My Almost 5 Year Old Still Sleeps with a Diaper

My daughter was in the same boat, she was fine all day but at night she needed a pull up cause she still wet the bed. I read all sorts of things about cutting out liquids, etc.
Her problem wasn't liquids, it wasn't even a problem so to speak. She was/is just such a heavy sleeper that she wasn't waking herself up to go to the bathroom. It wasn't something I could fix because waking her up to go was hard. She was sleeping so soundly. After about 3 months she just completely stopped going in her pull up. She still doesn't get up through the night, she just has the bladder control to hold it until the morning. getting mad doesn't help, it just may be something you have to wait out.

Little boys wet their beds up to age 12and it is considered normal.

dont worry just on mornings when hes dry praise praise praise that will help get the message across.

hope this helped,
K.

Hello A.,

I went through this same thing--my son just turned six. I first focused off of it mentally--that helped a lot. I also told him he could not have anything to drink 90 minutes before bedtime--and then requested that he "try" right before bed--usually with success. Finally, I put a large black garbage bag on his mattress, then covered it with a rubber sheet--so that if he did have an accident we just had to wash the rubber sheet and the top blanket. The accidents went from once or twice a week to once every month or so--I can't remember our last one--within a few months--I just found I needed a system.

Hope that helps and take care.

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My son is 5 and a half and we have to wke him up TWICE a night to go to the bathroom or he will be laying in a puddle in the morning.

A.:
My son was having accidents at that age too. The weird thing was that it started after he was 4 since he was potty trained since 2. The doctor told me it's normal until about age 7. He told me to strictly limit liquids to 2 hours before bedtime and to track it. I did that and in addition, my husband and I wake up during the night to take him. It worked; now he gets up on his own.

So if he pees right before bedtime at 9 pm--my husband will take him between 11 pm and 12 pm. Then I would get up at 3 am and take him. I haven't even done that in a while so it has worked and took a while. Limiting the liquids is very important too.

Amaryliss, I believe it is ok. My sisters daughter needed to use a pull up till she was six and then she was fine. I learned a hard lesson when my daughter was 3. i never tell anyone what is right or wrong with there child, I always offer advice on what I did that worked, but it is not easy and every situation is different. Just do what feels right to you.
C.
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Some children just have weaker bladders than others. My first child,7, wore a pull-up till she was 5 and then still had a few accidents. However, my 3 year old, second child has been out of diapers for awhile and doesn't have accidents. Every child is different as with potty training. Don't rush him, and don't listen to anyone else either. He could be a really heavy sleeper and not realize to get up and he may have a small bladder. I would try cutting off all liquids at least 1hr. before bed maybe longer. Then also look at waking him up at some point in the night to get him to go to the bathroom to get him used to getting up and going to bathroom. I hope this helps. Don't worry he is not the only one trust me!

Believe it or not godparents don't know everything!*thud* Have you had your son checked by his Pediatrition just to make sure there are no physical reasons for his bedwetting? Your son's doctor should also be able to give you ideas on how to help your child and other possible causes for his problem. I have a friend who wakes her child up around 11pm. for a trip to the potty. This works for them because he sleeps so hard he doesn't wake up when his bladder is full. I wouldn't get rid of the pull ups (they make ones that are like underpants now for older children). Which is worse and more emotially difficult for you and your son, wearing the pull up or changing sheets in the middle of the night?

Not your fault at all. Some children just take longer to be able to go all night without accidents. Your outside family needs to mind their own business or be more supportive. I am sure that he does not like having accidents at night but, how is he to control it while he is sleeping. My daughter was 4.5 when she finally stopped needing pullups at night. My pediatrician said it takes some children up to 7 for their internal switch to be able to shut off at night. Why do you think pullups come in larger sizes? If you are truly concerned consult with your pediatrican/family practitioner
to see if he needs to be seen by a specialist. All you can do is having him stop drinking 3 hours before bed, have him go right before bed and maybe wake him before you go to bed. But none of this will help until his body is ready. Be patient it will happen. Good Luck!

Hi A.,
Many times bedwetting especially in boys is due to a physical condition, which they grow out of. You should talk to your sons doctor about it to see what if anything they can do. Just be patient, he will be fine.

Hi. My mom (rest her soul) said my brother had a problem with accidents at night till he was 12. She fixed the problem by setting her alarm for every two hours and got up and literally took him into the bathroom to go, sometimes he was like a sleep walker. She said it took discipline on her part but after two weeks of this he just started to do it on his own and has never had a problem since. I hope this is helpful.

My son has NO liquids after 6:30 - 7:00pm. He's 3 and almost never wets the bed.

My sister went through something like this with my neice who was probably 8 and still having accidents at night, and it was because she was a really sound sleeper and didn't respond to her body's cues that she had to go. My sister bought a system called "Wet-stop" (you can google it) that had a buzzer that clipped to her daughter's PJs at her shoulder with a wire that ran down into her underwear with a moisture sensor. When she started to pee, the buzzer would go off and wake her up so she could finish in the bathroom. It took about 2 weeks until she was waking up on her own, and then she just monitored it for another month. It came with a sticker chart and other accessories, and my sister SWEARS by it.

