4 1/2 Year Old Boy Still Not Potty Trained at Night

My daughter has the same problem, all you can do is try and restrict fluids before bed time. Most doctors do not consider night wetting abnormal until the age of six. Sometimes it just takes some kids longer than others to gain the ability to keep themselves dry at night. So hang in there!

I had this problem as a child. (I remember one instance of bedwetting at 6 years old) My doctor said my body grew faster than my bladder (I was a tall child). I was instructed to drink nothing after 7pm (this should be adjusted based upon bedtime). My mother also woke up each morning at around 1:00 am and walked me to the restroom. Eventually, I was trained to get up myself. I don't even remember going (my mother would tell me I got up and used the restroom the next day). It did come to an end when my bladder caught up to my body size. Good luck.

First of all, about the formula. Do you get WIC? I breastfed my kids so that wasn't an issue for me, but I know that they provide a substantial amount of formula. The number of one of the offices off of 71st and Michigan is ###-###-####. Next, about your son's bedwetting...my son is 6 and he had this problem until he was aobut 5 and a half. The best solution is to not allow any fluids after 7pm or at least an hour before nap or bedtime, unless it's just a sip of water. You need to let him know that he's not going to be allowed to drink anything so that he can drink all he needs up until that point. I asked my son's doctor about his problem with bedwetting and he said that when children are especially tired, they tend to sleep heavier and that's when accidents can occur. I would make sure he's getting enough sleep and make him use the bathroom at regular intervals. Another thing is to wake him up before you go to bed at night and make him go use the bathroom, and then wake him up in the morning if you get up before he does and take him then, also. It will get him in the habit of getting up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I hope my advice helps a little. Take care.

~N.

Someimes it takes little boys a little longer. Try stopping the liquids 30mins to an hour before bed time and try to get him to pee before bed. It seems to me he is just a really sound sleeper, so makeing sure his bladder is empty before bed might really help.

My son has just now in the last 3months stopped peeing the bed and he turned 5 in October so I know where you are coming from and like you said he was such a deep sleeper. I just kept making him go to the bathroom 2 or 3 times before bedtime and he finally got in the habbit and just gradually stopped.

Dear M.,
I also had trouble with potty training on my son but I tried doing little things to make him want to go. I would put cherrios in the potty and have him see if he could hit the cheerios or something else that my aunt is trying with her grandson have him to say bye to what ever he has done in the potty. Also if you seem to be having more trouble with him peeing in bed then you may have to get him to go before he lays down and wake him up in the middle to go again as some children can not hold their urin too long. I hope I have been some help to you.

Your Friend
J. C.

Both my boys had the same issue. When my oldest was 5 I thought for sure that it would stop. I tried everything from not letting him drink past 7 and getting him up at night but nothing worked. I then contacted a specialist and they told me that it was a sleep issue. When a child is in a deep sleep it doesnt allow them to get up. With time they will grow out of it be patient.

Try taking him to the bathroom right before putting him to bed. And not letting him have anything to drink like a couple hours before you put him down, like narrow it down to several sips of water. My little brother had this problem when I was younger, and thats what my mom did, and it helped. I wish you luck!

Maybe he's a bed wetter. Some kids just wet the bed and there isn't really anything anybody can do about it. But i have heard that for some children there is a medication that can help. don't quote me on that. It was only something that i heard from somebody so i'm not sure if it's true. But if you haven't yet, try talking to his pediatrician about it maybe they can suggest something. But remember if he wets that bed no biggie he may just be a bed wetter and he'll grow out of it and you can't really get mad at him for it so be patient talk to doc and who knows maybe doc will have a remedy. Good Luck!!

I got the same thing with my dd but she trys to keep dry b/c we have tryed to take her out of pull-ups and she trys to get up but she sleeps so deep. She crys when she wakes up b/c of it but i know how it feels to be buying so many diapers i have 5 in diapers. well 2 in pull-ups at night and then 3 in diapers all the time so i know how it feels but it will get better but can you get wic with the baby. If not email me at ckhump20 b/c i have left over formula if you need it. my baby is mostly breastfeed and i don't use it all and i would love to give it away if someone really needs it.

M.

My son was five before he was totally poty trained at night...as longs as he doesnt have accidents during the day its ok...boys are harder to train than girls in that area...what i did was during the day he wore big boy pants, and at night the pullups...and i would reward him if he was dry in the morning or got himself up at night to go...the rewards would belike extra treat, or a bigger snack, or just me and him going out for mom and me time...he enjoyed that the most, and it took a few months but it worked...but he needs to know that if he goes back to peeing at night, his fun time is taken away...it is ok, if little boys make mistakes sometimes in their pants, we all doo...i know i do...well hope it helps, and good luck

L.

