any suggestions for bed wetting? I took my4yr old out of night diapers months ago... he still wets.

Jennifer - posted on 03/18/2011

i am having the same problems and he wakes me up 1-2 times a night. i don't want to put him back in the night time shorts.. but i just found out that apparently his mom (i am his step mom) has had him in the night time shorts the whole time! he was night time potty trained for us for the longest time but now he has back tracked and i don't know what to do but i can't keep getting up during the night and having to do all this pee laundry!

Julie - posted on 07/11/2009

my step daughter is 10 now and still has occasional accidents at night. She has had medical problems with her urinary tact and has two surgeries for it. This helped a lot. In the meantime, we tried several combinations - no liquids/dairy 1-2hrs before bed. We set an alarm at about 2:30am. which she slept through - we thought maybe in too deep of sleep to realize she had to potty. We added a bright light on a timer that went on the same time as the alarm went off. This helped sometimes, but it mostly woke us up downstairs and she slept through it. She was on medicine for a while. We started layering her bed so she could help take care of herself and feel like she had some control over the issue. We would place a waterproof sheet on the bottom, then a regular sheet, another waterproof sheet, another regular sheet, with a waterproof "washable baby changing mat" on top. So about 6 or 7yrs old we had her just peel a layer off and clean herself up and we would deal with it in the morning. I think this helped with her embarassment issue she had for a while. She felt she could help herself. Some nights she was down to the last layer. lots of laundry, but a dry bed and we got to sleep a few nights all the way through!! PRAYERS and more Prayers. The prayer, patience, and second surgery helped the most, along with no liquids at night.

Heather - posted on 07/10/2009

I complete understand the fustration, my nine year old son still wets the bed. He is 23 days with out wettting as of this morning, Which is a big!!! What has worked for us is nothing to drink after 6pm, potty 2-3 times before bed time (bed time 9pm), Potty right before he crawls into the bed, wake him up when I go to bed and then wake him up again at 6 am when my husband goes to work, then we both crawl back into our beds and sleep until 8 am. I don't know if that exact schedule will work for you, but I am sure that you can find one that does work for you. Out of five children he is the only one that I still have this issue with. Start out with potty time every 3-4 hours even at night to see if that works.!

Tanya - posted on 07/10/2009

nothing to drink at least 1 or 2 hours before bed, get them to go toilet before bed and wake them when you are geting ready to go to bed, my son is 3 and that is what we have been doing, so far so good

Amanda - posted on 07/10/2009

Hi, I think you are correct about not wanting to go backwards. You do not want your child to feel as though they have failed. My daughter is 2.5 years old and has been diaper free (including nights) for the past two months. She still has accidents but as with you, I do not want to go backwards and introduce a diaper (or pull up) again. What we have found is that if we give her her last drink at dinnertime, she wakes up in the morning dry. However, if we do not watch how much she drinks, then she has an accident. I don't think you should wake your son during the night. Let him get used to getting up on his own when he has to go to the bathroom. Also, maybe start a reward system. Each morning he wakes up dry, he gets a special treat. Stickers worked for my daugter to potty train. She absolutely loved the reward and picking the sticker she wanted. I hope this helps.

Jill - posted on 07/09/2009

Hi, again I am not an expert but my opinion of these things is- they can't be rushed. My son was still wetting at night time at 5 years old and whilst it seemed all my friends children of the same age had been dry at night for a year of two all professionals seemed to say it's not an issue until they have reached six. So basically in the situation of my son I was begining to think I needed to seek professional help at 5 and a bit then out of the blue at five and a half he just stopped wetting at night and hasn't looked back. My opinion is that they will stop when they are ready.

Sarah - posted on 07/09/2009

like i mentioned... this is never something that he is yelled at about for. Accidents happen. He is just a little big kid that doesn't want to wear diapers anymore, and i am trying to help him with his wishes. If it does happen to be that he really doesn't catch on, then i am hoping that i can con him into wearing at least the boxer kind of night diapers.... as they don't look like diapers. But this is not something that i am trying to push onto him... he likes trying.

Lisa - posted on 07/09/2009

maybe you are trying too hard he will grow out of it i have 4 kids and they have all wet there beds i never shouted at them i just kept tellin them to stop and be big like mum

Beth - posted on 07/09/2009

All of the advice about limiting liquids and making him go before he goes to bed is great advice but the bottom line is that some children are such heavy sleepers that the urge to go to the bathroom does not wake them up. I would suggest you go back to the night time diapers/pull ups whatever you want to call them. He will eventually stop having accidents. My son just stopped within the last two weeks and he is seven. I did start having him wear underwear under the pull up within the last month. I really don't know if this helped or not but I am going to try it on my younger son when I think he is ready. It is so much easier to wash a wet pair of underwear than to change sheets and try to dry out a mattress. Good Luck.

