5 Year Old Still Wetting the bed...Please Help!

Hi M.,

Don't get discouraged. I have a 20 year old son who wet the bed until he was 10. We should have bought stock in Pull ups because he wore one every night. We took him to be tested by a urologist and they said he was medically fine. His regular physician did a sleep test and we found his problem. My son slept so hard and so deep that he was not conscious of his wetting the bed. We finally found a little red pill, emiprimene(spelling?). This is the same medicine given to senior citizens for bed wetting. Guess what, it actually worked!

The great news is that my son is now a Junior at Georgia Tech, with a 4.0! So he is perfectly normal.

Good luck.

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A friend's daughter who is nearly eight has the same problem. My friend recently bought a pad that has an alarm. If it gets wet, it wakes her up, and she can get her to to toilet (the girl is a deep sleeper). Good luck.

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I can't believe I am going to admit this, but I had this problem until I was at least 9. I can remember being so embarressed even in front of my parents that I would stay in my bed until they left the room and try and hide the evidence. Unfortunately, both of my nieces (8 and 7) also have this issue. I guess it's genetics. I can remember being 5 and have some test at the doctors and it being horrible. My problem was I was just such a heavy sleeper. I wouldn't have woken up for a F5 tornado. I would go to my grandma's house and I can still remember watching her put on the plastic sheet before I went to sleep. It was awful. Please do not make a big deal out of it in front of your child. It will come in time. I agree w/ the no drink 3 hours before bedtime. My brother and sister in law used to set their alarm clock and wake up my niece to get her to go potty at 2. She, too being a heavy sleeper. It helped most nights. For some of us, it just takes time. Just be patient and understanding. It is more common than you think (and I am sure frustating for you all). Good Luck!

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My neice has the same problem. Take him to the doctor and ask about an over active bladder. My neice was put on medication and is doing well now.

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Hi M.,
I totally would not stress about your five year old quite yet...I am a nurse practitioner (am also a mom of a three year old and one on the way!) and have been working with pediatric patients since 2003. Every child is completely different when it comes to night time potty training....some kids master it at age 2-3 years and never need another diaper again while some are 7-8 years old and are still having problems wetting the bed or having accidents in their pants during the day. Some things you could check--make sure that the bathroom is totally accessible to your child at night...door stays open, night light is on, nothing in his/her path to fall over. Also, make sure your child isn't scared of something--you'd be amazed how many children "could" get up to use the bathroom, but don't because they are scared of the dark, or there's a "monster in the closet" or they have seen a movie that showed something scary at night. Third, make sure that they don't have anything to drink past a certain hour--if your child goes to bed around 8pm, for example, don't give them anything after supper. Don't ever keep any water or milk by the bedside. This will decrease the need to urinate in the night--the more they drink, the more they "gotta go". Lastly, maybe your child is such a hard sleeper that he/she doesn't wake up when they have to go. My daughter is three, and sleeps so hard sometimes, that she wets the bed at nap and at night and doesn't even feel it. The most important thing though is not to ever "discipline" or yell at the child for wetting the bed. Most of the time, there is a reason why, or else they just aren't ready yet. You could try some type of reward for every night the child stays dry or gets up to go to the potty--much like people do when they are initially potty training a child. You know, whatever your child enjoys--stickers, small candy like a couple of skittles, etc, but only if they are dry. It might be an initiative for them to get up and go if they know they will get something in return, and then it will just turn into a habit. I know it is a pain to keep buying pull ups--I can't wait until I don't have to either! I wouldn't get too concerned with it until the child is around 7 or 8 and still wetting. Hope that helps!

Some children just are not ready to hold urine all night, and will sleep soundly right through bed wetting. Don't worry about it right now. There are plenty of larger size overnight pull-ups on the market. Most children are completely dry at night by 7 or 8.

