Need Advice on 8-Year-old Wetting the Bed

I think you should make her a doctor appointment because there are conditions when the child is using the restroom but the bladder is not emptying fully. My sister went thru them same thing with my neice. Also if you didnt want to use the pull-ups, maybe you can get a waterproff mattress pad

Before the pull ups - you do need to take her to the Dr. to rule out any kind of medical problem. If she has been dry for 5 years and she goes to the potty b4 bed and no water or drinks past 6 PM there is something going on.

Just fyi --- I recently read that if children over 6 start having nighttime accidents, that can sometimes be a sign of sleep apnea.

Please take her to the doctor. Be open to considering all the medical and psychological reasons he/she might want to consider.

Also, while this is a huge inconvenience for you, it is much worse for your daughter. How embarrassing it must be for her. This isn't a time for humiliation, but for understanding. She isn't doing this because everything is right... something must be wrong.

I wish I had had someone to listen and respond appropriately when I was her age. You can be that for her.

D. ~

I too understand what you are going through. Last year my 7 year old daughter started wetting her bed and I though she was just looking for attention. I finally took her to the doctor and it was more than that. She was disgnoised with primary nocturnal enuresis, which is VERY common. We immediatly took action...lol! THere is really nothing you can do. We just made sure that she had a water proof matress, extra sheets and pull-ups. It took her a while to get comfortable wearing pull-ups again, it also took her a while to be comfortable having friends over or going to friends. We are going on a year and 2 months and we are having fewer accidents, but just know that this is NOT something she/he can control. Please make sure that she knows that it is ok and that you are NOT disappointed in her. GOOD LUCK AND GOD BLESS!

I agree with a few of the moms that have suggested that you should take her to the Pediatrician. It might be a urinary tract infection, or something else. Even though you perceive there have not been any changes at home, there might be other factors causing her stress. My niece was very sensitive to what the "mean little girls" at her school said and did. She was 10 yrs old and started wetting the bed at night. Once we started talking to her and gave her "tools" to deal with it, the bed wetting subsided. This problem seemed evident and was easy to solve. Kids repress so much that they don't know how to deal with, there can definitely be a psychological component to this problem. Good luck.

I agree with the husband. It could be a unrinary tract infection. I would definantly get medical attention. You also need to rule out wheather or not it is possible that she could have been molested. Sudden bed wetting is a pretty big symptom with that. I'm sure this is not the case with your little girl,still though, it's nice to rule it out early. I am leaning more to the possibility of the U.T.I. In children sometimes that is the only symptom. You really need to take her to the doctor to truly solve the problem.

Your husband is right, she needs to be seen for this. In the meanwhile, there is a product called GoodNights for older kids which my daughter used when she was having bedwetting issues. (Not the same issue, she had never been dry at night.) You daughter may have a bladder or kidney infection which needs attention. Please take her in.

D.,
I would second your husband's advice to take her to the dr's asap. A bladder infection and diabetes can be ruled out in one short visit. The the question is molested? stressed? or some other factor.
I would allow her to choose how she would like to deal with the wet bed. She can use pullups, she can change the sheets, you can get the alarm from Sears that wakes thekid up at the first drop of urine (but only after ruling out all physical causes).
I feel for you and for her. This is tough no matter the cause.
K.

My daughter went through this at age 6. The doctor said it was because she was going through a growth spurt and her body was growing so fast her bladder couldn't keep up. It lasted about 3 years. I didn't put her in pull-ups, but I did get a plastic mattress protector, I taught her to change her own sheets, and I set the alarm so I could wake her in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. It was difficult, but we got through it. Try not to make a big deal out of it, it is very embarrassing to her. I know, I wet the bed occasionally until I was 12 years old.
A. :~D

Take her to the doctor. Could be a small underdeveloped bladder. Goodnights is a brand a friend of mine had to buy for her daughter with a small bladder. Other than that Children sometimes wet themselves when they have had an emotional disturbance. Talk to her and consult a doctor.

Hi D.,

I would suggest taking her to the doctor asap. It really sounds like a medical issue. My daughter did the same thing and it turned out to be type 1 diabetes. Another friends daughter did the same thing and it turned out to be a urinary tract problem--took meds and recovered quickly.

Good luck,
d

You should ask the doctor, however - my daughter who is 6ft tall and star basketball player just stopped wetting the bed at 14 yrs old. She comes from a long line of bedwetters family history. It is all in the sleep pattern. I like you was very concerned and asked the doctor, tried different things but she went from pull ups to overnight depends. It is better to wear them then to wake up with everything wet. Just let her wear them and let her sleep and you sleep. She will grow out of it. You can not make her feel bad about it because she can not help it. I never kept my daughter from drinking at night either. I just never wanted her to go to bed thirsty, but carbonated drinks are not good to have at night. The only thing is it was always an issue about sleeping over somewhere, but it is something that we just dealt with. The problem is that there is many, many bedwetters around but it is not talked about. I say ask the doctor but the doctor will probably say she will out grow it.

Talk to her pedi, there is medication now available that will end the problem relatively quickly. Wish it had been available when my kids were having issues. My granddaughters both had this issue and their pedi gave them a prescription, I'm sorry, but I don't recall the name of the medication, but the bedwetting stopped in a matter of a week or so and never recurred. Sometimes, a child will not be able to totally empty their bladder before bedtime and fall into such a deep sleep that they don't wake up in time to make it to the bathroom.
Hope this helps.