Sarah - posted on 07/09/2009

Thank you everyone for the advice!!! This has been a long a awaiting process. Some of these suggestions I think may do it for us!! I'll try giving him only water at night.. not milk. My son is a big drinker and gets upset if I deny him, so that has never been too much of an option... but we will do our best for the hour or two before bed. We always pee right before storytime and then after.. So we try to get two in before bed. (as well as making him go a bunch through the day) And I do wake him... which I don't think i'm going to do anymore. Maybe I will just try putting that potty in his room for alittle bit. See how it works out. Luckily I have learned my lesson with the sheets and such.. .I actually have a couple pads that I got when I was in the hospital having him that work great to lay down, and then when he wets I can take it off and everything is dry. And we also have one of those plasic sheets under the regular bed sheets. Maybe if all else fails then i will try to get him to go back into the nighttimes (we actually used the boxer kind before so he knows what they are already) but i'm not sure if he would like this idea either. I feel like his mind is older than his body which is why he feels like he should be able to keep trying. And we never get upset on wetness... I myself had a problem as a child and I remembering my parents changing my sheets as much as they had to, not keeping me in diapers. But I know that something different works for everyone. So we keep the anger out of it. I have not bribed with toys yet after multiple dry nights, that may start tonight! And as crazy as it sounds I think I am going to try to let him drink whatever he wants for one night... maybe if his bladder is more full he will feel it more, never know i guess!!! I am so grateful for everyone suggestions!!! I hope we get this down, I know it would make him feel great!! I can't thank you all enough!!

Terri - posted on 07/09/2009

I have a 10 year old son who still bed wets at nite. Yes it is most horrible not only for us but them as wel.l He is under the doctor now and has been for over two years. Hes on medication that helps him realise when he needs to go. But the advice i was given both by the doctor and health visitor was to cut down on all drinks hot and cold before bedtime at least two hours before. You may find it hard at first with your child been so young but it does work an is worth givin it a try. Good luck xxxx

Angela - posted on 07/09/2009

Hi Sarah,

I have a three year old son who has been potty trained for about four months now. These past two months he hasn't worn any pull up or night time diapers to bed. I limit the drinking before bed and during the night I wake my son up and take him to the bathroom. Some times he goes and some times he doesn't have to. He hasn't had an accidents yet. I feel like it is teaching him to get up when he has the sensation to go and that will help limit accidents. I also have a top pad that goes over his mattress and sheets so if he does happen to have an accident, I can just change the top pad and not the whole bed. Good Luck!

Bonnie - posted on 07/09/2009

Great advise is making sure he doesn't drink anything and going before bedtime. For precaution, use the Assure pad - I wish they had them when mine were growing up if you dont' want to use the pad. Be reassuring instead of mad - he will outgrow - they all do!

Michelle - posted on 07/09/2009

Please don't be hard on yourselg or your little one, the central nervous system has to be mature enough to give the signal to the child to wake up on having a full bladder. Therefore there isn't anything you can do to help the child along. My three have all been different, my eldest now 7 was still wet at night at 6!! Only in the last 12 months has he become dry at night entirely. My girl was dry ast night by 3 and during the day by 2, but my youngest has been dry and waking to go to the toilet on his own by 3.5years. They all vary such a lot. Remember he can't help it and don't feel too frustrated, put him back in them and forget about it for now, you then get a good nights sleep and his own body will let you know when its ready to stop needing to wear nappies. Good Luck x

Susan - posted on 07/09/2009

My daughter wet the bed until she was 9 yrs old (almost every night ) then just stopped. All kids develope at different stages don't worry to much and don't make it a big deal to your child. No such thing as nighttime pampers we had to change bedding evey time so I just bought a bunch of sleeping bags she is now 33 yrs old.

Tanya - posted on 07/09/2009

I say let him wear pull ups until he grows out of it. Its no big deal and nothing to feel ashamed about. I have friends whose children had accidents at nighttime until 10 and 12 yrs old. I did myself when I was young. Our bodies/bladders mature at different rates and some children are big drinkers. I cant imagine refusing my child drink at night. My kids have always needed a small drink before bed time. I know if I went to bed thirsty I would have a hard time sleeping. I have heard many, many times to refuse them drink 2 hours before bed but if they are thirsty give them some water.

