7 Yr Old Is Wetting the Bed

R.:
I'm sure you'll get lots of responses to this but I have a seven year old and for about three weeks he started wetting the bed. Then he just stopped. I called the doctor's and they said it could be several things and just wait a little longer. One thing is a bladder infection and he would have painful urination so won't go to the bathroom during the day very frequently. Another is stress maybe from school or changes in home. Another is a growth spurt which is causing deep sleep and is temporary. Another is just really deep sleep and then finally would be something you should take him in for, long term bedwetting which doctors have all sorts of medications to help prevent this. WE ruled out bladder infection and My son just quit after three weeks and it hasn't happened since.
S.

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Bed wetting in boys is VERY common. My son wet the bed until he was about 12. As he got older, it became less frequent. He still does ever once in a while and he's 13 now. Cut off fluids a little earlier. Get him up to go pee before you go to bed if you go to bed several hours later than him. Or, if you get up at night to go potty, get him up too. There are nighttime pullups, and padded underwear that looks like boxers so no one will know. There are also meds available if you want to try them. Just be patient. He really can't help it! Blessings.

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My sister, my son and his father wet the bed until 12. Get him some diaper like pants and wait it out. It is a physical problem, his muscle does not respond enough when he is asleep. There was an inhaled medicine that my son tried and there may be something new now, but he will grow out of it. Find ways of dealing with it for both of you and stay off his case. We did so much damage to my little sister over this issue.

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Have you checked with your Pediatrician?
My friend's son had that problem, same age, and he had an immature bladder.

Now, is he only having 1 pee accident a night? Or does it seem very frequent? Maybe he has a bladder infection... or sometimes Diabetes causes frequent urination at night... or maybe he just sleeps SO soundly, that he does not get up if he has to pee. Sometimes my daughter is sleeping SO SO soundly at night, that she is not even aware of her full bladder.

I would ask your Pediatrician.
Just some ideas...
All the best,
Susan

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Had my son at the dr. yesterday for this. He'll be 7 in May. She said this is super common in boys. It effects 60% of boys through age 7, 35% of boys through age 9 and even 2% until teenage years. She prescribed dessomopressin-2 tablets taken at night. We'll see.

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R.,
My son is 10 and we had the same issue. What helped us was doing exactly what you are doing but because I went to bed at 11pm I would get him up and take him to the bathroom. I did this for about a month just to make sure his body would start to wake him up on his own.

Good luck - everything will work out

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I had a daughter & a grandson that was having this problem It could be either his bladder isn't growing as fast as he is or he is sleeping that soundly. That he is not waking up when he needs to pea. Either get up every hr or so in hopes of caughing him before he peas or,buy pull-up. Or both.

I was 15years old before i stoped bed wetting. Im now885 . None of my children had the thatpromblem just love A. no. Hills

check out www.handle.org
my son wet his bed until 17. he stopped 5 weeks later using the HANDLE method.
email me at ____@____.com for more info.

We have 2 in our family who were bed wetters until age 8. It's fairly common, and most kids outgrow it. Buy a mattress cover and some Pull Ups and hang in there.

R., After a pediatric urologist confirms that there is no physical problem, I wonder if they make a larger pull up type underwear. It's tough not to get frustrated at all the extra work with laundry, but when we went for a different reason to the pediatric urologist the waiting room was filled with kids. so it's not his fault, he's not doing it on purpose to irritate you and so maybe the body and mind are not getting the message to wake up and pee. Give him some dignity and time, you sound like a great mom. D.

Just let it be. My daughter just finally stopped wetting the bed, without any tricks, devices, or pressure, when she was 8 years old. This is so common and normal. Just buy him those Good Night pull-ups, make sure he uses the bathroom right before bed, and don't worry about it! His body will kick in soon, I'm sure. In the mean time, the less of a big deal you make, the better for him. Hang in there!

R.,
I feel your pain. I went through the same thing. Google the "potty pager". It worked miracles for us.
Good luck.

Hi R., I had the same issue with one of my sons, it was funny because starting at 17 months he was dry in the mornings, and then we got to like first/second grade he started wetting again, so I figured it was one of 2 things, lazzyness or affraid to get up at night, until he was 4 he and his older brother had a bathroom in their room, when we moved to housing he had to get up and walk to the bathroom, and he was affraid to get up, so I told him if you can go a week and stay dry I will take you to Toys R us and you can pick out any toy you want, he started waking up his big brother to go to the bathroom with him, and problem solved, his brother is 3 years and 4 months older, good big brother huh? J. L.

