6 Yr Old and Bed Wetting

Dont worriy he is as upset about this as you are believe me i wetmy bed until i was 13 and i sleept with my sister protect the bed it willhappen just love him we will grow out of it i hated sleeping over at some one elses house im now 86 raised 4 children none of my kids had that problem A. no hills

Most kids are not night traind until somewhere between 5-7 years of age. Until 7 I wouldn't worry (you can always bring it up with your Dr. but they probably won't worry either). Once 7, it may be a good time to rule out anything medical. In our case, my daughter is 7 and still wears pull ups (I wouldn't dream of interrupting her sleep by making her wear underwear at night or waking her to take her to the bathroom and her Dr. agreed) but bed wetting also runs in my family - big time. My side and hubby's side. So we may still have a few years of this. In your case though, by all means run it by his pediatrician first, then go from there. Sleep is very important at this age and it's no fun to wake up wet! (speaking from plenty of experience here).
Best wishes,
M.

Sometimes it takes a little longer to get to the point of sleeping through the night and staying dry, especially with boys. You may need to give your son a little bit more time and, when his body is ready for the next step, you'll know it because his good-nites underwear will be clean and dry when he wakes up in the morning. Until that time, I'd probably suggest cutting off fluids a little bit earlier in the evening so that he has a better chance of clearing it out of his system before he goes to sleep for the night. And try to make sure that he is not eating too many salty food during the day.

Hi L.,

I didn't read the other responses, so please forgive me if I repeat anything you've already heard. My only advice is to have him tested for allergies. I have known several children who have had this problem and find out later that it was due to allergies.
If you need the name of a great naturpath who specializes in this area of need, let me know and I'll get you what you need.
Best wishes!! -P. Wagoner www.MoxOffice.com

Here are some links:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ei=uLdQS5rINoqGswO...

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&a...

I would also really suggest using a waterproof bed-pad under him. That is what I use with my kids and it really helps makes clean up lots easier. You can find them on Amazon.

All the best,
Susan

To preface, I'm the mother of a type 1 diabetic, so, of course, my mind always goes to diabetes. But, I hadn't seen diabetes suggested in any of the other responses, so I thought I should at least present it as a possibility. If your son is also displaying some other indicators of diabetes (frequent thirst, frequent urination, weight loss in spite of increased appetite), you might want to get his blood tested for diabetes. Just an idea...

I believe that I would stop his fluids at 7PM and then wake him up around 10PM or before you go to bed. You may not want to wake him up but if he has a small bladder then he may need to empty it. He'll go back to sleep and you may have a dry mattress. Oh, I hope you have him shower or bathe before school each day. Bed wetters have an obvious smell in a close classroom, sitting on the floor, etc. He doesn't need to have the other students asking questions or worse avoiding him because he smells.

L.,
It sounds like you've done everything you can. You might want to try waking him up before you go to bed. You might just want to talk to your pediatrician and make sure there isn't anything biologically wrong, just to make sure! My pediatrician told me that bed wetting is very normal in older kids who have a very deep sleeping pattern, who were preemies (body still catching up) and it's more common in boys, but not to worry about it, most college kids don't use depends. HA! HA! I have an 11 yo who still wets the bed, every night. I think he's had 4 or 5 dry nights, ever. He is working hard to correct the issue, but sleeps so deep he can't wake himself up. The pediatrician said we'll work on it sometime in the next couple years if it doesn't correct itself. I make my son clean up his mess on his own and let him do what normal kids his age do. He goes to sleepovers (many times only to find several of the boys wearing good nights). II got tired of changing sheets and spraying down the mattress at 2am so he still wears good nights. I too am interested in what the other moms say.
S.

Don't stress out about it. It's not something that we all talk about in casual conversation, but this is extremely common. Thus, the big business of big kid's nighttime diapers... He probably has a small bladder, and is a deep sleeper who just doesn't wake up when he has to go at night. Do mention it to the doctor next time you are there just to rule out and problems, but more than likely it is just your son's normal developement. My girl is almost 12, and it is just starting to taper off. This runs on her dad's side and from speaking with people, I have learned how common this problem is. Don't stress your son out about it. Teach him how to deal with this situation early on so he doesn't end up being embarrassed at a sleepover. Pack his pull up in a plastic ziplock inside of a grocery bag with his pajamas. Tell him to put the wet pull up in the ziplock in the morning and to put it back it his overnight bag (rather than stuffing it in someone's bathroom trashcan) and you can dispose of it when he gets home. This sounds simple enough, but it became an issue when my daughter when to Brownie camp in the 2nd grade. Best to prepare him ahead of time... You are also correct in cutting off the fluids early in the evening. I have found soda to be the very worst...just make sure he can have a small drink of water if he is thirsty. Don't worry. This problem will take care of itself in it's own time. Just remember to remind you son that he is completely normal, but he is also a big boy who is responsible for disposing of his own pull up in the morning and removing the sheets when necessary

I swear by the miren Alarm. I bought it online.

Is your son a mouth breather? If so could be part or most of the cause. Close his mouth while sleeping when you check on him. If he has asthma you may want buteyko breathing techniques to help. I educate people for this.

My guy is 7 1/2 and has this issue. Talk to your pediatrician. This is very common for boys who do not develop mature bladders until later. However, as the previous poseter stated, have him checked for diabetes, as this was my pediatricians first thought. It wasn't, though. My son does take medication, Desomopressin for bedwetting. He still wets his pull up but the meds keeps the bed from flooding and the sheets dry. We also tried limiting drinks and waking him once or twice a night. None of that worked and we were all just tired in the morning. Definitely get a waterproof matress cover and an extra set of sheets.

Hi there...one other thing to consider is if anything is happening (emotionally) at home or at school. This came to mind as I was back in New York this summer for 5 weeks with my son, so I could help my Dad take care of my dying mother. I tried to keep his schedule "normal" and enrolled him in Day Camp, which he loved. However, we were sharing a bed at my sister's house and my little guy (4 yo at the time) wet the bed many times during that 5 weeks! Clearly there were a lot of things going on with him and around him and he had no real way to emote them, even though we talked about everything. My mom did pass during that time, so we also had the funeral, etc. to deal with...his first experience with death. I am happy to say that once we got back to LA the bed wetting stopped but I certainly feel your pain. I ALWAYS have 1 or 2 of those water-proof mats under his top sheet, just in case of pee or throw up.
Makes any clean up MUCH easier!

What I did was waking my son up in the middle of the night so he could go pee. It was just like walking your drunk friend home from the clubs, lol. He hated that so much he didn't go in his bed anymore. Good luck

My boy was EIGHT yrs old & still having this problem....That's when I got the "Malem Alarm" -
BEST $100 I ever spent! It took about 2 wks until he was free of bed wetting forever :-)