Angela - posted on 07/09/2009

Hi I have 4 kids and havn't had any trouble with toilet training at night but I went about it in a different way. When i worked as a nanny I was told that some times the reason kids wet the bed is because their bladder is not trained, the bladder tells the brain that they need to go but because they havn't had much to drink it isn't loud enough to wake the kids to get them to go to the bathroom. So what i did was to get my kids to drink at night before bedtime so that if they needed to go during the night their bladder was full so it was a great need and they would wake. I friend tried this method and it took 2-3 weeks to train her son. Hope this might be of some help. Good luck.

Katherine - posted on 07/09/2009

When my son (now aged 25!) was potty training we had what we called "nighttimers". I didn't find the exact product, but one similar at this web address: http://www.punkinbutt.com/night-time-tra...

Good luck!

Norjannah - posted on 07/09/2009

my experience with 4 kid''s.... when they went 2 bed as them 2 toilet & no drinking....it's will help u dear....TRY IT

Denise - posted on 07/09/2009

Hello there - I'm in agrement with Christine N ... Our son potty trained in a week, aged two, but couldn't wake up at night. We took him out of night diapers aged 4 and spent a few months going through the routine you describe. We gave up lifting him when we were told that he wouldn't get used to the sensation af his bladder being full as a trigger for waking if we kept pre-empting it (made sense). Eventually the doc said that boys are not considered to have a problem not being dry at night up to around age 9 and that about 25% of boys aged 6 (which he then was) were wetting at night. He then went on a sleepover with his little scout group and I was surprised at how many other boys were also in pull-ups that night. I really wouldn't stress; what about those night time boxers suggested by Camille? In terms of other strategies, I had a friend who put two bottom sheets on each time she changed her son's bed, each with a waterproof sheet underneath, so if he was wet in the night she just had to whip the wet layer off and there was another dry one underneath. I must say, though it may have worked for Allison, I'm not fully in agreement with asking a sleepy, wet 4 year old to change themselves (as though he's made the mess on purpose) - that would have added to my son's anxiety and made the whole process take a lot longer (though, obviously, every kid is different and responds to different things). It did reassure me to speak to our family doctor - after that, I was much more relaxed and decided that our son would get through that stage in his own time (just as he did with every other developmental stage). Very best of luck (with son, sleep and everything related!!). Denise P x

Julia - posted on 07/08/2009

My son was not completely potty trained at night until he was 5, almost 6. With him, we found that it was a food allergy, so it was actually a medical condition. An undiagnosed food allergy can cause the bladder to spasm and cause them to wet. I had also noticed that he was having trouble making it to the bathroom during the day, but thought he was just waiting to long. After we starting keeping him away from the food allergen, it was no problem. He was completely potty trained within a month.

Michelle - posted on 07/08/2009

Hopefully this will ease your mind about not getting up w/ him and worrying about whether he pees while sleeping. I have two boys. My eldest was potty trained w/ the exception of night time. He wore pull ups to bed until he was about 6. We never made a big deal of it and he was not embarrassed by it. He knew he couldn't control it, whether we knew it or not. Eventually he just stopped waking up wet. It took time. He'd go 3 days w/o and then have and accident. But the stretches got longer and then it happened. He was staying dry. My youngest, totally different story. "He" decided one day that he was no longer going to wear diapers. At about 2 1/2. And he did it. Cold turkey. DAy and night. Sure on occasion, on a few unusually long or tiring days, we've had a handful of night time accidents. But what this says to me is that every kid develops differently. My two were like night and day. I wouldn't worry about it, nor would I cause him to worry about it. In time he'll be able to do it. Good luck.

Clarencetine - posted on 07/08/2009

The main thing is not getting upset or mad at the child, my oldest son had this problem until age 12, his grandfather had the same problem. You work with them to find a solution that helps and use plastic on the mattress

Carole - posted on 07/08/2009

My stepdaughter is 12yo and stays with us during the school holidays and still wets the bed 3 or 4 nights a week. She never wakes during the night so you only discover the wet bed in the morning. Doctors have ruled out any medical problems. We make her wear a dry nite, stop all fluids at dinner time about 2 hours before bed and make her go to the toilet before bed. She has had alarms and mats in her bed which woke everyone else but her. The doctors say she will grow out of it but wont say when! We make her clean up the mess in the morning but she just shrugs it off and doesnt seem to care that she has wet the bed (a dry nite for a 12yo does not hold provide total protection but the only other option is incontinent pads for the elderly). I thought it might be something she does when she is with us, but her mother says she is the same at home.

