Bedwetting at Four

Updated on October 04, 2010
A.C. asks from Mableton, GA
15 answers

Does anyone have advice on preventing a four year female from wetting the bed at night?

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B.D.

answers from Sumter on

Just be patient and she will grow out of it. It is not her fault. Do you have a family member that wet the bed when they were little? It runs in the family. My husband wet the bed when he was a boy and my son wet the bed for years. We put him on medication to help but I did not like the side affects. I could buy a box of goodnights for the price of the medication and I wasn't putting anything into his little body. Just be patient and do not disciple her because she can not control it. Put a pad on her bed and goodnights on her at night and you both can have a restful night. Good Luck!!

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Night time dryness... is not something attained until even 7 years old.
It is a BIOLOGICAL maturity of their organs.

Normal.

My daughter, was already 5 years old, when she could then wear underwear to bed. Prior, she was wearing night time diapers.
My son is 4 now... and he still needs diapers for naps and bedtime. Normal.

I would really recommend you also get waterproof bed pads, to put under her. This helps make clean up super easy. IF my kids leak on the bed, all I have to do is change the bed pad. I have 4 of them I got from Amazon.
I don't have to thus, wash or change the entire bedding/sheets.

It is a biological attainment. Your daughter is only 4.

Even older kids, have accidents at night. It is childhood. Accidents will happen.

Pull-ups at night, is useless. It does not hold much, leaks and is expensive. Just use night time diapers. Huggies has them.

all the best,
Susan

4 moms found this helpful
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C.M.

answers from St. Louis on

My four and six yr old girls still wear pull-ups at night. Mine can't yet seem to stay dry for more than 3 nights in a row. All of my nieces and nephews on my husbands side were between 7-9 yrs old before staying dry at night. My husband was late too - so it just runs in our family.
It's a developmental issue, like Dori mentioned their bodies have to grow and mature into it. It's different for every kid.
My girls have calendars and they get a sticker each morning they wake up dry so we can keep track. 2 wks dry every morning and we'll take away the pull-ups.

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D.W.

answers from Gainesville on

No. Perfectly normal until up to 6. The body has to be physically mature and produce a hormone that aids in night dryness.

Use whatever protective undergarments you like to keep the sheets and her jammies dry at night. For us it was cloth diapers-I never equated diapers and being a baby so my son never minded having his "nighttime undies" as we called it and understood that it was to help him stay dry at night so he didn't wake up wet. He started staying dry consistently right before age 5.

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L.S.

answers from Spokane on

Yeah, I asked my doctor about this (as my own 4 year old still wets her pullup every night) and she said not to even worry about it till 5-7 years old. All kids are different and some are just not able to stay dry at night till they're a little older. Don't make a big deal about it and just let nature take it's course!

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C.S.

answers from Houston on

Nope- at 4 it's still within normal range for night wetting. My four year old just stopped wearing pull-ups at night about 6 months ago and still wets once or twice a week- I've learned just to deal with it. I keep her in the panties at night because she is dry more than wet but if she started to wet more I'd have no problem accepting that she wasn't ready and putting her back in pull-ups at night. Children develp at different rates and staying dry all night is just part of that. I'm sure you are trying to limit drinks after dinner and making her go right before bed- not much else you can do. I know some people wake their children in the middle of the night to take them but I just can't see doing that- sleep is so important. My advise is not to stress- if she stays dry during the day but just can't make it all night- she just might not be ready.

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

Let her grow. Night dryness is a physiological issue, not a behavioral one. When the bladder is mature enough to hold the urine all night and/or wake the child when the need is great, than she will be dry at night, not before. This happens for most children between the ages of 2 and 6, but can happen much later for some, my nephew is 8 and is just getting it, and my cousin was 12. Until her body is ready, let her sleep in pull ups. Once she has several dry mornings in a row, than you can try going to undies at night.

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D.P.

answers from Pittsburgh on

Totally normal for many kids. Deal as best you can & use Pull Ups at night.

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R.F.

answers from Dallas on

This is a great question. My four year old still has wet pull-ups at night. Her Pedi wasn't too concerned about it. She still has accidents during the day. Occassionally I hear her get up at night to go potty, so I know her 'sensors' are starting to work when she has to go. Limiting her liquid intake doesn't always work - sometimes she is dry, sometimes her pull-ups are full (or leaking). It's my understanding that this is a 'wait it out' situation. I know it's hard.

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A.S.

answers from Atlanta on

Put her in Pull-ups each night and don't worry for a few years. My 6 year old is still in pull-ups and wet almost every night. The pediatrician didn't think it was worth exploring until after she reached 7. He brought up the waking the kids twice a night and the bell alarm on the undies, but he said that physically she is fine and she is still growing and not to worry.
I would take your daughter to the doctor to make sure there is nothing physically wrong with her and then let it go and not make a big deal of it.

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P.

answers from Spartanburg on

I wish I knew. We still have occassional accidents at 4 and she will sleep right through it sometimes. If she has a big drink before bed, I put a pull-up on her. I just started this this summer after being out of pull-ups for 2 years. But running around in the summer heat and not allowing her to have water was not an option.
The best thing to do is limit liquids in the evening and force her to go potty before bed - then cross your fingers!

S.L.

answers from New York on

When my son turned five I took him out of pull ups and woke him up to take him to the bathroom right before I went to bed-around 10:45, 11:00, he stayed dry but we got him up all that year

B.C.

answers from Norfolk on

Pull ups. Keep using them till she's dry every morning for 2 weeks.
There might still be accidents after that, but at least you'll know it's possible for her to make it through the night and stay dry.
My son used them over night till he was 7 yrs old.

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J.K.

answers from Atlanta on

Totally normal:) Peds say full development there not until 8 or 10 in some cases. Get a pad or mattress protector and pullups for now -- pad or mattress protector will help after gets better for just-in-case protection.

Limit drinks one hour to 90 min before bed -- a 4 oz glass or less -- and be sure you take her to pee right before she goes to bed (my 7 yr old girl doesn't remember -- I get pushback sometimes but I just say no pee, no story). Also, if you read before tuck-in, ask before you leave if she has to pee again (my 3-yr son does this up to 3x before sleep).

Then, before you go to bed, even if 1/2 asleep, take her to go again. She should fall right back to sleep afterward. If she doesn't go a week or so with this second "go", then perhaps the limiting liquids and such did the work.

Lots online on this and good luck:)

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A.B.

answers from Atlanta on

It's totally normal. Get a mattress pad and some pull-ups.

My daughter wet the bed and she also had some behavior problems. Turns out she has ADD/Impulse Control. ADD messes up the sleep/wake cycles in kids and can cause wetting. After my daughter started a stimulant medication she stopped wetting.

If your child has no behavior problems, then just be patient... you've actually got some more years before this is considered a problem.

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