Daytime Wetting in 7 Year Old

I just want to tell you my heart goes out to you. I wish I had advice for you. I will be on the look out for some. Best of luck.

M.

I would look into what may be happening at school. Is he getting bullied at school...is the teacher affecting him in some way...is he being teased? Sounds like something isn't right, if medically there is no answer. Those are the first things that come to mind. Hope it get solved quickly.

It could just be that he is growing, adjusting to things inside his body, etc. My 7 year old's primary problem is wetting at night.

Have you discussed with your doctor something like DDAVP to help keep him dry? It is a synthetic hormone that works as an anti-diuretic to dry him. This way he can eat and drink as normal.

Also, is he aware that he is doing this? Is it truely an accident, or an act of defiance?

Hope this helps you to look at things from a different angle!

Good luck,
S.

Honestly I don't have a lot of advice. My friend went through the same thing with her daughter and she bought her a watch with a timer that went off every 2 hours to remind her to go to the bathroom. Hers actually ended up being a kidney issue. She actually just had surger last week for it.
I really just wanted to give you props for putting your son first. It's unfortunately so rare these days. Good luck to you. It sounds like you should be proud of how well you're doing as a parent.

My 5 year old daughter did the same thing. After many tests, we figured out that it had to do with her bowels. I never considered her to be constipated because she would have a movement everyday. Her stools were hard though, and the doctors at Riley said these hard stools were pushing against her bladder. We started her on a stool softener and increased fiber (and water!) in her diet. Now we control this with only diet.

I've read all the posts and two things come to mind that were not mentioned. First frequent urination is a sign of diabetes. Is he showing other signs like drinking a lot of fluids because of thirst? Second, my son has had the same problem and he had trouble with a lot of his pants and not being able to undo them by himself and he would not ask for help. I now am careful about what pants he does and does not wear to school, problem solved. The posts on constipation are on the money too, studies have proven that.

I noticed in your bio that you stated you are a widow...so sorry for your loss. Could this possibly be affecting your son even though he was really young and not able to understand it fully. He may be having some emotional turmoil now, and experiencing thoughts and questions about the death of his dad? Another thought...could it be for more attention? Does he get to go home when he has an accident, or does he get out of class? I'm sure you've asked yourself many of these "?" already.

Hope everything works out for your son.

Most likely at the age of 7, your son is starting to go through growth spurts. Sometimes the bladder does not keep up with the growth and is undersized for the child. My son had the same problem at 6 and 7 years old. Most likely, but I will not say 100%, your sons body is growing to fast for the bladder to keep up. Ask your doctor about that. It might help.

I actually teach 7 year old kids. Unless there are special circumstances a boy his age is not going to wet his pants just to get out of class. It's a mortifying event when it happens and I can't imagine he'd do it on purpose. That being said, special needs is a whole different story so if that is the case then it could be any number of things. I would highly suggest a serious conversationw with him and asking his pedicatrician for a counselor's referral who specializes in working with children. If he's feeling effects now of his dad's passing (my deepest sympathies for the two of you) or being bullied or is having anxiety issues for some other unknown reason he needs someone's help. Counselor's who specialize in children often do art, games and play to get to the root of the problem so please don't be hesitant about the stigma attached. He doesn't understand that and when he does talk about it with his friends and teachers he/she (the counselor) will most likely be described as a person who lets them read book, paint, draw, play in the sand, etc. God Bless. I hope this helps

We had this problem with our 7 year old just a few months ago. I knew she could make itall day with out wetting herself. We tried taking things away but it got worse. I finallt went to the store and bouoght some tic tacs, you can get any flavor. I took an old script bottle, took the label off and got some plain lables from the office supply store. While my daughter was at school I put a plain lable on it and had my mother(so she would recognize my hand writting) write her name on it and write from Dr.(you can put his Dr's name on it) I have her take one every day before she leaves for school. She has gone over a month without having an accident. If you can trick him and tell him it is from the DR he might go to the potty at school instead of wetting his pants. It worked for us I hope it works for you. Just a thought, you might try it. If is does GREAT!! If it doesnt you are only out the cost of the tic tacs and the labels. Let me know how it works for you!! GOOD LUCK!

http://www.matthewwoodherbs.com/Apointments.html

i have been reading this man's books They are wondeful. You can contact him at the link above. He mentions sumach in the book i am reading now but i would definately contact him for an appointment. An Very sweet old woman just the other day told me of using a teaspoon honey before bed for her grandson who was spending the night- my son is 10 and recently had stopped the several night bed-wetting but still the occasional bedwett. This has worked for us twice where he did not even go to the bathroom b4 bed which is awesome. It is worth trying a teaspoon before school. i also noticed a woman (Kendra?) telling you of her children cutting out the artificial blabla in food to cure their day-wetting. There are also natural herb teas you can use to relieve constipation that will rehydrate the tissues and secretions and the man whose contact info i gave you above will be familiar with these if your son's stools are hard- as i see some moms have written to you that their children had this affecting the bladder...he can also sell you the herbal teas/tinctures/homeopathics he recommends.

Hello my name is M. and I have a 6 year old that has the same problem. He started with the night time problem of not getting up to go. However, the problem became bigger when towards the end of his kindergarten year. I took hime to the doctor as well and everything checked out okay. He was also sent to a specialist but they could not find anything. At the time he was using the bathroom on himself constantly, he would not go to the bathroom at all. I believe something happened to him while in school due to the way the teacher treated him. He loved to go to school then he begged to go to another school. I could not change schools at the time because I waited to late. He is in the first grade now but he still has the problem. He likes school and wheres a pull-up daily all day but he does go to the bathroom more than before. From what I heard from different people it is more common now that you find more children with this isssue. Some days I get even more fraustrated. He has even asked when will he stop wearing pull-ups. If you find a solution please share.

