7 1/2 Year Old Still Wetting Bed

It is not unusual... it's why those pullups are sized to 12, not 4.

Diapers, at any age, are to avoid a lot of laundry and cleaning. Make a real effort to lower the emotional meaning of the situation, and try to avoid making any kinds of comments about it, and he'll grow out of it (or indicate he wants to seek help).

I can truly sympathize. My older son was dry at night (2 /12 yrs old) before daytime so when my younger was still wetting (at age 4) I looked into it. At age 8 his still wets and we have literally tried everything including a pediatric urologist. There is no medical problem so we just have to wait it out. It has never been made into a big deal, just matter of fact for him. No teasing allowed from his brother (and he really never has anyway). Currently we are getting his back adjusted every 10 days and it has helped tremendously. We have 1 - 2 dry nights a week and the others have decreased to at least 1/2 of what it was. The bundle of nerves connected to the bladder are in the tailbone area and his was off by an inch. Not for everyone, but I'm tossing it out there. I have gone from washing sheets daily to washing sheets 1 or 2 times a week. Choose what's best for you, but know that he will eventually outgrow it (if it's not medical).
Good luck.

Hi P. - Have you talked with the pediatrician about this? That would be a good place to start. We were just in the peditrician's office a few days ago with my 8yr old who is till having accidents. They ran a test on his urine to check for any medical issues. This test can tell how his hydration is, sugars are, etc. This is a standard test and is a very good tool to give early warning signs for diabetes, urinary tract infections, etc.

We also talked with his peditrician about some ideas on how help him make sure his bladder is empty (including putting him on a potty schedule). If your son's is only having them when he sleeps they it could be he is a deep sleeper that he sleeps through his body telling him he has to go. There is also medications that can help with the accidents at night. I am sure you already do this but make sure his bed has a good mattress cover to protect it. Here are some of the tips that my son's DR shared with him: practice counting as fast as he could (1,2,3...to see how high he could get), when he he got tired of that then he would count by 2's, 5's, etc. Another idea is to place 5 squares of TP in the toilet & see if he can "sink" them by peeing on them. He also told my son to practice starting to pee & then stop, then start again (kind of like kegal exercises - this helps them with the muscles to control their output).

If all of this does not help (or if you have already tried it) ask your peditrician for a referral to a specialist who can work with you to see if there is an underlying issue. More than likely he is just fine but it is good to rule it out. We were given the stats that 1 out of every 8 kids in this age group does have an accident/bed wetting problem. Most, if not all, do grow out of it. Take Care & God Bless

Yes, this is completely normal. His bladder isn't mature yet to hold it all night. If it goes past 10, then I would look into options with his doctor to help.

First I would find out if there is a family history of bedwetting. If there is, then it's probably biological and nothing to worry about. My sister has a 10 year old who still needs pullups, despite trying many of the things people say will get kids to stay dry through the night. I have an 8 year old who still needs pullups and a 10 year old who hasn't needed them since he was 3. Based on my family history, I know that either of these is normal for my children.

If there is no family history, you might want to bring it up at your son's next well-child visit and see what the doctor thinks.

In general, I would say it is probably normal and it's something that his body will grow out of on it's own eventually.

Time to see the dr about this. My nephew was still wetting the bed at 5, and they found that he was such a deep sleeper and even when he wet would not wake up. They had to install a system that when the least bit of moisture hit the bed a siren would go off to wake him. It took conditioning, limiting liquid intake, nerve conduction studies to make sure his bladder was feeling full. Sounds like this young man has had trauma in his life, maybe more than physical. Again, talk with your pediatrician/urologist and then maybe with a therapist. Rubber sheets (flannel coated under the sheets or plastic mattress cover to protect the mattress. White vinegar in the wash to help clear the urine smell in his bedding, also to wipe down the mattress cover.)

I took my 6 1/2 year old to the doctor for this and he said that it is not unusual. He said not to worry her bladder wasn't ready yet and that unless it was becoming a self esteem issue for my child (refusing to attend a sleepover because she doesn't want to be seen as a baby for wearing a pullup) I should not be trying to force her body to do what its not ready for.

I think you should consider seeing a pediatric urologist.

