Night Training

Updated on December 16, 2008
M.S. asks from Bloomington, IN
19 answers

my 4 year old is still soaking diapers at night. we've taken away water after dinner, i take him to the potty before i go to bed (3-4 hours after he falls asleep) and he still wakes up with a wet diaper. what are we missing?

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K.V.

answers from Columbus on

Get rid of the diaper and use regular underwear. Use a lap pad over the sheet to help keep the sheet clean.

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D.H.

answers from Toledo on

Some children just take longer. My son still wet the bed at 8, and the doctor gave me some pills, that he said if he took for a month he would no longer pee the bed. Well after I looked the pills up and saw the side effects I threw them in the trash. I can deal with laundry, and my husbands sister helped by talking with my son because she was a bed wetter too for a really long time. We bought special briefs for him to wear at night, and put a bed protector on the bed. Eventually he outgrew it is now 20 and would die of embarresment if he saw this.

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K.P.

answers from Fort Wayne on

Hello M., I read a couple of the answers already, let me tell you my story. My mother took me to a dr. when I was around 10 and the Dr. gave me pills to wake me up after every so many hours and after the first night mother threw the pills down the stool. I felt like bugs were crawling all over me. Next when I was 16 mother took me to another Dr. that said to make me hang my sheets out on the line that it was pure lazyness. Well this really made me feel bad. Next I read where sometimes the body in that area doesn't mature early like it is suppose to. Well to make a longer story shorter on Christmas Eve was the last time I wet the bed when I was 18. It took all that time for my body to catch up with my number age. Hang in there mother did.

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J.L.

answers from Toledo on

My son was 5 before we tried this, but by the recommendation of a child urologist we tried teh Potty Pager. It hooks on the front of their underwhere and vibrates when it gets wet. In a matter of a month or so my son was completely healed. It doesn't hurt him, it would vibrate him and wake him up so he could finish up in the bathroom. Eventually he would wake up before it went off. You can only buy them on line at Pottypager.com. It was the best money spent! Especaially we tried hormonones and other things that were very costly first.

Good luck!!

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A.F.

answers from Columbus on

Hi M. - I have a 4 year old and a 3 year old who do fine during the day but wet at night. It doesn't matter if they've had drinks or not after a certain time. They just aren't ready yet is the answer that everyone, including the pediatrician, has given me. Only once in a while will they wake up to go. Other moms have told me that they had a couple of years after their children were potty trained before their children were dry all through the night every night. We are slowly having more dry nights, but I had such a hard time with potty training my children that as long as I don't have to deal with it during the day, I'm willing to put up with Night Times or Under Jams at night. We've just made going potty part of the night time routine and praise them when they do stay dry. Good luck!

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K.S.

answers from Cincinnati on

Hi there,
I sugggest getting a bigger size diaper, if he/she isn't in the biggest size. My 4.5 year still wears Luvs, size six and rarely leaks. I have also had great luck, will Good Nites. They hold soooooo much, it is amazing!The Kroger equivalent of the Good Nites work well too.
Good luck!

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P.H.

answers from Cleveland on

It's not you and you ARE doing it right. We handled the situation the same way. Before we went to bed, we got my daughter up and she still wet the bed up. We had a plastic matress pad with a moisture barrier. Negatives, such as spanking will not help, so be patient.

I had the same problem with my oldest child this went on till age 4+. My sister-in-law, the nurse, called it familiar bed wetting. Please read up on this topic. I think that it means it could be hereditary. I personally think it is related to neurological development.

My youngest was dry at 18 months at night. She teased my oldest daughter about wearing a diaper at night with, "What's the matter with you, are you a baby? My oldest daughter told her, "I'm not a baby, I just have to wear a diaper at night."

The main differance between the girls -- the bed wetting daughter was a heavy sleeper and the non bed wetting daughter was a light sleeper. This could be a part of your problem here.

Read up on bed wetting and talk to your doctor. Good Luck.

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M.F.

answers from Indianapolis on

My son is 7 and just recently started going dry at night. Our pediatrician said some kids just have small bladders and it takes them a while to stop wetting the bed. I don't think it hurts to keep trying to limit the water at night and making sure he uses the restroom before bed, but let him know that doctors say some kids just have small bladders and it's not his fault. I felt so much better after I told him that and so did he. It will happen at some time!

Hope this helps,

M.

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M.P.

answers from Indianapolis on

Sometimes kids wet the bed for several years. Talk to his pediatrician. It may just be something you'll have to deal with for a while.

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C.S.

answers from Fort Wayne on

M., have you taken him to the doctor? By taking him to the bathroom that much later than when you laid him down should decrease the chances of him wetting himself. He may have a bladder issue. Good luck! C.

