How to get my almost 4 yr old girl and 5 yr old boy to stop peeing the bed at nights!!!!

Jessica - posted on 07/29/2009

Hi, i don't know if this will help any but my son who is now nine still wets the bed and he has had test to make sure nothing is wrong and it was all good, but we have been told that it is normally in 9 yr stages and they do eventually grow out of it, our best help have been drynights and he does not complain to wear them. I'm not sure about the genes thing the only person who used to wet the bed was my sister and she did grow out of it.

Tina Marie - posted on 07/28/2009

Hi Kelly-Anne, I have 4 kids, between the ages of 9 and 16yrs. I have figured out what to do about bed wetting... through trial and error and then a little help from a friend ;-) We tried the ‘eliminate liquids before bed’... then ‘no liquids after dinner’... onto ‘no foods with lots of liquid in them, after dinner’... etc. We woke him up every couple of hours, we spoke to other families and we went to the family doctor… In the end - I/we played Detective! We played around with his diet. The food we eat plays a big role in our bodies – Think of it as… kind of like a recipe or a science experiment… All of the ingredients play a role - and if one of them is not needed or not quite right, then chances are it will throw the whole recipe or science experiment out of whack! This is what the wrong foods can do to our bodies!! We have been playing around with food intake for over 5 years now… And my once 8 yr old who always wet his bed – NO LONGER WETS his bed – UNLESS he eats the ‘wrong foods’ for him. It is different for everyone! His wrong food is different than my daughters’ and the effect it has on each of them is different as well. We started by looking at the foods that he eats the most – usually this is the culprit! For him it was dairy and eggs. For one of my daughters it was just dairy… The other daughter it’s wheat. Now that we have been off of these foods for a quite a while… We get to choose when and where we want to include them again… A bit at a time- otherwise the bed wetting starts up again and I am reminded of the huge effects food has on all of us! I hope this helps!!
Tina Marie Meyer

Rachel - posted on 07/28/2009

It takes time just hang in there. I had the same problem with my to girls. What I did is I put them in pullups at night, cut their drinks out about 1.5 hours before they went to bed. Another thing i did with them was that i would put them on the toilet before they went to bed and then i would check on them before i went to bed and if they were dry i would pick them up and put them on the toilet. they are most likely to go to the toilet when they are half asleep. I stopped doing that when they learnt to get up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet instead of wetting the bed. They will get there.

Debora - posted on 07/28/2009

there is a medicine that you can get at the dr. office that really helps. We had the same problem when our kids were young. It is very pricy but we only used it for a short time because of the cost and then stopped and IT WORKED !! Hope that this helps :)

Deborah - posted on 07/28/2009

Relax, and purchase more bedding. Your children will stop, eventually. In the mean time give them a spoonfull of peanut butter before bed (protien) it works.

Agustavia - posted on 07/28/2009

Hi. I understand your frustration. The only thing you can do is give them a lot of love and set up a routine at night. Now, it may seem you are not making any progress but kids need a routine. When my children were young, I limited how late they could have liqiuds and I had scheduled times at night that I would wake them up to use the bathroom. Did they still have accidents? Yes, but the routine soon became a habit until they were doing it themselves. Remember this is very humiliating for most children. I always made sure my children did not see any disappointment on my face and they never heard me complain. I found the best thing I could do was set up a routine for them and myself to follow. It will get better and you will look back on it and think,we are actually over this point in our lives.

Alice - posted on 07/28/2009

My 10 year old still 'sweats' the bed although not every night, my 7 year old still wets the bed as well. I have taken him to the doctor who tells me that 5% of girls and 10% of boys still wet the bed unto and sometimes into thier teens. My 7 yr old has no medical reason to wet the bed but I used to as well until I was 10 so maybe its in the genes. I don't make a big deal out of it my son just has to tell me in the morning and strip his bed after his shower and I make his bed again. Just use Kyle blankets to save the matress and good luck. I hope they grow out of it.