Hope that helps!

-Jen

What I did for my son was that I took one of his favorite characters he liked and found underwear with the characters on it. And stop the liquid intake so close to bed time. And just encourage him that he is a big boy and don't get upset if he has an accident once or twice until he builds his confidence. He will love having new unerwear and he will be out of the pull ups in no time.

Please do not stress yourself or your son out over this. If the doctor has checked him and given him a clean bill of health as to urinary problems his godmother needs to back off.

My younger son is now 16. He was a late potty trainer between ages 4 and 5 and continued to have accidents - because he sleeps so soundly - until he was almost 13 years old. This was so different from my older son who potty trained early and slept without diapers early as well.

We had him checked for all kinds of conditions, we stopped fluids 2 hours before bedtime, etc all to no avail. I refused to use that pad that gives a small electrical shock because I felt it was cruel. He would get upset every time he had an accident and it was heartbreaking. We concentrated on minimizing his bad feelings.

If your son needs the pullups then use them. That is why they make them, because there is a need. Your son is unique from all other children and noone should make him or you feel bad about this.

You say he is super smart, my son as well has a very high IQ and near perfect grades in school and now in his junior year in high school has already completed several college credit courses. His mind has always worked hard and his body sleeps very soundly.

If there is no physical problem with your five year old the bed wetting will fix itself when it is time. Just make him as comfortable as possible in the meantime, and do not make him feel or let his godmother make him feel bad about this situation.

He IS only 5 years old for goodness sake!

I have a friend who used the "Wet-stop" system or something like it (like the previous response, it "had a buzzer that clipped to her daughter's PJs at her shoulder with a wire that ran down into her underwear with a moisture sensor.") It worked for two of her kids who both had the same problem and she said it worked really fast!

I was talking with some other Moms yesterday about potty training and accidents and one of them was saying how her friends son had accidents at night until about 7 or 8. He wore pull-ups to bed too. She said that her son's doctor said that some children still have accidents at bedtime and that they don't usually start to worry about it until the child is about 6 years old. I suggest you talk to your son's doctor to see what he/she suggests. Good Luck and hang in there.

Get rid of the pull-ups and wake him for night time trips to the potty a few times until he gets used to the idea of going on his own.
Stop the liquids at 8:00 p.m for fewer trips.

Most importantly talk to him about what it feels like when he has to go so he knows it's ok and has it in mind to take action when he feels the urge.

I just went through this myself. My son will be 5 in June. In Dec. I also decided that the pull-ups at night were getting old. I discovered that if I got up early to get ready for work or checked on him in the middle of the night he was still dry. (not all the time, but a lot of the time) I discovered that he was just lazy and that by keeping him in pull-ups I was the enabler. I zipped his mattress in a waterproof cover, bought pads that could easily be put in the wash and changed his wet clothes and wet sheets a lot. The first 10-12 days there was an accident almost every night but gradually it became less and less and today we've been accident free for over 10 weeks. Also we limited the drinking at night and made sure he went before bed. Good Luck....V.

Hi A.,
I'm a mother of two (a 2 year-old daughter and a 10 month-old son). I just potty trained my daughter and I can't believe how easy it has been (not bragging). Some people have said that boys are harder to potty train so don't feel bad. My suggestion to you is to try not giving him any liquids at least 2 hours before bedtime. Do get rid of those pull ups cause they tend to comfuse them. Make him go to the bathroom before bedtime (which I'm sure you already do) and wake him up in the middle of the night and make him go to the bathroom once again. I have an e-book on how to potty train your child in three days. I will be more than happy to e-mail it to you if you are interested. Please e-mail me at ____@____.com luck A..

Sincerely,
M.
Bloomfield, NJ

Have him checked out by a doctor for Bladder Reflux. That is a huge cause for night bed wetting, and something he can't control. My daughter had it, I had it (It's genetic) and with some they just grows out of it (like my daughter did). For me, I had it so severe that I had corrective surgery; a bi-lateral ureter re-implantation. Please get him checked out. Good luck.

i guess you could try a couple things so he doesn't have accidents. cut him off of drinks a couple hours before his bedtime. make sure he goes potty right before he goes to bed. and don't put any pull-ups on him. your mother is right he is too old for them. and just in case he does have an accident, they do make plastic mattress covers so the mattress won't get wet. it will just make it easier for you. it might take a week or two, but he'll get it.

A friend of mine went through this w/her son, and what she did was cut down the liquids a couple of hours before bed time, and then woke him up in the middle of the night to go... that way he got use to getting up and going before it was too late.
Good luck!

When my daughter was about that age, the doctor suggested to wake her up and sit her on the potty eventually they would get tired of you waking them up and not wet the bed, maybe you should try that. Hope that helps.

He could have a bedwetting problem. Talk to the doc to see what's up.