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D.E.

answers from Toledo on

try eliminating any kind of milk product before bedtime...ice cream, milk, yogurt, etc....this helped me. good luck

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C.F.

answers from Cincinnati on

I was waiting for my daughter to stay dry at night before getting rid of diapers, but someone told me to try taking the diapers away and see what happened. We got a plastic matress cover and put her in underwear at night, and she hardly had any accidents at all after that. I was amazed! I'm sure it doesn't work like that for every kid, but it's worth trying.

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M.H.

answers from Cleveland on

Hi there. Although I am sure that this is driving you crazy...he will get it. I really don't think that you are misssing anything. My one son, wasn't completely trained at night till he turned 5. If you are really concerned, I guess I would ask my doctor about it. Sometimes some children take longer. I know it can be frustrating but...try to enjoy every stage...they grow so fast.

I am a SAHM of 4 great kids 18,14, 8 and 2. How time flies!
M.

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A.N.

answers from Cleveland on

Hang in there! My pediatrician said that they do not even think about nighttime training being a problem until five years old. My four year old was waking up with wet pull-ups every morning. Then, one day she decided she wanted to wear underwear to bed. This was over a month ago, and I think she's had three accidents. It is just a brain-body maturity thing--it just has to "click." I wouldn't worry too much about waking him or restricting fluids (our daughter still has a splash of milk before bed). He'll get there. Good luck!

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K.B.

answers from Cincinnati on

My son is 5, he'll be 6 in march, and still on most nights he wets the bed. His ped. said not to worry about it at all. That their bladders are just too small to hold all that fluid through the night and they sleep so hard that they don't even realize it.
I have tried to take him out of pull ups for two weeks to see if he would catch on and it only got worse. The beginning of the two weeks he was waking up after he went and we were changing the bed. By the end of the two weeks he was just waking up wet in the morning. I couldn't bare let him sleep in a pee covered bed all night!
Our ped. also said not to wake him up through the night because my brothers were sleep walkers and waking my son could bring that habit out in him if he has the gene. (AND BELEIVE ME you would RATHER have the kid peeing in a daiper at night than sleep walking and peeing ANYWHERE in the house. My poor mother through way shoes and cleaned caprets in the closets weekly because my brothers would pee into a closet thinking it was the bathroom)
On a happier note, my son is STARTING to get better. We are only wet 3-4 days a week, and have gone up to 6 dry nights in a row. It will stop...eventually. I'm good with that for now.

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E.S.

answers from Toledo on

I know how frustrating it can be when they still wet at night even after being potty trained. My little girl is the same way, and my pediatrician said it is not at all connected to being potty trained and that 40% of kids will have enuresis (bed wetting) that could continue for a year or until they are 10 or even 12. It just happens and you can't do anything about it. We spend two months doing the same as you and changing the sheets every night, but finally we decided she didn't enjoy being wet and we didn't enjoy changing sheets at 2am so we put her in Underjams (not all that expensive and have pictures of older kids on them so child won't feel like a baby) and she's fine with those. I'm going to use them for a few months then try letting her sleep in underwear again. Rest assured, you aren't missing anything and neither is your child. He just needs more time to develop the connection between his brain and his bladder at night.

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C.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

You aren't missing a thing. Some kids take awhile before they go all night being dry. Don't stress yourself about it. He will do it, it may just take a little while longer. I had some nephews who also did this and they were probably around 6yo before the doctor said okay, this is an issue. Their doc said it was just the brain not picking up on the bladder being full so they didn't wake up. So, they used a device that stimulated them when the bladder was full and it took about 2 weeks to "train the brain" to realize their bladder was full. So, like I said don't let this stress you out.

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B.B.

answers from South Bend on

my grandaughters ped said not to take the water away. It actually helps the kidneys function right. She wet the bed till she was five and a half. Then she just stopped wetting at night. The ped said if the bladder isn't ready it will not happen and some kids just develop later.

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J.H.

answers from Columbus on

My 4 year old still wets at night also. He has no problems during the day... only at night. I do find that the more tired he is at night when he goes to bed, the more likely he is to wake up wet. He often wakes up thirsty at night and we have decided to not take away water. When he wakes up for a drink, I take him to the potty first and then again after he drinks. He still is wet sometimes! I have talked to several people about this also and believe that he will grow out of it. My girlfriend had triplets and only the daughter had this issue. My older two never had this issue and we didn't do anything different with him. I think his body is just different. Other than the cost of pull-ups, I am not to worried about it :) Good luck and if you ever do find a remedy please pass it on!

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