Cynthia - posted on 07/24/2009

Two of my five children were bed wetters. I tried limiting drinks and on and on...I was a bedwetter as well as my husband so I think we were fortunate only two were. At any rate we let the oldest battle it with limiting drinks and on and on..he was in his early teens when it finally stopped. When I was faced with another bed wetter who NEVER had a dry night I looked into the buzzer. Yes it does sound disruptive but I saw the toll it took on my oldest son to struggle so many years and my frustration with laundry and decided to give the buzzer a try. I slept in the room with him so I could respond to him when it went off and help him realize what was going on. We had one night when he wet so severely I had trouble getting the buzzer dry enough to go off. I also did not undertake this during the school year or when the family had a busy time. I realized I would be tired and it would disturb others at night. It was worth it. After two weeks he stopped wetting the bed and has not had one accident since. He's twenty two now and says it still gives him the heeby geebies if he hears that alarm. (It is rather loud). I never used it for my older son thinking it sounded to harsh and cruel but had I know all the heartache and embarrassment we could have avoided...I would have immediately used the buzzer for him.
Small bladder deep sleeper...it all plays into it but I spared my younger son allot of humiliation for a couple weeks of inconvenience (for both of us). You have to be committed as it is with any part of parenting...remember you are looking for the best for your child and sometimes, though they can not understand, it involves a bit of discomfort...The buzzer can be used again and again but I would not use it on a child less than 6 or 7...thats my take...and experience

Richelle - posted on 07/24/2009

I dont know if this will help but I have heard that allergies can be a part of bedwetting. It is worth checking out!

Sarah - posted on 07/24/2009

Hi there Kelly-Ann, my little boy wet the bed for quite a while and we tried all the same things as you. The problem was one he was asleep it was nearly impossible to wake him. In the end of found a device on the internet that was just a miracle. It is an alarm system which you velcro a clip to their pjamas which is attached to a sensor pad which is put into their pants and slipped into the middle of a nappy or small sanitary towel in case they wet themselves. As soon as moisture is picked up on the sensor if the child has a wee then an alarm goes off and wakes them up to go to the toilet. For the first few nights every time the alarm went off we went in and woke him up and took him to the toilet. The idea is to get them into the cycle of the feeling the need to go to the toilet and waking up naturally. Within about 4 days our son was waking up and going to the toilet by himself. Since then we have had no problems. A star chart comes with the alarm system so you can reward your child. I can't remember the name of it now but if you search the internet or ebay I'm sure you will find them. I think it was about £40 so not cheap cheap but definitely worth it! Good luck. Sarah.

Elizabeth - posted on 07/24/2009

Knowing that you have done everything, I say you just take it one day at a time. Do not rebuke them whenever they pee (I know this is easier said than done) but try and continue to talk and encourage them to get up from bed whenever they feel like peeing. My son is 4yr (will be 5yr by December) sometimes he pees on the bed despite reducing liquid intake or waking him up at night to pee but with encouragement and esteem building, (after I found that criticizing him was demoralizing and not encouraging) he gets better by day and even beams with pride whenever he sleeps without peeing and proudly announces that he did not pee on the bed.

Judie - posted on 07/23/2009

I'm also having a terrible time with my 4 1/2 year old son. I've eliminated the "bed time drink" and encourage him to pee right before he hops in bed. If he wakes up dry, I remind him that the no bedtime drink really worked and just give him lots of praise! He gets so excited about the praise that it makes the routine easier every time we try it. Good luck!

Jennifer - posted on 07/23/2009

I had the same problem with my oldest child. I talked to the Dr. and he put him on a pill. I do not remember the name of it. He started taking 3 pills and a time then went to 2 pills and then down to 1 pill. When we took him off the last pill he never had another accident. I was amazed!!!!!

Stephanie - posted on 07/23/2009

My son has just turned 8 and still wets his bed everynight. He was dry for about 4 months when he was 2 and then started to wet again. We dont know why. Have seen a pediatrician and it is a very common thing. I tried the drinks and waking that didnt' work for me either. The most successful as far as I know is an alarm system that wakes them when they start but that is very intense and I dont think they will let you do it till the child is 6 or 7 anyway. I hate all the laundry but they will grow out of it one day! I have 2 others that dont wet and one still in diapers. Hang in there Kelly! I'm feeling the frustration.

Stephanie - posted on 07/23/2009

My daughter is five and still has an issue with this, too. My Dr has said it is a hereditary thing. Being consistant is key. Last thing they do B4 they go to bed is use the bathroom. If you go to bed a couple hours after your child, wake them to use the toilet again. Then when you wake up, put them on the toilet again, even if they aren't to be up for a couple hours. Eventually, the brain will tell the child to wake up.



