I Need Help! My Four Year Old Will Not Wake up to Go to the Bathroom at Night!

I personally don't have this problem with my kids however my sister has this problem. She had 6 kids and her middle 2 have this problem. One is 13 and one is 7. They have to wear pull-ups at night. They have been to the doc and there is nothing wrong they just don't wake up. They have tried the less fluid and waking them up at night but after a few years that gets really old. They will EVENTUALLY hopfully out grow it. The doc said one day it will just stop for no reason. I know buying costly pullups is not what you want to hear, but sometimes that is all you can do.

I'm an incredibly heavy sleepier also, if you think that is his only problem you could try leaving a radio on or tv on all night in his room. The extra sound might help him sleep not so soundly and he might be able to wake up on his own. Or even something like a baby moniter might work too, because he would just hear a bunch of static. It's worth a try at least. good luck!

I would try using one of the trainer pants or wake him up... personally, I would try waking him up and get him out of bed, have him use the potty and go right back to bed. If you wake him up, do it the same time everynight. If you wake him up and he's already wet the bed, wake him up earlier, until you find a good time BEFORE he gets to that point. Eventually, this will become habit for him. Slowly back off, get to where you just open his door, say his name and he will know what to do. Then eventually get to where he goes by himself and goes back to bed on his own. Keep backing off and maybe eventually it will become routine enough that he will wake himself up and go through the steps on his own. He will learn... I am a teacher and I strongly believe setting a structured routine is best, it's what they need and they respond well to it. Good luck!

well want we did with my grandbaby was stoped given her something to drink about 1 to 2 hours befor going to bed an it worked with her an now she is 4 an gose by herself.

Hello H.. Well my son is almost 6 now and yes we had the same exact problems. I know how frustrating it can be. We never reverted back into pull ups (I personally felt it wasn't the right thing for us). What I did was monitor his fluid intake as it got closer to his bedtime I would only allow a small sip to help satisfy his palate. I would make him potty before getting in bed, and then before I went to sleep I would wake him up and have him go yet again. If I woke up to use the restroom I would go and have him do the same. Sometimes there were accidents but they have since ceased. At Wal-Mart they sell these waterproof bed pads ( one side felt like a plastic and the other felt like cotton ), place the cotton side up and have him lay on it. They are washable and less costly than having to buy pull ups all th time. My son is a hard sleeper as well. I just tried to let him know what a "BIG BOY" he was when there wasn't any accidents, and when there was I would try to be understanding. I found that it seem to hurt his feelings if I made a big deal when he did wet the bed.....(he would try to hide it from me). I told him that we would just keep working on it. He seemed to do better when I was more postive about the whole situation.

Well I have a 4yr old and a 3yr old. I put them both in pull ups at night and limit their fluid intake after 7pm they go to bed between 8 and 9. Some mornings they wake up dry sometimes not. But I don't have to change sheets every morning.......Besides that bladder of a child is like the last thing to grow. My best friend's 7 yr old daughter had bed wetting issues for a couple of months.

I know how you feel 2 of 4 children wet bed until they were about 12 years old...DO NOT under ANY circumstances punish them for this. This is something beyond their control...it would be like your boss firing you because it rained and he wanted the sun out that day. Try getting up around 3am... wake him up and carry him...if necessary...to bathroom and see how that works...otherwise teach him how to change the bed...at least get the sheets off and to put dirty linen and PJ's by washing machine...get some fabric refresh at Wal-Mart...bottom shelf under fabreeze...only $1.27 a bottle. Place 1/2 cup or so...I use liquid soap so I use capful...in wash...will eliminate ammonia smells. In a perfect world we could get up every night, get a good nights sleep, and go to work the next day...but as I live in real world I learned to deal with bedwetting children. My 2 children are 12 & 14 now and no accidents in over a year.
Good luck.
K.

Hi H.,

I too have a 4 year old that does not wake up at night to go to the bathroom. We decided not to make a big deal out of it and have put him in pullups during the night. He was so relieved. I would just give him time. Good luck!

Believe me, you aren't the only one with this problem! My daughter is almost 6 and still has accidents. At times she'll go a few days without accidents, but typically she has at least one accident every night. It's extremely frusterated, especially when she's doing a little better and then gets worse. Normally this coinsides with her growth spurts.