Hi E.,

Is there something at school bothering him? My nephew lived with us and would from time to time do the same thing. We could not figure it out. In his case we thought it was to get attention. Could you set up a reward of some sort to do a special activity if he achieves certain milestones. Also watch his liquid intake. We also had night bedwetting. I wish you the best of luck.

He may have gone 3 times, but may not be emptying his bladder all the way. Maybe he's hurrying too much. My 5 yr old daughter is also having daytime wetting problems. We were told to have her try to go 15 minutes after she just went to see if she could go again. (Sometimes she can.) She is also mildly constipated which may be putting pressure on the bladder. We started with our pediatrician and are now seeing a pediatric urologist. Daytime wetting can be caused infections, growth spurts, and muscle spasms.

I'd call your doctor and say that you want to get in now. If you do need to go to a pediatric urologist, it may take a month or more to get an appointment.

Boys bathrooms have urinals and I think some boys don't want others to watch them while they pee. Maybe he is going into the bathroom, but not actually going pee. My son, I found out, would only go for a while if there was an empty stall. So, if the stall (usually only one or two in a boys bathroom) was occupied, he would not go at that time & hold it until later. It is definately worth talking to him about, if he is embarrassed for others to maybe see him pee. I don't know how men do it, we ladies are so used to having our little privacy to use the bathroom!!

My heart goes out to you. It is a terrible feeling when something is wrong with your child and you can not figure out how to help. My question for you would be: Does he ingest artificial sweeteners of any kind (in drinks, food, candy…)? My son had a somewhat similar problem. I was told by a few holistic practitioners that artificial sweeteners cause bladder control problems in some children. Once we took all artificial sweeteners out of his diet, his problem greatly improved. Many normal physicians do not think of this as a possible problem. I hope this may be helpful in some way.

If I were you I would not deal with our sons doctor. I would take him to Dr Martin Kaefer, Pediatric Urology, at Riely Children's Hospital. Offece # ###-###-####. I feel myself he is the best. I have 3 year old twins that see him. One of my twins has spina bifiada and the other has teathered cord. My son that has teathered cord may end up with changes in is blader. Right now he can and knows when he has to pee. But this can change because of the teathered cord. He had to have an MIR to find it.
Well that is were I would start and then if that is not it then look in to emotional problems that can up.

check to see if he's being bullied i was going to suggest that it may be because of a younger sister or brother but then i read you have none, his kidneys or bladder may be weak my daughter's was and i was told not to let her have any thing to drink after 6pm maybe try not to let him have as much at school

I agree with Joyce----there is something going on at school. Your son is at an age where this should not happen without a medical condition. Since there does not seem to be one then I suggest talking with your son about school-possible bullies-or teacher (any of them) he may have some emotional issues going on there.
My daughter had a real "Bi--h" for first grade. My daughter was scared of her. I got rid of the teacher and supported my child. This is your baby and he needs you to come to the rescue........good luck friend.

Hello,I feel your pain,I have a 5 year old that i could never potty train,she would pee very often and it caused problems in kindergarden,to my surprise i have a great doctor,All she had was contipation problems he prescribed lax a day and in three days the improvement was incredible.i would of never thought about constipation,When a child is constipated it puts lots of pressure on there little bladders where they do not feel like they have to go they have no control of the bladder,Beware if a child goes every day but it is hard it is constipation.i hope this helps,I dont feel it is bullying or emotional problems,,,All the best H.

E.,

I know what you are going through my DD did the same thing last year. I could not figure out what was going on our problem was she wouldn't tell anyone she would sit in soiled clothes allday well by the time I picked her up she stunk so I would have to put her in the tub immediatly. It turned out she was scared of her teacher he yelled alot. It could be several reasons kids teasing him (kids don't always tell you when they are being teased by other kids) something is bothering him especially if nothing is medically wrong with him. I would call the school counselor if he won't tell you they really helped my daughter. I hope this helps and I hope you get to the bottom of the issue I know first hand it is heart breaking when something is going on and you don't know how to help.

Talk to your son and make sure that there isn't an issue with a bully. That will, at times, stress kids out enough that they do things like this that are out of character. Good luck, Shannon

Hi, E..
Kudos for you for being an awesome "parents!"
Maybe he is feeling a little insecure.
My daughter suffered eneurisis, albeit
only at night time, from time to time and
I always consulted the docs about it.
She stopped for good when I got married
and she was a lot more secure at last.
I know that isn't really a "solution," however
it was an answer that she couldn't give me,
I couldn't devise and is very clear to me now.
So do all you can to make sure he feels very
secure in the world. At home, at school, etc.
Use your imagination and spiritual guidance
to make sure he knows that he is safe.
He likely doesn't want to get up and ask
to go to the bathroom at school for some reason.
Help make him feel strong and confident any way
you know how. Bless you and your family!!

Hi, E.. If there are no changes on the homefront, my first thought is that something is going on at school that no one is telling you. Will your son tell you if there is someone picking on him at school or does he just "tough it out"? Is everything okay between him and the teacher? Does she ever belittle him or lose patience, etc.? If you have reassured your son that NO MATTER WHAT, you are always on HIS side, and you can only help him if you know what's going on, but he still says everything is fine at school, then I'd say call the doctor back and tell him you want to know what the medical reason is that this is happening. Good luck! I hope everything works out quickly for you and your son.