HI M. - My 5 yr old boy still wets the bed occassionally (onece every 3 months). Did either you or your husband or sister (any relative?) wet the bed? if so - your child will stop when they stopped. Sometimes this can be due to food allergies/sensitivites...also is it every night? I know of some people who have had it treated by a nose spray- but personally I would not do it- it has been highly contraversial - due to future side effects. Have you tried any natural remedies? homeopathic? I would do my research and try to find someone who has- other than that- check around with family members- if they wet the bed at a young age- it will likely stop at the same time for your child. Sometimes if Iknow my son has drank a lot that day- my husband will put him on the potty like around 10 or 11pm. HOpe this helps.
Good Luck
Nikki

barring any physical issues with your child, you willneed to be patient. if yourchild is a boy it may be a while before his bladder muscles mature and get the point that they need to hold . Boys mature slower than girls. My son did not stop wetting completely ntil he was nearly 8 years old. meanwhile, put a plastic coveriing on mattress/ bedsheeets to protect them. Put him to bed, then wake him/ her before you go to bed for one last bathroom use. Limit all liquids at least an hour before bedtime. let him drink water only earlier in evening. Keep an extra pair of pajamas near for a change when he wets. Do not make an issue about bedwetting. never fuss with him No comments. accept him where he is. with patience and liquid rstrictions, he will be fine. I know it is frustrating, just hang in there. J. Gordon

is she your only child ....if so it can be phycolgical (s/p?) if it is a middle child it can be..and i hate to put it this way...middle child sydrome these are just thing i was told as a step parent when i was married to my first husband .. good luck though

No personal experience, but I think this is not uncommon. My friend's daughter did this and the doctor said he wouldn't really recommmend any intervention until closer to age 7. I'm not sure it's a "habit"... I think some kid's bodies are just not ready to get through the night until later. Get some Good Nights...

Hi M.,
It is not uncommon at all for a child to wet at night, this is considered 'normal' until around age 10. He or She has a lot of growth going on right now and his/her bladder muscles are ones that just dont mature as fast as other parts of their body. I would suggest getting a couple XL cloth diapers (We use snapez.com) with the nightime soaker. This will save you a ton of money! And you will be able to use them until the problem is over. I know its frustrating but try to encourage the point while keeping their feelings in mind at the same time. He/she cannot help it at all. I am a chiropractor and I will say I have seen many cases like this clear up with treatment if it is because of a pinched nerve/misaglingment, etc. I would recommend you take your child to see a chiropractor if you dont already.
Best of luck to you guys:)

Have you talked to your Pediatrician about this? You didn't say whether this is a son or daughter. I know at least 3 of my son's friends who are all 5 - 6 years old still have to wear "Pull-Ups" at night. So bear with it and make sure he goes to the bathroom before bed. Also limit the amount of liquids he consumes after supper.
My youngest daughter went through a time where she was not only wetting the bed, but having accidents during the day. Her urine also had a foul odor. The Dr. found that she had an urinary tract infection and that she was holding back from going to the bathroom for so long that she would lose control. At night once her muscles relaxed, she had no control. Test also revealed that she had a back-flow of urine into the ureters (the tubes that lead from the kidneys down to the bladder). She was treated with powerful antibiotics and us constantly reminding her to go to the bathroom. Things like taking "Bubble Baths" and wiping from the wrong direction were also mentioned as possible causes for the initial infection which led to the more serious back-flow problem.
I hope things will work out for both of you soon.

I'm sure your pediatrician is aware and "on" it. There is a prescription... I'd just be in contact with the pediatrician. Most important!!!--- even though you are frustrated, this is NOT something to fuss at the child about. By five, I'm sure your son/daughter is aware that most other kids aren't bedwetting! This could be a HUGE source of shame and frustration for your child. Try to comfort even though you may want to scream. Good luck.

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/001556.htm

my daughter had a problem with this also. she said - mommy i just don't wake up. so 1st i went to wal-mart and bought a cheap plastic cover for the bed. saves a lot of cleaning up time. then we limited the drinks after 6pm. only milk or water with dinner and only 1 glass. nothing after than. at bed time - 1 drink(not a glass) of water and go to the bathroom no matter how many times she has gone earlier. it worked for us.

good luck.

go to www.starchildlabs.com., and get the bedwetting alarm. it is a miracle worker...it takes a couple of weeks, but it works. i have a son who wet the bed til he was six...i just went on to the website to check the name for you...and i don't see the exact alarm that we bought...but there are tons to choose from...basically they sense wetness at the first sign...and sound an alarm to wake the child up to use the potty...before too long, they stop waking up altogether, or they wake up when they need to go..good luck!