I spoke with my Dr. at Jordan's 5 year appt. He told me what I already knew, that accidents are very normal at this age still. He suggested that I keep her in pull-ups for now since she really has no control over things. He also suggested plastic sheets. Oh yeah, and lots and lots of patience!

Don't sweat it. This is actually a small thing. My son still wets the bed at 5. We have tried all the suggestions, no drinks before bed, waking him in the middle of the night, etc. I talked to my mother-in-law about it since she raised 2 boys. She told me it is something that he will grow out of and that she went through the same thing. Lots of parents worry about it but remember that your son is still growing and sometimes the body doesn't grow as fast as the mind. I quit worrying about and my son is aware of the issue. He has good nights and bad nights. We use pull ups as well as having a rubber bed protector under his sheets. He will tell us if he wet the bed and we have a little more laundry but at least he is learning to recognize it.

Best of luck!

My daughter was the same way. I cut her drinks off about 1-2 hours before she would go to bed and then would make her go to the bathroom before she fell asleep. I know this gets costly but have you thought about putting pull ups on him just at night? What you are doing is good. I don't know how you can get him to go potty since he is asleep when you get up. I had carried my daughter in there, pulled down her pants and had her sit on the potty until she went, usually wasn't a long time before she was going, then I'd put her back to bed. She still had her accidents but as of lately she's been dry for well over a month straight. MY husband and I have noticed that she is starting to get up in the middle of the night too to go potty.

I would agree with everyone else. Just put him in Pull-UPs. My four-year old was potty trained at 2 yrs, but still hasn't got the night time thing down pat yet. I figure when he's ready, it will happen. Got tired of washing sheets and waking him up! No more pee sheets and no more stress! :-)

He may not be able to wake up yet and go to the bathroom. Save yourself a lot of trouble and just give him a pullup at night incase he has an accident. I have an almost 5 yr old who can't wake up to o yet. They say boys bladders don't mature as fast....and if you were the same way as a child it may be a bladder issue.

H.,, I'm not to that age yet and only getting my almost 3 year old in the midsts of potty training, but the things i have heard from other moms when talking to them about potty training is that night is the hardest and that it will take time and it can be hereditery for how long it can take to catch on the night thing. sometimes even being 6-7 years old.. have you talked to your dr yet to rule out anything wrong physcially? i would think if he has gotten down the day time routine it probably isn't but maybe that would rule out one thing. and maybe they would have some support for you.

maybe put him back in night time diapers/pull ups and then you won't have to worry about him sleeping in it and doing all that laundry:-P
maybe then too, he will not like the diapers/pull ups more and work towards recognizing the feeling at night just to get out of the diaper faster.hahaha..

i wish i could be of more help..
T.

Cut off his juice an hour or hour and a half before bedtime. This is what I do with my four year old and she doesn't ever have to go to the bathroom at night.

You know what H. I am glad you Wrote this Because I am having the same problem, and I have tried everything. Doing the alarm Clock, No liquids after 7pm, the whole nine yards, I have put him back in the pull ups at night time. My Dr. Said just give it time, you don't want to push so hard that he refuses to. So I am back at the pull ups! She said when he is ready he will tell you. Just like he did when he was ready to go to the bathroom.
Take care,
K.

My son will be 5 tomorrow and still wets the bed. My brother wet the bed up until jr high, so I give my son a pull up and figure it will be something that comes in time. He is potty trained during the day, just fine...and will sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, but he's like your son..once he's asleep, there's no getting him up......

I also have a 4 year old who is going through the same thing. I used to wake her and take her to the bathroom in the middle of the night. She would just fall back to sleep on the toilet. I put her in pull-ups. Her bed isn't wet anymore and I don't have to disturb her or my sleep. It is just a phase. Your son could be going through a growing spurt and his bladder isn't growing as fast as the rest of him. I wouldn't worry about it, he will eventually grow out of it. This is actually the second time that we have had to put my daughter in pull-ups. If it is too big of a problem, you can always take him to the doctor and get a medicine to help him at night but I would be patient, try pull-ups and try not to get too upset with him. It's not his fault.