

Studies have shown that prolonged bed wetting is due to health problems or something traumatic that has happened in a childs life (In the eyes of a small person this traumatic thing could be anything, because little people seem to dwell much more heavily on littler things..) So there probobly isn't much use trying to figure out where the problem began but try working on Her self confidence, which is probobly damaged by the bed wetting, that should help.

Also I've heard of nasal sparys that work and my husband also was one of these children, he had accupuncture which worked also.

Hope I could help, and all goes well with your little girl ;)

Claire - posted on 12/12/2009

I have a 7 year old daughter who has only just grown out of it, I went to the doctors and everything but nothing they suggested works eventually she did it herself, we still have the odd accident but not as bad. Just try not to judge or get annoyed with her as this will make her do it more (I know it's hard when your washing constantly). Do you put her on the toilet when you go to bed? If not start. Aparently Orange Juice, Blackcurrent Juice and hot cocolate have bladder stimulants in them so try to avoid those make the last drink on a night milk (if she'll drink it).

Kim - posted on 12/09/2009

Quoting Brandy:

Talk with your doctor about this my son stoped at the age of 8 after finding he is in a deep sleep and can't come out of it. So he is on meds to help at night.

I'm having the same issue with my 5 year old son... he sleeps so hard we can practically scream at him and he doesn't wake up.  What meds help with that?   I'd like to ask my doctor about them.

HOLLY - posted on 12/07/2009

My daughter is 5 1/2 & does the same thing! Just last night she peed 3 times!! I withhold liquids as well (most of the time), but it's only once in a while when she won't pee. But, with Hayden, it's not just bedtime...she'll have accidents during the day, too alot of the time!! Not everyday, but just about... Talk about stressful... I've tried punishment, not saying anything at all sometimes...talking to her about it, rewarding her for staying dry... She cleans herself up in the daytime, when she's awake, but I do it at night, cause she's sleeping, unless i have to wake her up... I don't know what to do either... I'ts good to know I'm not alone, though... I heard that eventually kids will just grow out of it... Hopefully that'll be soon!!

Misti - posted on 12/07/2009

My daughter is almost 7 and she wets the bed as well. I have tried limiting her drinks and most nights she sleeps in pull ups. I have found that if I take her to the bathroom right before laying down and then again in about 2-2 1/2 hrs she can stay dry the rest of the night. She is such a deep sleeper that she just doesn't wake up. I had the same problem when I was younger. I wet the bed until I was 8 or 9 bc I just wouldn't wake up til I had already wet. I am still a deep sleeper which makes it hard for me to wake her up. I finally grew out of it and I am hoping she will too.

Tina - posted on 12/07/2009

I have the same problem, but my oldest did not stop until he was almost 7, so i got about another year left.

Belinda - posted on 12/07/2009

Same problem here. My daughters pediatrician ordered an ultrasound when she was 6 after all else failed. We found out that she has a small bladder.

Kirsten - posted on 12/06/2009

It's normal. Each child is different.

Louise - posted on 12/06/2009

My son also had a problem with bed wetting...When I went to my family Dr. he told me not to worry about it. He added that most professionals would not address it until the age of 11 or 12. He told me to follow the basic rules, stop beverages before bedtime, and make sure he potty's before going to sleep. Good Luck but the best advice I know let nature run it course

Judith - posted on 12/06/2009

My 5yr old wets the bed too. She's back in pull-ups but is okay with it. She gets a reward (usually marshmellows) when she stays dry for 5 consecutive days. She's a deep sleeper and even when I try to wake her up it doesn't work. What helps is the treat, limiting fluid intake the last hour before bed time, having her try going potty right before bed, and I keep her up just a few minutes(about 10min) later than her older siblings just to get her settled. My brother was a bed wetter for years and I've heard other family members had the same problem.

Kris - posted on 12/06/2009

i have have a 9yr. and she wet the bed up to age 7. It was her sleeping habit, she also was sleep walking. It was like "sleeping to hard". The Dr. said "she would grow out of it" and she did.

Jocelyn - posted on 12/05/2009

My daughter has the same problem and she's six. My three year old only wets some of the time. I'm a little concerned as well, but our doctor says she's just a very deep sleeper. She doesn't have this problem during the day, only at night. She's also very petite. We've tried everything. I'm just taking my doctors advice that she'll grow out of it by seven or eight. She says it's not that abnormal. I know that this may not be any comfort, it's frustrating but I make sure not to make her feel badly.

Karen - posted on 12/05/2009

I've looked after kids in their teens who wet their bed. Apparently the part of the brain that tells you you need to go is in such a deep sleep it doesn't wake them up. Nothing to worry about they eventually grow out of it, they tried the alarm and as soon as they stopped using it they wet the bed again.