Some kids just sleep to hard to wake up. They say that bed wetting isn't a problem until the kid is 5...unless you have my doctor who tries to tell people that kids aren't 100% potty trained until they're 12...what planet is he from, right? I would suggest trying to narrow it down to exactly when he's what time he's wetting himself...set the alarm for like 5 minutes before so you can wake up in time to wake him up and get him to the bathroom before he wets himself. After a while, his biological clock will set to that time and he'll wake up to go. Keep in mind that this isn't a quick fix...it could take several months to get him used to it. But one day when you wake up to wake him up, you'll find him already awake...then you'll know he's ready. But in the mean time until his biological clock sets, use the pull ups to cut down on the mess.

Hey M.,
My biggest suggestion is to go to a chiropractor. I know the expense but I had a child that would wet at night and after a few treatments she stopped. There is a nerve that can be pinched to make it more difficult to hold at night. My chiropractor was great and didn't charge me until the child was a certain age on the second child.
Or! It could be that he sees the others in diapers and is regressing.
I am not sure where you live but I am a stay at home mom with three kids as well (in Vine Grove-Flaherty) and I am apart of a mom's club (based out of Elizabethtown). We have playdates once a week, once a month we do a mom's night out, and we have a business meeting that has a variety of different things! If you want to get more information I would like to try us out you wouldn't believe the amount of advice you can get! If you want information you can send a message back on here or email me. ____@____.com
My youngest (Serenitee) was born June 5 '06 so ours are close!Thank you!

It isn't your sons fault. just sometimes, the kid's body grows faster than their kidneys. stop anything to drink b4 6. and when my daughter had problems with this, b4 I went to bed I would wake her up just enough to get her to the bathroom and she would go and I would help her back to bed. she didn't wake up too much, so she went right back to sleep. this was a every night thing, so she just started waking her own self up at the same time every night. and she stopped. she was 3. now is 5 and no problems.

my step daughter had the same problems. it is just that his kidneys are growing slower. it is very normal.

Hope this helps!

L. Kay

I had a similiar problem with both of my kids. I had to stop letting them drink after 7p.m. (there bedtime is 9pm) and it helped alot. I hope it works. Take care and good luck.

I have a much older daughter that suffers from the same problem now at least she rarely does it if she naps but once in a while she will have an accident in the car if she falls asleep on a road trip we still use goodnights for security she is 10 yrs old. I have found out that it is actually that she is a very deep sleeper. I had thought she had too much to drink before bed tried to wake her up in the middle of the night to make her pee, made her take the sheets off and put them to wash if it got on them etc.. I found through research though that some kids just are really really heavy sleepers and I know that she is even when you wake her up she is always kinda half out of it unless she gets up on her own. This might be what your son is dealing with or his bladder might not have caught up to the need yet.Just know you aren't alone.

Hi M.....have you ever tried to wake him up during the night to make him go potty? I know it's aggravating to wake them up when they want to sleep but even if you carry him to the toliet and put him on it he may go. Also I don't let my 3 yr. old have anything to drink after 7:00 at night because she goes to bed at 8:30. I make her potty before she goes to bed and sometimes I wake her up around 12 Midnight or so to let her go again. Just suggestions you may want to try. Hope maybe they will work for you. C.

Hello! Your not alone! My son will be 5 in Feb. and wears pull-ups at night and still pees the bed. I have ask the same questions that you have. He too, sleeps very hard and doesn't wake up until he is cold. I wonder if it is because they sleep so hard that they don't wake up to go potty. I try to make sure that he doesn't drink much before bed. We potty before bed and unless I get up at midnight or so to take him (which is sometimes more trouble than it's worth) he pees the bed. I had problems as a child as well but were due to issues not known by my parents at the time. Due to this, I have wondered if something has happened to cause psychological issues and that's his way of handling it. I don't want to scare you honey because I'm sure there are a number of reasons why, it's just finding out what. Could be that he's feeling left out due to the new baby. We may have to wait for them to grow out of it. I will say that no matter how agravating it can get, don't let them see your aggravation as much as possible. From my own experience, I think it makes it worse. I'm sorry that I can't help you, I just wanted you to know that your not alone.

Your not alone......My son is 4 1/2 and will be 5 in March. He is a very deep sleeper too and still wears pull ups at night but over the past few weeks he has been waking up dry alot more often than he used to. I think it just takes boys longer to get the hang of it. My daughter is 3 and is potty trained during the day but not at night yet so I feel ya on the expensive diaper thing, but I buy the generic (Wal-Mart brand). My best friend had the same problem with her daughter, but her daughter was 6, her dr. said her body was growing faster than her bladder........Hang in there

Another tip is limit his fluid intake 2 hours before bed and of course make him potty just before he goes to bed.

