Advice on Night-time Potty Training an Almost 6 Year Old Who Is a Sound Sleeper

Updated on May 14, 2009
C.M. asks from Omaha, NE
13 answers

My daughter wets the bed at night alot because she is such a sound sleeper. Her pediatrician said this happens and will faze out in kids by the age of 12. We tried waking her up in the middle of the night to go and sometimes she goes but alot of times she doesn't have to go and then ends up wetting later. My question is: Is there anything else we can try or will we need to keep putting a pull-up/diaper on her until this phases out? We've tried underwear but have changed the bed so many times in a row that we are back to pull-ups now.

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R.N.

answers from St. Cloud on

My son had the same problem. There are night time potty alarms- found at onestepahead.com. I bought 1 of those and he never wet the bed again. (we never even had to use it, he just had to know I was serious).

So I would try that- they are affordably priced.

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M.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

Hi C., we recently potty trained my 2 year old and it became increasingly obvious that my almost 4 year old had a problem when my 2 year old would wake up dry in the morning, and my 4 year old would not. We have also had a lot of wetting problems during the day with her too. It turns out she has an overactive bladder. She simply can't control her urges to go and is confused about what her body is telling her. We haven't started treatment yet, but I'd be glad to let you know how it goes. We are hoping it makes a significant improvement as I don't want her to have to be embarrassed by this when she's older. Maybe just talk to your doctor about it but I do know that it could take up to age 7 or older to be potty trained at night.

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B.H.

answers from Minneapolis on

It's something they have to grow out of like physically grow out of, and putting a pullup on shouldn't be a big deal unless your daughter is having a sleep over party with friends.

Stock up on pull ups and wait it out.

When my daughter was in the middle of potty training and wore a pull up to bed if it was dry in the morning I'd take it off of her, put her undies on for the day and reuse that same pull up the next night.

K.C.

answers from Davenport on

Both of my kids were sound sleeper bed wetters too. I tried getting my son up at night to go and what a disaster! He ended up going all over the toilet, the wall, you name it, he hit it! lol He just couldn't wake up enough to go even when I woke him up. This is something you need to let her outgrow. Get a laundry basket and put it in her room, have her take her sheets off the bed when she wets. A plastic sheet under the sheets works great and cleans up easy with a bit of soap and water and a touch of Fabreeze helps too! When she's old enough, show her how to wash the sheets herself. It will give her a feeling of responsibility and help her feel as if she is in control of the problem. The more in control she feels, the more quickly she will overcome it on her own, without a lot of fuss. Good luck to ya hun! :)

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M.L.

answers from Minneapolis on

I ended up, with my son, saying this is your last pull-up. He did great once he figured out we weren't going back to buy pull-ups anymore. We do wake him up before we go to bed and lead him to the toliet. Also, if he doesn't take a nap or is overly tired my husband tries to get up with him between 1 and 3am. It is frustrating, for us and him, when he wets but we remind him that it is an accident and not to give up trying. I did hear that limiting liquids doesn't help, it has to do with a hormone that develops (sometimes late) in kids to slow down urine production....

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R.K.

answers from Appleton on

Your child may have an allergy or sensitivity to a certain food item. This is not unusual in children and most times they outgrow it. Try taking certain things out of her diet for a week and then add them back. I would start with artificial flavors and colors, this one is tough it means no kool-aid--no Trix cereal no a lot of foods that kids like. Also try dairy products. Take the item out of her diet for a week or two and then ad it back if the wetting stops then starts again you may have your answer.
I heard about this while watching a talk show almost 20 yrs ago and my daughter was a bed wetter. A pediatric allergist was on the show and was explaining that a lot of doctors do not have the training in unusual allergies and as a parent we need to be the detective. Check on line or in the library for more in depth info.
Good luck to you and your daughter bed wetting is so embarrassing for kids.

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P.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

My son is not night-trained, yet. His pediatrician suggested putting underwear on under a Pull-up. Pull-ups are so good at keeping them dry that they don't mind peeing in them. Since we've been putting underwear on under the Pull-up, he's been dry 5 out of 7 mornings (and his bed linen and pajamas are not all wet!).

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D.D.

answers from Sioux Falls on

Hi C.,
My oldest wet the bed until she was 12. It was a horrible experience for her, because she was so h*** o* herself about it. They simple have no bladder control when they sleep so sound. Waking them up doesn't help because mostly they go continuously throughout the night a bit at a time. Then the big splash. It also adds so much stress on them. I do like the idea of underwear under the pullup, because if being wet wakes her, it might help her to be more aware. I wish I had thought of that. Also, when we bought her a new mattress, we left the plastic on for cleaning purposes, it made things much more simple Goodnights are wonderful for sleepovers. I rolled one up in her jammies, and she went to the bathroom to put her pajamas on, it was discrete, and she felt confident. My worries for her was her self confidence. Making it a huge issue is very h*** o* their self esteem. They really beat themselves up over it, and it is no fault of their own. I did find something a bit helpful. On weekends, try having her lay down for a nap in the middle of the day. They are not so tired at night, and it helps them to train their minds to wake up, you have to wake her of course. Let her know what you're up to, she will be willing to try it because they want to stop more than you want them to.

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T.B.

answers from Milwaukee on

I asked the same thing last month and got a lot of responses. Look back on April 20th. Good luck!

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S.W.

answers from Janesville-Beloit on

This same problem seems to run in my husband's family. My step-son did it until he was 10. I have been lucky our son is almost 3 and he has been dry almost every night since he turned 2. I think it just depends. My step son went to the dr and everything was fine.

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S.K.

answers from Minneapolis on

C.,

Lots of companies sell bed wetting alarms for about $100. You can look online.

Good luck,
S.

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M.J.

answers from Green Bay on

Hi C.

I know how you feel my son who just turned 9 just got out of that 3 months ago . I tried every thing waking him . Giving him nothing to drink after 7:00 . Having him go to the bathroom a couple times before bed if he could go . It all just got frusterating to both of us .
My doctor just said wait he will grow out of it and he did . I still ask him in the mornings most of the time if he was dry .
In time she will out grow it .

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D.L.

answers from Rapid City on

C. - restrict her liquids a good 3 hours before bedtime.

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