5 Year Old Having Difficulty Staying Dry All Night.

Try a bed alarm. There are several to choose from on the internet. I used them with my oldest daughter and I have a few friends that have used it with great success also. I tried the waking up at night, but that really didn't work. The alarm lets her know when she is going and wakes her to finish in the bathroom. Good Luck!

I went through this with my daughter until she was 7. After testing her for everything, including diabetes, I finally went to see a Naturepath. What she told me worked IMMEDIATELY to stop the problem...

The Problem: The bladder releases when blood sugar drops so keeping her blood sugar levels up is the key to her sleeping through the night.

The Solution: Give her a substantial high fat/low sugar snack before bed. This will regulate her blood sugar levels throughout the night.

Water should be given liberally before bed because dehydration releases the bladder as well (the brain thinks it is starving and blood sugar drops when dehydration sets in).

Bedtime snacks high in protein include: Cheese with bread or crackers (or just cheese), peanut butter or nut butter with bread or crackers, bean and cheese burrito, fish ~ tuna on toast... what ever you child will eat that is high in fat/protein and low in sugar (make sure your peanut butter is not sweetened).

Water, water, water ~ allow her to drink until she isn't thirsty anymore.

You won't believe how well this works. Start today and she will be all over the bed-wetting literally over night.

When we were night training our two daughters, we woke them twice a night, at 12 and 3, and took them to the bathroom. We set our alarms and we'd each take one turn a night. It was hard on us to have to get up at night like that, but the girls got used to getting up at night to use the bathroom and they got used to the schedule--as did their bodies. Even now, several years later, I still notice the girls getting up around those times to use the bathroom. Good luck!

You have already gotten some great advice, but I would like to suggest something. Kegel exercises. It may be hard to explain to you daughter but if she can strenghthen those muscles it my help her learn to wake up to the urge. I know it helps us during and after pregnancy, why wouldnt it help a young girl with newly developing muscles.

My 4.5 year old son struggles with the same problem. My ped said it's normal until the age of 7-8 in boys..so I bet it's normal for girls til 6-7...ask your ped for advice. One things for sure reading all these responses is that no one has the same answer!

I recently discussed this with my daughters pediatrician and he said that not to worry about it or make a big deal about it until she is 8 or 9 years old. My daughter will go 4-5 days staying dry and then have 4-5 nights where she wakes up wet. She is such a sound sleeper that I can literally vacuum right by her door and she doesn't move a bit.

My daughter has crossed every other developmental milestone with ease, but this is one that seems to be more challenging. Hang in there, you are not alone.

You may just have to wait for her bladder to mature. My oldest is 7 and we do the same things: limit liquids before bedtime, go potty last thing before getting into bed, etc. But he STILL might wet the bed. My son is a very deep sleeper, and I also tried waking him up to go but (like your DD) his accident times were too varied. I know exactly what you are going thru! All I can suggest is what we do-- put some kind of waterproof pad under her sheet, on top of the mattress. If she wets, then she wets. Wash the pad and sheets and hope that her bladder matures soon.

Poor girl, I can imagine she is very frustrated. My daughter had the same issues. She would wake up sometimes so frustrated cause she had wet that it ruined her whole day. Not to mention it is frustrating as a parent when she has been potty trained during the day for so long. I persisted with my doctor expressing my daughters frustration and he told me not to worry she would eventually grow into her bladder. After a year of hearing that, I checked with a different doctor who gave me a spray that we put in her nose each night before bed. It truely worked miracles. She has been dry ever since. We used the spray for three months and then stoppped and she continued to stay dry. I can't remember what the spray was called only that it had to be refridgerated and was 100 plus dollars for a one month supply. If your sick of waiting for her to grow into it then check with your doctor to see what he can do to help. Good luck. my daughter just turned 7 and continues to stay dry.

I have a 10 yr. old son who has struggled with on and off bed wetting. A friend of mine showed me an article in the health section of Parents magazine about tonsils and how they affect night time breathing problems and related symptoms. Some of the possible symptoms discussed were restless sleep, difficulty waking, morning headaches, daytime behavior problems, poor academic performance in middle school, crying over little frustrations, and bedwetting. The pediatric otolaryngologist stressed the importance of getting an accurate diagnosis. In the article, the little girl was being checked for ADHD and what it ended up being was she wasn't getting enough sleep because of her tonsils. She had trouble with all of the above symptoms which my son does too. We too are looking into having his tonsils removed because our doctor says they are quite large and he has had a lot of strep this year. It will be interesting to see if this helps. Just thought I would share the info. just incase your daughter is having any of these symptoms. I wish I could give you the month the article was written in Parents magazine, but I don't have it. God's blessing to you!

I have been told that sometimes this is due to their hips being slightly out of place. We had this problem with our son and took him to Body and Sole and got the hips aligned through a form of massage/adjustment and had no problems after that.

This is almost the age when they suggest talking to her pediatrician to test for physical causes, but you might want to see if she can learn to be aware of her dreams first. When I was about that age, I discovered that sometimes I was dreaming that it was okay to "let loose." I taught myself to wake up from any dream like that and go to the bathroom. Have her tell herself as she's falling asleep that she Will know when she's dreaming and she Will wake up when she needs to. This technique can come in handy if she ever starts having nightmares, too.

My son who is 8 is still having these problems. What our doctor told us to do was to buy a moniter that will wake your daughter when she starts to pee. It may take a few times to have her catch herself not peeing completely, but it is worth it. It is also loud enough you should be able to hear it, if you are on the same floor. However at 5, I wouldnt worry to much yet, being she is such a sound sleeper, she misses the signs and it takes time to overcome that. My son's doctor said it will still take him time. She also said to not wake her yourself, because it should be your child's responcibility and they will just learn to depend on you instead. Good Luck!

Hi, S.! I would not worry at all about her. I used to wet the bed until I was 13, and now my 10 year old still has problems wetting the bed probably 1-2 times a week. I used to buy pull ups, but now have bought a mattress cover that goes on top of the sheet and only covers a 3 foot section of the bed. When he wets, all he has to do is pull off the mattress cover and his wet clothes and go back to sleep. Of course he is older and can put on clean PJ's, but I am sure your daughter can undress herself at age 5. Even if she goes back to bed naked, she can just cover up with her blankets. You can find the mattress covers for $19.99 at Target.com. Hope this helps.

S.; one thing you can do is protect your mattress, and keep her little life free of worries, and forget the pullups, and forget the diapers, just go with big girl pannies, and if accidents happen , have her help wash the sheets, and have her help clean up the mess, even if this is every night, buy a good matress protector, or you can also put plastic pannies over her big girl pannies, and the wetness she might feel might help, some children continue to do this, for attention, so help give her attention and time, by allowing her to help you clean it up, its ok, and just be patient, and loving, and she will eventually come around, hope all works out well, D. s

Hi S.,
I've heard some children's bedwetting is triggered by artificial colors. I know of 3 families including our own.
Best of luck,
S.
SAHM of 14 year old homeschooler and part time owner of a wellness business