Have your child checked by his pediatrician. One of my sons had the same problem. There was a physical reason. The urethra needed to be stretched. The bladder is a muscle and the more they have to strain (through restricted urethra) the stronger that muscle becomes. Thus, when they are sleeping and the bladder fills, the stronger muscle contracts forcing the wetting. Minor surgery to stretch the urethra and instructions on managing the potty habits during the day eliminated the problem.

This is normal. Every child develops in their own way. My five year old daughter rarely has an accident while my six year old son still has accidents. The most important thing is to not make a big deal out of it. Buy the overnight pull-ups they make in childrens' sizes and use those. If he/she still has a problem in a couple of years, talk to his/her pediatrician about it. At this time, the pediatrician could assure you this is normal.

My son is 9 and is no where close to having a dry night. Thank goodness for larger pull ups. How did families deal with it years ago?!?!

We began asking our pediatrician about it when he was 5yrs. At that time her response was that it is normal for 50% of boys to be bed wetting at that age; 25% at 6yrs and 10% at 7yrs. Well, we ask at every annual check up and she keeps asking the usual questions, i.e. any accidents at day, can hold his urine on long car rides, etc. He passes it all with flying colors. His body just isn't mature enough. No need for a ped. urologist consult. It also doesn't help that he is a VERY sound sleeper. At this point she has prepared us and said that if boys are not trained by now it typically won't happen until pre-adolescence, i.e. 12yrs. She said it not to bum us out but to prepare us for the reality of what might happen.

Last year, with our ped. prescription, we tried the "bed wetting pills" (they also have nasal spray). We were to try one and up to 3 pills a night to see if it helped. After 2 weeks we were up to 3 pills with no success - not even a little. We discontinued it ourselves. Now I understand they have recalled them due to some tragic side effects in some kids.

I have a very confident, bright son and he does have sleepovers with about 6 friends (ironically one firend is in the same situation). They all know about it (as he has volunteered it to them), as do their moms. He is very discreet and it's a non-issue for everyone - even his buddies. While it is becoming more of an issue for him each year, he understand that it's nothing he has control over. He can't beat himself up over it. I guess we all have the attitude that if this is the worst thing we can face we have it pretty lucky!

Good luck.

First and foremost, talk to her pediatrician about it to ensure that there is nothing physical causing her to wet the bed at night. Once that is eliminated as any possibility, other options such as the alarm one other responder tells you about, works well along with the pull-ups, etc. and of course, eliminating liquids as much as possible for two hours before bedtime, etc. But first, make sure it is nothing physically amiss. Enuresis is what this is called and it is not average or normal to be wetting the bed every night at the age of five. Make sure, too, that you do not pressure her about it or make her feel guilty; that will only add to the problem if this is caused by something psychological. Try to treat it with her as though it is a challenge that you both want to overcome, rather than she is doing something wrong.

I have been cutting off my 3 year old's fluids by about 7:00 PM. If he gets thirsty I will give him a littel sip of water after but not much. Also, some children seem to have some type of milk allergy that causes them to wet the bed. Try to keep the milk to earlier in the day like for breakfast or lunch, but not after.

Two things that helped my son finally train - as odd as it may sound, they are just things you have to try. 1) take off all dairy products 2) add coQ10 as a supplement. Also, we took him to the bathroom every night before we would go to bed (11 PM) and moved the time 15 minutes at a time after the first 3-4 months.
Now, just my daughter left to train! :)
Best of luck, many chidlren are struggling later and later, so know you are not alone.
J

Im not sure when you cut off fluids but we stopped fluid intakes about 2 hours before bed and he could have sip of water before bed. That is how we stopped it.

If you are willing to try medication, ask your doctor to prescribe DDAVP nose-spray. I work with abused children, many of whom wet the bed well past 5 years old and we have had the greatest success with this nose spray. We have tried everything as well from alarms, to getting them up, no liquids after 6:00pm, etc. Across the board, every child who has used this nose spray has seen a drastic improvement, most completely stop wetting the bed in a couple of weeks. DDAVP is available in pill form as well, but we have found that the nose spray is more effective. Hope this helps.