Hi R.,
Your son is probably a heavy sleeper. My daughter suffered with this for a little while, till I started waking her up before I went to bed, since I go to bed later than she does. I would get her up and make her go to the bathroom. I did this every night for about 3 months, soon I noticed she was waking up to go on her own. It just made her more aware of having the go to the bathroom and it then the feeling she now recognized and would wake up on her own. It's worth a try.

Malem alarms did the trick for my boy (who was 8yrs old & still wetting the bed)...best $100 I EVER spent! He was "cured" within 2 weeks. Try Googling them online, good luck!

My son use to do that also. He is 23 now and I can remember putting pull ups on him when he went to bed at night. He was a very sound sleeper and did not feel this happening. I did go to his doctor and I cannot remember for the life of me what they told me to do, in any event do not dispair it will finally just one day stop. I promise!

My son was wetting the bed at that age also. I sat next to a pediatric allergist at a dinner party one night and he opened my eyes. Turns out my son was allergic to milk products and dust which caused him to wet the bed. Once we stopped all milk products and got rid of his stuffed animals and anything that carried dust in his room, he stopped wetting the bed. He spent the night at one of his friends house, who had stuffed animals in his room, and he wet the bed. That confirmed it for sure for me.

Perhaps your son is allergic to something.

Common yes, but maybe he is not active enough? That can help not the cure and not always help but some kids are not active in the day enough and sleep right through the urge. try setting an alarm for him to get up? My brother slept through it all and kicked out a window one night (top bunk) did not know it, still peed the bed till he was 12. He was VERY ACTIVE. But I have a son and others who after getting more running in the day they quit wetting at night. Just a suggestion. If sleep overs become an issue, send a ziploc bag in his packpack/bag and have him put is wet pull up in it while he changes in the bathroom. No one will know. Good luck, be PATIENT.

Rachel I had two bedwetters and they lasted much longer. It is not an easy issue to deal with. This is much more common in boys than girls for one thing. My husband wet the bed up to age 12, and his Mother was a bed wetter too. It sounds like you have limited fluids up to certain hour which is one strategy. The biggest thing I suggest is to please be empatic to your son. I promise you this is a big deal as they begin to get older have this to deal with. And it is not stubbornness etc. This is typically a deep rem sleep issue. They sleep so deeply that it is really hard to wake themselves up when they have the urge. No question this is messy and a lot of work. But in my opinion the worst thing to do is to humiliate a child for something they are unable to control at this moment. There are therapies out there to help but they will eventually outgrow such things. They now have such good potty training pants that are a big help. Another suggestion is if you sew, create a couple of sleeping bags and put an inner rubber sheet lining inside. You can rotate the sleeping bags as they are washed and is alot less laundery that sheets and blankets and bedspreads and if they have friends over or go on a sleepover it will be much more discrete. I also set an alarm and started waking my son up in the middle of the night. I had to walk him into the bathroom to pee but it did slow down the wetting episodes, but not entirely. This is a medical issue so research any new methods online, its been a while since I have dealt with this issue there may be some new products out there to help you. Be patient, and teach him to be as responsible as he can for this problem like taking linens to launderyroom etc. I think helping them to maintain as much dignity as we can is very important. God Bless

I had great sucess with the allarm (a belt worn to bed that sounds an alam when it gets wet). I've seen people on this site say it didn't work, but it workded great for me.

Hi,

I suggest you go back in the archives of Mama Source and check out other responses to the same topic. There are even more insights from Smart Mamas.

My two tips are that we have a two or three time pee rule before bedtime. Once before brushing and washing and pjs, once before our bedtime activity and once before kisses and prayers. The other tip is to check out Hylands Homeopathic Bedwetting tablets they do work if you work them. The desmopressin that someone suggested did work for my daughter but our pediatrician said he wouldn't give it to a child before they were 10 or 11 because it is a strong medicine that wouldn't really work well yet as their bodies and bladders are still developing.

Also remember, different overnight brands fit different bodies differently. We just bought a store brand that did not work, 4 loads of laundry later I returned those and went back to the brand I knew worked.

Please remember that this is a body issue not a choice and treat it like someone needing glasses, it's just where his body is at right now.

Good luck,

T.

Try having him go to the potty about 3 to 4 times before bed, starting about two hours before bedtime. Also cut fluids 2 1/2 hours before bedtime. If this doesn't work he might just need more time. My middle son is 7 1/2 and just starting waking up dry some mornings. They are all different and develope differently!

My friends daughter was in pulls ups until she was 12!

You can also get up once during the night and help him on the potty - this might help as well.

It will eventually happen, maybe not for a while, but it will!

is this new? or has he always wet the bed? if is is new i'd see the pediatrician-could be health or stress related. if it is on going-i'd get a miren alarm.