6 Year Old Still Wets the Bed at Night

My husband wet the bed until he was 18 years old- right before he went to boot camp. While it isn't normal, it does happen. Don't make it into something negative- he doesn't know he's doing it when it happens! Punishment won't work, although at six years old, he should have to help clean up his bed in the morning. Does he snore or have difficulty breathing at night? I would get that looked at if he were my son, and if it's caused by something like large tonsils or adenoids, get that corrected, and the bed wetting should stop. Also, something my parents did when I was little and still having accidents at night was to wake me up before they went to bed so I could go to the bathroom then. If I remember correctly, I think that method worked for me, but not for my brother. For my sister, I think my parents used stars on a chart on "dry" mornings, with a reward at the end of the week for "dry weeks".

I have an 8 year old that still to this day has this problem. He was potty trained at 2, but night time wetting has always been a problem. We have tried everything. Setting alarms, gadgets that are supposed to help wake them when they first start to wet, not drinking anything at 6:30 at night. NOTHING works. He doesn't wet everynight, but he still does sometimes. We have taken him to the dr.'s and they just keep telling us eventually he will outgrow it. I know it seems like it will never end, but hang in there and don't punish him. The Dr.'s say this only prolongs the situation. My son has gotten better this last year.

Don't over react or make him feel bad is my first advice. My brother who is now 40 yrs old made some comment how our parents ridiculed him b/c he wet the bed until like 12 or something like that. He obviously is still hurt by it! Crazy b/c boys take longer and it gets worse with no encouragement or with a lack of confidence. Just be patient and give lots of love and he'll out grow it!

He will, eventually grow out of it. Please, do not pressure him or make him feel that something is wrong with him. Many boys, in particular, gave this problem. Get him some night time underwear, there are many on the market shelf, and leave him alone!

R.

I have a six year old son who is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I got him potty trained after much tears, and trials. As far as at night,we put a Goodnights pullup on, and call it a day. When he was getting ABA therapy the consultant really pushed to train at night, but to me it was not that important. Soon he will develop the maturity to get up at night, and go back to bed.

My daughter is nearly 7 and still in Pull-ups. We do all the right things: limit liquids after 6:30, bathroom before bed, and Pull-ups.

Her body and brain have sync up. Accept it.

Last time I bought the Pull-ups that get cook when wet. It was an accident. But I notice that when she was wet in the morning, she is only slightly wet. She still doesn't get up to go to the bathroom, but she has a really full bladder in the morning and rushes right to the bathroom.

I have also put her to bed a half an hour later and get start waking her up a half an hour earlier. This has helped, I think, as she usually wets around 4:30-5:00.

Just make it no big deal and add it to your routine.
Stephanie

My 9 yr old son still wets the bed at night. We saw a urologist at Children's Hospital in Oakland for another issue and I brought this up. His response: my son will grow out of it, it is hereditary (both dad and I were bed wetters too), and he should continue to wear pull-ups. He said, if it really bothers my son, then we can get one of those alarm type sheets that wake the child up when there is moisture. My son hasn't wanted to try it.
As far as sleepovers, he had his first one a week or two ago, and stayed dry (without the pull-up). I asked him about it and he said he didn't want to be humiliated and since it was an unfamiliar space, he didn't sleep as soundly anyway. I've noticed when we travel, it is easier for him to stay dry.
Bottom line: he'll grow out of it.

First, don't panic...this is not unusual, especially for boys. Our son had the same problem. The pediatrician told us that our son's deep sleep pattern and immature bladder were to blame for these incidents. This isn't about potty-training, it is about getting the "full bladder" message to a sleeping brain.

We did several things--1.)Rubber sheets- the kind that feel like felt and are about 24" x 36". We had three of them. They were easy to change if there was an accident. 2.) Pull-ups, or other type of overnight pant. This saves a lot of clean-up and allows the child to get a good night's sleep instead of waking up wet. 3.) a trip to the bathroom about 11pm--just before we went to bed. 4.) Calm attitude--it's a phase, it's not intentional, and you want your son to survive this phase with his self-esteem in tact.

My son is now 19. He stopped wetting the bed when he was about 9. Hang in there!

My son is 14 and occasionally (once every 6-8 months) still will wets the bed. It's becoming less and less as he has gotten older. Not anymore but when he was younger when I woke up in the middle of the night I would wake him up to go to the bathroom. I have read before to put two sets of sheets/ mattress covers on bed so in the middle of the night you can take off wet set and worry about remaking bed in morning.

Check out www.nobedwetting.com. It has really helped our son!