Stephanie - posted on 12/05/2009

First, make sure there is no medical problem causing this. Once you have ruled this out then I would say she will outgrow it. I have a 7 year old girl who is just now beginning to stay dry overnight. I tried limiting liquids, letting her wet the bed (thinking she would wake up uncomfortable) and waking her in the middle of the night to go. Nothing worked. I have discussed with several doctors. One told me I need to get it under control so I don't have an 18 year old bed wetter (give me a break). The other 2 told me it is very common at her age and older. It is something she cannot help or control and it tends to be genetic. Don't make her feel bad or punish her. Just use positive reinforcement and she will outgrow it. And don't you feel bad--there are a lot of kids older than her that still wet the bed. Get some pull-ups and wait until she outgrows it.

Andrea - posted on 12/05/2009

My son is going to be 9 in March and still wets the bed. I fet the overnites for him to help him not feel bad about it. Our peditrician said it is extremely commmon expecially in boys for this to occur. heir are medicines for it but he advises against them. He said he could wet the bed until he is 16. I would say talk to the doc and see what he says. Try to stay light about it. Also, the doc said it is not thier fault and is something that is possibly inherited. My 7 year old is dry all night....but my husband did wet the bed as a child. Try and stay positive and it will be ok

Saran - posted on 12/04/2009

My son (now 6yrs) had the same problem. I looked into bed wetting alarms but they were crazy expensive. So, we did it the old fashion way. First, make sure you are cutting out fluids at minimum 1 hour before bed time. Of course child should go to the bathroom right before bed. Ok so now on to the hard part {LOL} I identified the approximate time frame he seemed to be peeing. He went to bed at 9pm & seemed to be peeing between 11:15 - 11:3O pm. I woke him up every single day at 11:OOpm to make him go to the bathroom. My son slept so hard that it was ridiculous trying to get him to get out of bed & open his eyes & pee. It is important that you make sure your child is as awake as possible. Make them actively participate. Its important. You are trying to break their coma-like sleeping & establish a routine so after some time {for us it took about 6-8 weeks} he will get up on his own around the sametime without your prompting. One night I did not wake him up on purpose and like clockwork he got out of bed & went to the bathroom!! Now, he doesn't even wake up most nights to pee but if he needs to he can now feel the urge to go & will go to the bathroom. It is very trying & hard on the parent but stick to it and I'm confident this way will work for child too. PS..my mom did the same thing with my brother when he was a kid & our ped taught my mom the same technique. Good luck!

Michelle - posted on 12/04/2009

I heard its herriditary, My hubby said he did it until 8 or 9!!! I know I did it until atleast 7! But both of us actually had dreams we were using the bathroom, just to wake up and find out we were still in bed! My son is about to turn 6 and knock on wood....he hasnt wet the bed in about a month!!!! I just stopped making a big deal about it and had him take his sheets off every morning when they were wet and help make his bed. I mattress pad really helps too!!! Be patient...this too shall pass!

Jennifer - posted on 12/04/2009

My 5 year old is going throught the same thing. Took her to a Urologist who found she was constipated. We have her on a high fiber diet and we give her Miralax in the morning, cause she also wets herself at school. We have her go to the bathroom every 2 hours wether she has to or not. cut out surgar and caffeine cause that stimulates the bladder. We have been doing this for 2 weeks now and have only had 3 accidents during the day and once at night. Major improvement to what we were going through. Hope this helps you.

Amy - posted on 12/04/2009

I know when i was younger my mother told me i did the same thing. i was actually 9 or 10 when i finally quit. The doctors told her that is was a weakend bladder and they gave me a medicine to take every night before i went to bed .. after about a week or two i quit doing it. so i dont' know if this will help but you could talk to her doctor and ask them about the bladder issue.

Lisa - posted on 12/04/2009

my niece is the same my sister started to take her to the loo before she went to bed herself.its not ideal but she soon started waking by herself to go.

Natasha - posted on 12/03/2009

You know my 10 year old wet the bed til she was 7. So I know how you feel. There was nothing me could do. I tried everything fro stopping fluids to pull ups and waking up every two hours but nothing. Finally at 7 she just quit. My older daughter and younger son never did either. Dr's just said she had a small bladder. So I know that wasn't much help but maybe knowing you are not alone helps. Good luck

Madelein - posted on 12/03/2009

I had the same with my daughter. It is genetic and will eventually pass. My daughter only stopped at age 7 without any help from me. I used to set the alarm and wake her at 5 and take her to the toilet.. She usually wet the bed round 6 just efore she got up in the morning. I She know gets up at 6:30 and goes to the toilet immediately. You need to try and train her bladder for a set time. She is ow 10 and we have had no wet beds for the past 2 years. My younger daugter has never wet the bed.