Carla - posted on 07/08/2009

We' ve been through that with our two sons. what we did was we let them go to the bathroom before sleeping. Since they still take milk while night time we made it a point that we bring them to the bathroom at least two times ta night time. Then that will be a habbit until such time they go pee by them selves. Now we're doing it again to our youngest son. Good Luck Sarah.

Mary - posted on 07/08/2009

Also, about a month of him being dry he begged to sleep in his underwear....He felt like a really big boy and I also think that boosted his ability to go through the night.

Mary - posted on 07/08/2009

My son turns 4 on Sunday....around Christmas time he said he wanted a Batman Castle and it was $43.00. I told him he had to go 7 nights in a row being dry in order to get this precious toy. It took him about four months to achieve this goal. I bought him his new toy that day and he has only had 3 accidents since and that was due to oversleeping and/or dad allowing him to drink before bed and not going potty before he hit the sack.

LaDonna - posted on 07/08/2009

I have the same issue with my 4 year old daughter. The other 4 children I raised were potty trained by 2 so this last one threw me for a loop. I do not allow her to have a drink after 7:30 pm bedtime is 8 to 8:30 she doesnt usually fall asleep until 9 so an hour hour and a half and she uses the potty right before bed. Then when I am ready for bed at 10 or 10:30 I wake her up to use the bathroom again. It is not fool proof but we have very few accidents any more. i also invested in a rubber sheet to go under her fitted sheet this way we are not having the mattress ruined. Unfortuantely the pediatricians say that it is all about their body and brain being mature enough to wake up and get them to the bathroom. We also talk about her using the potty during the night and what a big girl that makes her. I put a night light in the bathroom for her and for awhile her old potty chair was in her bedroom. I agree with you on not putting him back in nighttime pants I think it would confuse him. I put clean sheets in the top drawer of her dresser which is beside her bed so if we have an accident during the night the change is fairly quick. I know personally I get up to use the restroom during the night so I try and get her to go then also. None of this wakes her up enough that she doesnt go back to sleep thank God!

Stephanie - posted on 07/08/2009

My son had the same problem so we stopped his fluid intake about an hour before bed and if he needed to have something to drink we made him try to go to the bathroom prior to going to sleep.

Julia - posted on 07/08/2009

It is not considered bed wetting and is totally different from day time scenarious.

Sometimes it can take up to age 7 for the body to produce a certain hormone to control the bladder at night. My daughter had pull-ups till she was almost 7. I hid them - so at playdates it was a non-issue and not "pampers" in here room. One day she was dry and has been since. Explain it that way to your child and remember, it is not unusual.

Source: My pediatrician, own experience.

Lorena - posted on 07/07/2009

Sarah my son only recently got out off the drynites, and has only had one wet night. we didnt take him out of them as such what happen was he got ready for bed about four thirty one night because it was getting cold i put him in jocks and told him i would put his drynite when he goes to bed the next day when he got p and got into the shower i noticed he was already in jocks i ask him did he take his pull up off and his reply was no you forgot to put one on me we just encouraged him from then one that he had done it one night lets try for two, then three and so on

hope this might help

Lisa - posted on 07/07/2009

Have him go pee before bed and have a pad down that will help with the wetting of the sheets. Maybe his bladder is not fully developed yet. Ask your doctor about it.

Evette - posted on 07/07/2009

I was having issues with getting my little boy to poop on the toilet until I made a Potty Chart. I put it in the bathroom and every time he uses the restroom he gets a sticker. Kids love stickers. It might work for night time accidents too. I don't think there is anything wrong with your kid though. Seems normal. Also I have a sheet on his bed that is water proof, spill proof, dust mite proof. I just put a normal sheet over it and if he has an accident I change the sheet so he knows it's not okay.

Marie - posted on 07/07/2009

Stop liquids early and could set an alarm for a few nights to wake him and restroom. I did this for a few nights with my son and that helped. GOOD LUCK!

Rose - posted on 07/07/2009

most boys are not completely night time trained for at least 2 years after daytime potty training my oldest son day trained late so night time training took till he was 6 My youngest son potty trained at less then a year old so by the time he was 3 he was night time trained it all depends on the child every one is different

User - posted on 07/07/2009

How much dairy does he consume in the afternoon/evening? My husband struggled with this issue into his teens - turned out that ice cream and other dairy products were the culprit!

I'm not advocating taking him off of milk completely - just make sure that most of the milk is consumed in the morning/early afternoon!