I remember as a teenager a very good friend started experiencing this problem and her Mother finally took her to the doctor. He finally discovered it was because her body started relaxing so much during sleep that she wet the bed. since this has been about 40 years ago I don't remember what they did to reverse this problem, but it may well be worth seeking medical advice.

Maybe she has Encopresis or something similar. Encopresis is defined as a bowel movement accident. I am not sure what the one for urination is. My son had Encopresis (not sure if this is how you spell it) when he was 7 yrs old. I did not know what the problem was, but one day we were at the doctors office for my younger son. There was a on call doctor there on this day and I had questioned him what a possiblility of my older sons condition was. He imeadiately told me what a strong possibility was. We found out from the doctor that he was probability traumatized by someone or something. Later I found out that a step sibiling had traumatized him. It was not sexual but bad enough. It has gotten easier to talk about recently.
He had tied him up by his wrists in the closet where he was tippy toeing on shoes to stay up with the door closed. It was at max 10 to 15 minutes but he had trauma. We took him to a PLAY THERAPIST, not a therapist, but a play therapist. His method seemed strange but IT WORKED! He had my son discuss what had happened to him thru play. In turn my son was able to make a fake gun and draw a picture of Johnny and was able to shoot him. My son almost the next night had no more accidents. One more thing did happen. One week later my son walked into our sitting room where my boyfriend and I were sitting, and sat on the other couch. His eyes were wide open like he was sleep walking. My boyfriend asked him what he was doing? He said to us "I can't reach the floor" I felt like dying, and my boyfriend just simply said, "yes you can. it is ok now. you can reach the floor. Just put your feet down. And then my son went back to bed.
Your child may have been traumatized by something or someone you don't know about. It could be near falling off of something, someone scarring her as she came around a corner, or other kids threatening. A play therapist shoud be able to help. Good luck and I hope she gets better soon. I will pray for you.
C.

I agree with your hubby that you should at least have her checked out at the pediatrician. For your sanity, you could also buy the overnight diapers for the older kids (I know they have them, but don't know what they are called...my kids are younger) to use until the issue is resolved. It could be a bladder infection or something that is causing her not to have as much control over her bladder. Or, as other posters have mentioned, her bladder may not be growing as fast as the rest of her body at this point. It really can't hurt to take her in and have her checked out. I'm sure this is just as upsetting for her!

Check for a kidney infections first. Then, try the kid pull ups/night underwear. I did this with my son. I told him he had to wear them until he went 3 nights dry. Then he didn't have to wear them until he wet the bed again and then he would have to wear them again until 3 nights dry, etc. I explained that it wasn't a punishment, but that I had to make sure he didn't wet himself or the bed anymore, as much as possible. It took only once and the problem amazingly solved itself. :-)

I agree with your husband on taking her to a doctor for this one. If it is a bladder infection I would limit her drinks to water, milk, and cranberry juice. Sodas, and other sugary drinks can make it harder for the infection to clear. I personaly dont drink sodas because it causes me to have emergency visits to the bathroom! Just a thought. Good luck.

Talk to your doctor -- doesn't sound right. I wet the bed but it didn't just start.

D.,

You come across as being angry instead of being concerned. Do you think your daughter wants to wet her bed?? There is no excuse for being angry at her. Bed wetting is something beyond a child's control. If a child suddenly starts wetting the bed at 8 years old she most definitely should be taken to the doctor. I'm sure this is very upsetting to her and the longer it goes on the more tramatic it will be for her. Please take your daughter's feelings into consideration. Make sure you talk to her and let her know you are not angry at her and you are sorry for what she is going through. Take her to the doctor ASAP.

I had the same problem with my daughter and pull-ups were my bestfriend. I got so tired of stripping the bed everyday I thought I would just die! Although she did grow out of it. We did the whole not drinking after six, no pops, etc...going to the bathroom before bed but it still happened. I am not sure if she really emptied her bladder well when she did go to the bathroom, you know how kids are always in a hurry to go. She was and is a very deep sleeper so we just assumed that when she got into the deep sleep is when she would wet the bed. It happened almost everynight and if we got lucky and she didn't we were so happy. We didn't take her to the dr. for it hoping that she would grow out of it and she eventually did. I do know there are nosesprays for it but that is something that I did not want to do. Like I said she did grow out of it and is now 17 and hasn't wet the bed since. I know its not much advice but just wanted you to know it does get better. Like I said thou pull-ups were great!!!!! Best of luck!

My doctor told me that Constipation could cause bed wetting. She said that it will push against parts inside and trap pockets of pee that will then come out at weird times. Maybe she needs more water, not less. I would go to the Doctor.

I agree that you should touch base with your pediatrician, but it is very likely that it's not something to worry about and she will grow out of it. A common issue at her age for boys and girls is that their body may have grown faster than their bladder. The bladder may just take a little extra time to catch up.

If it is a more serious issue of course your pediatrician can help you decide on the best course of action for you and your daughter. In the mean time I would suggest using the goodnights and no liquids 2 hours before bed (especially milk!!)

Does your daughter stay in a daycare? If so, has something happened there that she possibly hasn't told you about? Are there any new kids in her life - step-sibling, babysitter, cousin, neighbor? Is she playing with any new children in the neighborhood? It's possible any one of these things could have triggered something that has caused her to wet the bed.

Bed wetting in children that have been potty trained for a long time - wo incidence - many times indicates a stress factor and not a medical condition.

I would talk to your daughter - and make sure you listen to what she is saying to see if you pick up on any issues or concerns of hers.

In the mean time, explain that you're switching to pull ups until you're able to help her work through her concerns.