The Dr also mentioned to pay close attention to the days. The accidents will happen on days that the children have been playing hard and are exhausted. They tend to sleep deeper those nights. You will notice these will be the nights when the accidents frequently happen.



Be patient and don't make a big deal of it. It only makes the kids feel bad about themselves for something they really have no control. According to my Dr 1 in 4 Kindergartners wet the bed. Best of Luck!

Donna - posted on 07/23/2009

My son wet the bed until he was almost 11. All you can really do is put them in good nights and try not to make a huge deal out of it, as icky as it is and as big of a pain as it is to have to wash bedding and all that.
It's very traumatic for them to wake up wet. It's some thing that seems to have run through the boys in our family, very strange indeed but they just seem to sleep so deeply that they don't wake to the sensation of having to go.
My son stopped all on his own and then we bought him a new bed to get rid of the smell. I can't tell you how many bottles of febreeze we went through!

Joan - posted on 07/23/2009

I had 2 who would not stop wetting the bed. One boy and one girl. Neither stopped until they reached about the age of 7. Just purchase you some night diapers (I called them night time panties for the kids). I never fussed at them or said anything ugly about wetting the bed while they were asleep. It is just something they will have to do. It will not help to fuss at them.

Len - posted on 07/23/2009

going through the same thing with my 6 yr old. It's all about the genes and that they are growing faster than their bladder is. My son was potty trained at 2 1/2 and rarely had accidents and then when he turned 4 1/2 it all started. Even after waking him up 2 times at night to go to the bathroom he still will have an accident. Hang in there and pray those little bladders grow quick :)

Jyn - posted on 07/22/2009

I have talked to our pediatrician about this, and also- genes play a big roll too. :(
Bedwetting can be hereditary! Both my husband and I struggled with it as kids, and now all FIVE OF MINE are in diapers at night. For the longest time, My 7 year old didnt wet the bed- and then all of a sudden he just couldn't make it to the bathroom for the life of him.
My girls are 10 and 9 and my 10 year old has ALWAYS wet the bed- it is a topic of frustration for us, for sure, since Im due with my 6th in a few weeks.

The pediatrician reccomended trying the buzzer bed thing but right now- it sounds like a horrific pain in the butt for everyone around the culprit! We can wake them up at various times, and they STILL PEE later!

As the weather is hotter it's also tougher for us, because I know what it's like to be so hot and thirsty before bed.... I hate denying them fluids. So we're in the same boat, girly.

Paula - posted on 07/22/2009

In my family we have had a few bed wetters. I think it might be past down from other family members. But what we did is took them to the Dr. They were missing a certain chemical in the brain. The Dr. put them on a pill form or nose spray that they take before they go to bed. I think it's called DDVAP just ask your Dr. about it.It worked the first night. They will out grow it. But it can last a few years. I hope that works for you. Paula

Sheelagh - posted on 07/22/2009

I had that problem with my two. We paid for a program where there was a pad she slept on and it would make a horrible noise every time she wet the bed. What it boiled down to is waking them up every hour and set them on the pot. This is what we did with our son after we realized that is what it was all about. I know it is hard on Mom n Dad. But it only took like a week and they no longer slept so sound that they did not feel the pressure of having to go. Consistantcy on my behalf was key. If I didnt wake up and wake them up then there was an accident. Also no drinks past 6pm. I mean no drinks. Not even alittle. My two went to bed at 7 when they were that age so they slept a long time in the nights. They finally were completely trained at ages 5. It is hard to deal with it every night. I hope the best of luck for you and yuor family.

User - posted on 07/22/2009

How soon before bedtime do you cut off their drinks? Try at least 1-2 hour before bedtime. Have you noticed if they pee frequently during the day? They may just have small bladders. Also speak to their pediatrician the doc may have some more ideas for you. Hang in there sometimes it just takes time

Gabrielle - posted on 07/22/2009

sometimes children's bladders are big enough to go all night with out peeing. Sorry I know it isn't much help. The best thing to do is eliminate drinks about an hour and a half before bed and it sounds like your already doing that.