Ashley - posted on 07/07/2009

I still have to occasional times when my son wake sup in the middle of the night, starts to cry and by the time i get to his room to pick him up and bring him to the bathroom its too late but thats once every mont or so... What i did do is i bought a little potty and put it in a corner in his room and made sure that he knew it was right there so if he did ever have to go pee at night he just had to use the potty . its a lot shorter than running to the bathroom form his room.. He seemed to adapt to that well becaue he hasnt wet the bed since and wakes up on his own terms. I also dont give him any liquids about 1 hour before bedtime and make sure he goes to the bathroom before going to bed ..

it takes time and getting used to but hes got it now and im really happy :)

Kimberly - posted on 07/07/2009

I understand your concern about the phsychological aspect of going backwards. I will tell you that I've raised four and none ever wet the bed. I believe it is because I left them in the pull ups for bedtime until they "consistently" woke up dry. Even at four years, sometimes their little bladders just can't hold it all night. Even though they may be understanding what they are "supposed" to do, it may be physically impossible for him to do it. The frustration, even though I'm sure you are patient - is inevitible and they know and sense from cleaning up a mess first thing in the morning or in the middle of the night, so phsychologically, you may not be gaining as much as you think. Kids naturally want to please and do things the right way. They do make some overnight underwear now that isn't as obvious looking as a pull up. I wouldn't say much about it - just lay them out with the p.j.s at bedtime. Shutting down fluids about an hour and half before bedtime is good advice from the post below. In the day stay focused and lots of praise - my boys always got skittles, or reeses pieces when they were successful. My daughter wanted pretty panties and didn't want to mess them up - that was all it took for her. Even with great success in the day, they all slept in pull ups until they were four. I understand that he's getting a little older, but don't worry too much. They all develop differently. Lot's of praise, and big hugs when he starts waking up dry or is able to make it to the bathroom in the middle of night. Good luck and hang in there. You sound like a great mom and I'm impressed that you are concerned with his feelings.

Melissa - posted on 07/07/2009

I still deal with this as well with my 6 year old. I do it pretty much how Leslie said. I wake her up about 2 hours after she has gone to sleep and she will be dry in the morning. It is frustrating but I just keep thinking she will grow out of it and be able to wake up herself soon. Good luck Sarah!

Patty - posted on 07/07/2009

My oldest son had this problem well past the normal "potty training" stage, even when he started school. We tried a "pee alarm" but it scared the whole house when it went off:). Once we ruled out medical problems, we followed our drs advice...boys' bodies don't mature as quickly as girls. Give him time. He eventually got to the point where he stayed dry. Of course limit liquids at night, go potty before bed, etc. But don't worry. And don't wake him...his body has to learn to react to the need to go. If you need to use night pull ups, use them. If he sees you stressed he's going to think you're upset with him for having an accident. When his pull up is dry make sure to make a big deal, if it's not, say you had an accident but that's ok. Good luck!

Leslie - posted on 07/07/2009

I get my daughter up to pee, right before I go to bed--usually about 2hrs after she has been in bed. 95% of the time she is dry in the morning. But also make sure to stop fluids at least 2hrs before bed time and he goes right before bed.
Not to discourage, but I have a 8yr old nephew who still wets his bed, and the dr's just say he will grow out of it.

Christina - posted on 07/07/2009

Were his nighttime diapers usually or sometimes dry in the morning? I have read that it's not unusual for kids (especially boys) to not be physically ready for nighttime potty training till 5 or even 6. Sounds crazy to have a 5yr old in nighttime diapers. . . but I guess if their little bodies aren't developed enough yet, that's what you do. Anyway, if the diapers are sometimes dry then you know that his body is capable of making it all night. . . then you can work on incentives to help him try a little harder.

Allison - posted on 07/07/2009

Sarah, we stopped giving our son any liquids about 1hour and a half before he went to bed. PLUS, we made him try and go potty before he went to bed twice. Hope this helps.You might make him lazy if you wake him up yourself becuase he will learn to depend on you. Since he is 4 I also had my son change himself, it is his mess. You can stand by and watch. Let him wake you. Also, have a sheet and blanket ready to make his bed. This is tiring but after a few times he will be tired of doing it and may try harder at doing all this himself to not wanting to have that big mess and go potty. I really hope this helps you!! Good Luck and sounds like you are a great mom!!

Camille - posted on 07/07/2009

I'm not an expert with this issue since my daughter hasn't hit that stage yet, but I have a step daughter who has been in the process for the last year. I have been given a lot of advice by others. Make sure there are no fluids for at least 2 hours before bed, make sure they are not over tired when they go to bed because they can end up sleeping through the feeling of having to pee. instead of using regular diapers they have those night time boxers and underwear so the kids can't tell the difference but they still protect. I hope that helps. Also here is a site with lots of advice and info. Best of Luck.



http://www.goodnites.com/na/