M.,

First of all, talk to his doctor. The doctor can give you tips on how to deal with it and check for underlying medical conditions. Becareful that you don't give your son a complex about bed wetting. Train him to strip his bed and do his laundry so he can handle the problem descreetly. They make alarms and stuff but none of that worked for my niece who wet the bed until she was 11 years old. If you're having trouble with the cost of pull-ups I would recommend you switch to cloth diapers and cloth training pants. You can find that type of stuff at greenmountaindiapers.com. Try this url below.

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/other.htm#trainingpant

I use cloth diapers on my son and we've saved over $2000.

E.

You're not doing anything wrong..Boys are really hard to potty train. I have a son who just turned 4 in Oct. and he still has accidents. I try to limit how much he has to drink befor bedtime and nap time..That has helped a lot. taking him to the bathroom every hr. seemed to get it down that way he learned what it felt like when he had to go to the bathroom. He now goes by himself, but like I said still has accidents sometimes. Try taking him to the bathroom every 30 min to an hr. and see how that helps..

First of all, we moms tend to stress ourselves out trying to get things done exactly when society thinks we should. Take a deep breath and relax. Don't worry about what everyone else thinks or says.
I do feel your frusteration. My son is three and we have been potty training for quite some time. The doctor told me that I need to stop pushing him because he is just not ready. Then I ran into a grandma in the store who scolded me because he was still in diapers. Everyone has a different opinion. My brother had a bedwetting problem. I think my son has that same problem. However, he doesn't even want to think about going to the potty. I think that may be because I keep telling him that it's making him a big boy. He says, no he wants to wear diapers and he is my baby. So, now I have started tellign him that he will always be my baby but he has to go to the potty. I just recently made an award chart and he gets a star each time he goes to the potty. Five stars equals .50 and before you know it he can get a hotwheel at walmart and he's so proud of himself. I'm hoping this technique works. Good luck.

Dear M.,I would first take him have him checked by a doctor .maybe try slowing down his drinks at night ,Bad news is I have a sister her daughter is 9 and still is wetting the bed and she has been to the doctor nothing wrong ,its totally driving my sister crazy !!I dont think she can help it because it really embarrasses her .so I dont know .!!!My husband dad said he wet the bed until he was a teen and didnt know why ?Sometimes I just think its a deep sleep problem .wish you the best of luck .

Hi M.! I am going through the potty training woos too. I am a first time mother so I don't know if my suggestions will help. I stopped putting my son in pull ups shortly after he turned 2 years old. The main reason being, that to him they felt too much like he was wearing a diaper. When he had a pull up on he just refused to make any attempt at going to the potty. Since upgrading to "big boy undies" he atleast tries to make it to the potty.
As far as peeing in his sleep. Iwould try getting him on a somewhat regular schedule. I would make it a point to wake him up every so often and have him go to the potty. With the regular schedule hopefully it will help him to eventually do it on his own. You will need to know how often he normally goes during the day. Also try to limit his fluid intake after a certain time at night.

I understand your frustration....
Is it possible to talk to your doctor about it. There is a medication that can be taken that tells the body to stop peeing.
It is called dDAVP. It wears off rather quickly (my son has to take it twice for a medical condition - but not the bed wetting) so it wouldn't last all day long, just at night.

Good luck.

I know you've already gotten some responses, but I just wanted to emphasize that this is totally normal. Some kids are not completely potty trained until 12!!! You can try all the tricks of no drinks for 2 hours before bed. Waking up before YOU go to bed so he can go to the bathroom. Sometimes these things help, but usually it's a LOT of trouble when his body is just not ready. If you don't want to buy pullups, have him sleep on a plastic sheet protector. Have a couple of sheets for his bed and a couple of blankets a couple of pairs of pajamas, so you can alternate. Every other morning you will have to wash. It's gross, but it's cheaper. For me, the sooner I accepted it was going to be a while, the easier everything was. I was not stressed about getting him potty trained. My ds FINALLY is dry every night and he is 7 1/2. He has been dry for about 3 months! I did use the pullups for 99% of the time!
Never make him feel like he is doing something wrong. It's not his fault! Good luck!

J.

I feel your pain as my son is in the same situation - with us however we have a family history of heavy sleeping and bedwetting - the doctor said that especially with boys a high percentage ar enot fully dry through the night until 2nd grade!! That's a 7 year old. The doctor also advised not to shame him or bring it up as an issue - she said the best thing to do is start making him take responsibility - oh I see you had an accident strip your sheets and put them in the washer and lets get your bed remade - it makes him be accountable for it and has helped alot!! Good luck!