My son will be 6 in December. He is special needs, and didn't potty train until he was 4. He still wets the bed, and we have tried no liquids past a certain time, and it still happens. The other problem is that he is embarassed, so he will awaken in the middle of the night wet, change pj's and move into the living room and sleep on the couch. Then he won't tell us, until bedtime and then he'll say "I can't because my blanket is wet". I don't want him to feel bad, but this is new for us. Our oldest was trained by 2 1/2, even through the night with no accidents!
This is the emailed response that I got from the pediatrician. We are already doing some of these things...but are going to try the others. Thought I would post it all, that way if someone else has this question or problem it may help them. Thanks for all your great advice and help.
Bedwetting is a very common problem. It occurs in about 15-20% of children five years old. About 25-30% of those children were previously dry at night.
It is more common in boys than girls. Most children will outgrow bedwetting even without treatment but unfortunately we do not know when this will happen. Bedwetting is not a behavioral problem therefore there should never be punishment. There are several reasons why children wet the bed from maturational delay to genetic factors to small bladder capacity, etc.
Most children have difficulty waking up from sleep. Occasionally it can be due to recent stress such as a move, new school or things like that. On occasion it can be a medical factor such as a urinary tract infection but this is not typical in boys and most likely not the cause if there are no daytime symptoms such as frequency and pain on urination.
Some tips to remember:
1. Toilet before bed
2. keep track of drinks and avoid caffinated beverages. Drink little after dinner but a few sips if thirsty is fine.
3. Encourage Shiloh to go to the bathroom during the night if he wakes for any reason.
4. Toilet him one more time before you go to bed later in the night or around 11pm one last time. Wake him and put him on the potty wether he has to go or not.
5. Give him praise for dry nights.
6. Keep a chart so we can better track his progress. You can make it a fun thing and give him a sticker on dry nights.
I hope this information has been helpful. Continue to monitor progress and if it becomes more troublesome you can schedule an appt. with your PCP to discuss.
Hi,
the lady down stairs from me has a special needs son too and he went though the same thing.She has the state medical and had the doctor write her a scipt for pull ups and she used them intill he was able to stop.She didn't say anything to him,just let it work it out himself. and it did.Try talking to his doctor.
i would talk with his doctor about it as some kids have issues with them.. I would also get him goodnites diapers that are more like underpants for older children... if you can i would sit him down and talk with him about it and expalin its not a big deal to have accidents and show him where to take the sheets if it happens or to tell you first thing in the morning so you can clena it up before bedtime that night...
then I would think about what changes have happened in his life recently that might of caused this to start happening...
goodluck
M.
my pedatrician told me a common problem for little boys was their bladder maturing slower
My son is 4. It was pretty hard for me to potty train him but i had help from his daycare. I wasn't allowed to use pullups because it's just another diaper only easier to take off. But what I did (which many other mothers wont do) was wake up atleast 3 times in the middle of the night and bring him to the bathroom. There were some nights that I would forget to get up and he would wet the bed, but it was okay because he's training. I understand that your son will be six but it is a learning process and you have to help him through it. Also throught the day ask him if he needs to use the bathroom
My son is going through the same thing. If I limit the liquids at least 2 hours before bedtime, he's okay but still will sometimes wet the bed. The only thing that has worked for me is getting up in the middle of the night and taking him to the bathroom. It has worked so far, a little bothersome because I get up at 3 am every night but at least his bed has been dry for months now.
Hi T. --
I would first look into getting him Goodnitepants so he does not wet everything. I would then take him to the doctor to see if there is a medical issue underlining the problem. My daughter will be 12 in November and she still wets the bed. The doctor up until this month had never given her any thing for it. The doctor has given us a nasal spray to use. I figure if the doctor is not worried why should I. The doctor said that she may still have the problem for a couple more years until puberty, but she will out grow it.
My daughter does sleep over's and campouts and is not embarrassed because she wears her "overnight" panties. The Goodnite pants has a web site that is filled with information http://bedwetting.goodnites.com/index.php
J.
Well, if it makes you feel any better, I wet my bed until I was almost 13 years. Old!!! Why I have no idea. But I was never one who woke up to go to the bathroom. I rarely do today 40 odd years later. But at some point in time, the bed wetting stops. My first son also had this problem, only we used the electric alarm device, and after it woke him up once, he pretty much stopped wetting the bed!!!