Hi C.,
as you have heard from a lot of moms already, this is not an uncommon issue. My son is 8 and is now just starting to stay dry at night. He is now dry most nights.

We made the mistake of trying the alarm when he was 6, we read that most 6 year olds are not ready but he really wanted to try so we let him. Big mistake for us. He hated it and then did not want to try it again later when he first turned 8 (the age that was suggested as appropriate). Eventually he did try it, we had seen signs of less heavy pull ups for a while and he was motivated by a school camp approaching, and he wore it only a few times before we saw remarkable improvement, then it broke but he kept improving on his own. It was like he finally ready and just needed some assistance to learn the cues when sleeping.

Heavy sleepers are often the ones who take the longest to stay dry at night. As you have also read, there is often (though not always) a familial component. My mother, I discovered, was not dry at night until 10.

We spent several months washing sheets, blankets, and waterproofs when a counselor advised us that he would be better off without pullups. Eventually we had all had enough and he happily went back into pullups until ready to try the alarm again. Even then we used the trick of pullups over the underpants (you need to clip the alarm to underpants so it will detect the moisture) so that there was not much to do when he did wet. Now he is sleeping just fine without any of it. We still have a waterproof on the mattress below the sheets and probably will for some time yet just to protect the mattress against accidents or spills of any kind.

Please realise that very few, if any, children have control of this issue. Punishment and even reward programs rarely work. Do not be surprised if he stays dry when he sleeps away from home, he probably just doesn't sleep as deeply.

We found a book called "Waking Up Dry" by Dr Howard Bennett to be useful. It has sections for parents and sections for kids. www.bedwettingstore.com has some great resources and tools and a variety of books available.

Hang in there. We all make it through this though it takes longer for some.

K.

I am going to suggest either going with the pull-ups the recommend for children his age with this issue until he can learn to wake himself up or my only other option is that you or your husband go wake him up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.

Hello C. D,

I am having the same problem with a boy 8. This question came up some time ago and there were many ideas. If you try anything that work, let me know. I bought the alarm system recommended by the Pediatrician. I think that could have worked but my son could not deal with the alarm going off in his ears (I did muffle it somewhat) and I did not get the cooperation of his Dad with the system so I eventually gave up. I have been washing sheets every day for the last I think 2 years. Pull ups don't work anymore because they get soaked anyway plus he does not want to wear them. What is a mother to do? Let me know if anything work for you. D.

Does UR chld have a large blater? My 5 year old does.He has the same problem. He even has to use night time pullups. I wouldn't be too discuraged over it. Other than that - did u check with UR Doctor?

TTFN
T.-Kay

My sons were very heavy sleepers to. We started getting them up before we went to bed and that helped. Still they would have accidents.

Call the Enuresis Treatment Center in Michigan. Their phone number is: ###-###-####. Look at their web site: ____@____.com grandson and granddaughter had the same problem. The girl grew out of it, but I used the Enuresis Clinic for my grandson. It tends to run in families. They sleep too deeply so they do not wake up in the night. It is very interesting to learn about these kids and their sleep cycles. Anyway, look at the site and then you can call and they will explain everything to you.

He will have control over night time wetness when his body is ready. There is nothing you can do about it except to understand that it's frustrating for him. One of my kids wasn't dry at night until 7.

I wet my bed at night for years. I don't think it was totally stopped until Jr High. My son is almost 8 now and still wetting. But get this. When he was 6.5 I took him to a ciropractor and with one visit and a couple adjustments...he stopped wetting for several months. We have tried again with out the same luck. I think he worked up an anziety and would not relax enough to allow his body to be adjusted. I will put it out there as a possiblility and see if he askes to go again. Thank goodness for pull ups. They did not have those when I was a kid.

This is not outside the realm of normal. My husband remembers vividly that he never wanted to go on sleep-overs when he was little because he was a bed wetter until he was 8. He remembers being so happy when he finally began waking up to use the bathroom at night! When we were going through the bed-wetting issue with our older daughter, our pediatrician told us that some kids do not make enough of the chemical in the brain that signals the body not to produce urine at night, and/or their bladder has not grown as fast as the rest of them. Often times it is hereditary. So this is really not under the child's control, and eventually they will grow out of it. Our daughter finally grew out of it at almost 5 years old, and I have heard it can take boys much longer than girls for some reason. We used pull-ups until our daughter was able to stay dry at night.

I had the same problem. We bought good nights for him to wear at night, he wasn't happy but it saved us getting up in the middle of the night and saved the mattress too. I think their bladder is growing faster than they do. Plus I think they are just really tired from school and sleep like a rock. He should grow out of it. Our doctor said he could give him medicine to help but we haven't gone that route.