Andrina - posted on 12/03/2009

hi there i felt the need to respond as i have had experience with this both personally and professionally. prior to age 7 depending on maturity it is signs of an immature bladder and usually sorts itself out..there are different explanations so a check with a gp may help rule out some...stress can be one of those reasons...particularly in children going to school, death of a family member or other family stresses.... the general idea is to increase fluids in the daytime particularly in the morning and afternoon. each child should be drinking at least 1.5 litres this will help stretch the bladder. also no milky drinks prior to bedtime as the protein needs to broken down by the body and when the child is asleep the body is active. also no blackcurrant as a natural diuretic it increases likliness of wetting(limited research) praise where praise is due reward charts are good gives clear indication if problem is getting better..but rewards should be small inexpensive tokens such as going to the park etc.... also when a child awakes at night wet they have had signals to their brain to say they need the toilet and they have failed to awake this affects the deep sleep they could have had so most bedwetting children will wake and still appear tired this can then cause problems at school with work etc. it is always beneficial for the school to know as they may be sympathetic. school nurse usually deal with this problem and run clinics tho this will be different in most areas...hope this helps

Nastasja - posted on 12/02/2009

melissa murray, please let me know how the pill works. Everyones response sounds true for my daughter. She's always in trouble at school, its very difficult to wake her up say from a nightmare, both her dad and i wet until the age of ten... But we never make her feel bad about wetting the bed. She does get in trouble for lying about it though

McKenzie - posted on 12/02/2009

I would like to share that this is NORMAL!!!! Many pediatricians do not find this to be a problem until well after age 10. There is usually a genetic link to someone in the family who had it too. As well, it is not from laziness, nor a need to withhold liquids. Obviously be aware of drinking before bed, but it is rather most often related to "deep" sleep. The alarms sometimes help "train" the child to react to the need to urinate, but many times they do not and then make a child feel even worse about themselves then they already may be feeling. Pull-ups are nice and convenient. My son is 9, still wets every night....even sleep walks sometimes (another deep sleep activity). His father did it until age 13. No worries your child is absolutely normal, hang in there---the constant laundry can be overwhelming. My md recommended I include my son in the laundry so he could feel more responsible for his own issue. :)

Monique - posted on 12/02/2009

My son is 5 and still wets the bed, been to the dr and she says it is normal. I agree don't make a fuss. The calenda works, exspecially when he wants something, he feels really proud when he has 4/5 nights dry. Just you relax and it will happen

Michelle - posted on 12/01/2009

My daughter use to wet the bed every night. I finally realized that if she stayed up until 9 instead of going to bed at 8:30 she was dry in the morning. She just needed that extra half hour to get her bladder emptied before bedtime.

Don't make a big deal out of it. This will stress her out and cause her problems. Don't discourage liquids as this can dehydrate them and cause them to wet even more. Try using Overnight pants to keep the bed dry. Realize that this is actually very normal. Speak to her doctor about it as she could have an undiagnosed bladder or kidney infection or as others have said she may have a small or weak bladder.

Senga - posted on 12/01/2009

I like Jan's ideas! My daughter is 5 and wears Pull Ups at night. She is ok within herself but it has been suggested that her Grandmother, step sister and aunty all had the same problems. The bigger the fuss you make, the more stressed she becomes.
Good Luck!

Jan - posted on 11/30/2009

Insurance.

This is what I called pull-ups. Do not make her feel ashamed nor fuss at her.

If you can find the old-fashioned plastic diaper pants, this can be substituted for pull-ups; with terry cloth underpants for use at bed time.

Cease holding back liquids, in fact encourage water at bed time.

Pin a calendar on the door of her bed room and every morning she stays dry, celebrate by allowing her to place an "X" on the date.

Promise to give her a special reward when she has accomplished 7 dry nights; again at 14 dry nights and finally at 21 consecutive dry nights.

In the beginning, if she makes it a couple of days and "has an accident" ~ give her a hug and just start the count over.

Stock up on the plastic pants and terry cloths; if she has an accident during the night, encourage her to put on dry clothes while you check the bed for wetness. Offer water and go back to bed.

Stop anticipating if she needs to get up during the night; let her learn to get herself up.

Liz - posted on 11/30/2009

First of all it is genetic, so if it runs in ur family that may be. Also talk to her doctor.
My son is 7 and he still wets the bed. He gets it genetic from his dad plus my son has anxiety issues which also causes the problems.

Good look

Brandy - posted on 11/30/2009

Talk with your doctor about this my son stoped at the age of 8 after finding he is in a deep sleep and can't come out of it. So he is on meds to help at night.

Sharolett - posted on 11/30/2009

My sister wet the bed till she was 12 my mom passed it off as she was just to lazy took her to the doc for flu and my mom mentioned it and long story short she has a weak bladder! It would be your best bet I think to take her in and have her checked just to be sure hope this helps! GOOD LUCK!