Bladders sometimes develop slower than parents would like. My son is 8 and still has accidents at night. We buy pull ups (they make them just for the night time and for bigger kids) and they have become part of our bedtime routine. They are a bit pricey but really it's worth if you don't have to wash sheets every day. I talked to my son's doctor and he after a few tests, they have placed him on medication to control the bladder spasms. That has helped some. I know it's frustrating but the best thing you can do is simply not make a big deal about it. Don't worry. If he potty trained late then likely he will achieve complete night dryness eventually too.
hi,
what i learned about wetting the bed at night, unless medical, or cognitive , it usually means that they have a sleep disorder where they go to deep sleep to quickly and stay there to long so they literally cannot wake up to go to the bathroom and after a while the muscle loosens up. Anyway I might try a bed time alarm to wake him up as soon as it gets wet, or see if you can find out aroudn what time it happens and wake him up a few minutes before this, or wake him up periodically at night. They also have behavioral programs to treat this, and a nasal spray that you can spray up his nose that tells his brain to contract the muscle and not release so much water. by the way certain things irritate the bladder so even if you are restricting liquids, if he is drinking caffeine or eating chocolate or some other things, that can make him go
hope this helps
C.
Put him in goodnights. My son wet the bed every night up until about a month ago. What does your Dr. say about it?
i have a 9 yr.old who occasionally still wets and a 6 yr. old who wets. to save the mattress i got plastic sheets for under their sheets. i think it cost 4$per sheet @walmart. i have 4 children so i can't afford those good nites(my other 2 are still in diapers) but if you can that would be a good way to go and would probably spare some embarassment. the thing both my boys do have to do is take responsibility in the a.m. there are no questions asked i just say "o.k. it's time to make your bed or bring your laundry down stairs". i do this because they would change into dry clothes during the night and forget about their pee sheets and when i would walk into their room it stunk! maybe you could set up a hamper in your sons room for him to toss his pee clothes and blanket into and that way there he's taken some action to clean up the mess and he doesn't have to be confronted with the "did you wet the bed?" question in the morning.
good luck,
A.
( when washing pee clothes vinegar gets the smell out)
I think everyone's advice is great. My nephew is also special needs (Aspergers Syndrome) and he wet the bed until almost 15 years old, and then he just stopped. They used to use the goodnites, and that worked so he wouldn't soak the bed everynight. They also tried medication, but that didn't work. I think some kids just mature in their own time, also someone said some people go into such a deep sleep they don't wake up if they have to go to the bathroom. My husband wet the bed until he was about 8 or 9 and his parents used the wet bed alarm, I wouldn't suggest that because it traumatized him and embarassed him.
First thing I would do was talk to his doctor. Also, he is still very young, I think it is common to still wet the bed at his age. Good luck! -P.
DID U TAKE HIM TO THE PEDIATRICIAN? MY 8 YR OLD WAS DOING THE SAME THING AND TOOK HER TO HER DOCTOR FOR THEM TO DIAGNOSE HER AND FOUND OUT SHE HAS A HYPERTHYROID DISEASE WHICH NOW IS BEING TREATED, I WOULD SUGGEST TAKING HIM TO THE DR'S OFFICE FOR AN OPPINION
My little brother wet the bed until age 8, my neice who is 11 still wets the bed, and my old sister wet the bed until she was 11. It is a condition that goes away by itself. The are big pull-ups, called good nights, they have been fabulous for my neice. My older sister also talked to someone who has a support group for this and there is something about kids who do not come out of the r.e.m sleep or don't go into it, or something like that. Sorry about the vagueness. There a re alot of people out there with this problem. Don't get frustrated!!!!
Hi! I hope this helps...
Every child is different- I had a wetting spell when I was 9!
I realized I wasnt going to the bathroom before bed at night.
I also read an article on restricting drinks before bed.
But it may just be a slow maturation of his bladder control, which is normal.
Matress cover, Goodnight underpants, spare sheets ready, and I think your ready for the next accident. : )
I hope this helps and everything works out ok.
-J.
Excellent tips! :-)
I AM 32 YEARD OLD AND I WET THE BED UNTILL I WAS 8.NOW I KNOW WHY.I HAVE SMALL BLADER AND I CAT HOLD IT IN AT ALL.WHEN I NEED TO GO THERE IS NOTHIG STOPING ME.IF I AM NOT ABLE TO FIND THE BATHROOM OR IF AM DRIVING I START GETING SICK OR I PANIC.SO THERE IS NOTHIG WRONG WITH HIM HE WILL GROW OUT OF IT .BUT YOU NEED TO WAKE UP AND TAKE HIM TO BATHROOM AROUND 3 OR 4 IN THE MORNING.THAT IS WHEN I WOULD FEEL THEE PRESURE.HOPE THIS HELPS.
A.
T.,
The wetness alarm is a great idea. Some kids really do develop physically slower in that area, and lack the muscle control until a little later on. Have you tried GoodNites? They are like pull-ups, but they come in larger sizes and are specially designed for nighttime.
The doewnside of these is that they won't work with the alarm, because they're designed to keep the bed dry. However, they will lessen your son's embarassment, because he can take the wet one off, change into a dry one himself, and not have to feel awkward and embarassed telling you his bed's all wet.