I'm in the same boat with my 7 1/2 year old boy. He is wet every night! I went through this with one of my daughters too. She finially stopped around 8, the doctor wasn't concerned with her and I hear boys are worse, so I think we are ok. I did use the bed alarm, that I bought online at The Bet Wetting Store and it really helped. You connect it to their underware and the first sign on wettness, it goes off. This usually wakes them up so they don't go all the way and can finish on the toilet. I guess I need to get it out again! I do think it helped. Good luck, I won't give you any other suggestions because I'm sure you have tried everything!

Not at all unusual. My boys finally stayed dry at night at ages 11 and 9. No medical issues, just not ready yet.

While waiting for their bodies to be ready, we did the following:
Plastic cover on mattress
Pull-ups/Good-nights (whichever is on sale and appropriate -- Good-nites hold more, Pull-ups cost less -- Fred Meyer brand works great)
When he "leaks", he needs to strip his bed when he gets up so it can be airing out, and let me know so I can wash the bedding. At your son's age, I helped make the bed in the evening.
Remember (and reassure him) it's not a big deal. Lots of kids wet the bed. The general consensus (according to my online research) seems to say age 12 is the age to think about possible medical issues. But even then it's not uncommon for there to be no medical problem.

Hope this helps! Hang in there!

PS: I love your "title" of "Bonus mom"! :)

P.-

My daughter, now 10, wore pull-ups at night until she was 8. She was just such a sound sleeper nothing, even wetting her bed, could wake her. (No kidding. One night she fell asleep on a ride home from a party. We carried her to her room. Undressed her. Dressed her in her pull-up and jammies and she never even made a noise.)

Buy yourself some sleep; Lord knows we all need more than we get! I'd say not to get concerned for another year and then talk with your ped about some bedwetting therapies.

when I was a kid, Good Housekeeping used to run ads from some company or other that stated that 1 out of 9 kids wets the bed at age 9.

Which, however accurate or inaccurate (it was in an ad, after all), has been useful in helping my kids: "so, at least one and probably two other kids in your class probably also have this difficulty" (and via parent grapevine I know who one is for sure, so I can say this with confidence ;) )

so ... I have heard over the years the too-small bladder, the immature bladder, a bunch of stuff which doesn't seem to really explain at least two of my kids (although undoubtably correct for many cases) ... the chiropractic/nerve pinch answer I just sent a flower to, because when I injured my lower back in a car accident, *I* had bladder sensing and bladder control problems (SIGH!!).

However, about a year ago(?) I read that someone somewhere had figured out that there is a hormone/sleep situation (I can't even remember if it is a hormone that is supposed to turn off during sleep so your body stops making pee, or a hormone that turns on during sleep to actively suppress making pee) that does match well my kids' symptoms, and is very logically an inheritable pattern.

Although I have to say that I don't remember any kids in my family, and I haven't heard of any kids in my Ex's family, having this problem ... must've been a double recessive or something ;).

Life got so much better when I admitted what was clear--the kid(s) didn't want to pee the bed, the kids don't LIKE to pee the bed, and the kids ... had no control over it.

Diapers are my friends. They still leak through sometimes, but the amount of bedding is a lot less. Liberal application of BacOut (an enzyme cleaner) covered with cloth diaper(s), covered with a towel, a sheet/underblanket ... kid back to bed (never having fully woken up, if I'm lucky). Have extra blankets (see also, Goodwill ;) ), especially easy wash-and-dry fleece blankets. I gave up on tucked in sheets--and pajamas-- a long time ago. (Hard to deal with at 3 AM wet and stinky? buh bye.)

Anyhow, hope all these reports from the trenches help :).

I work for a developmental optometrist as a Vision Therapist. We see this a lot with our patients and it usually has a lot to do with primitive reflexes. If you have a Occupational Therapist or Vision therapy clinic in town that checks primitive reflexes it may be worth a visit. To me it sounds like the Spinal Gallant Reflex (the one that makes anything touching your back uncomfortable) look it up! That is also a great age to look for any developmental issues or learning problems. Behavioral Optometry Clinics are new, but getting more popular. for a little more info on it our website is www.elementaleyecare.com. good luck!

Like someone else mentioned, try chiropractic! I've seen it work several times and have had my kids adjusted since birth!