General Chat

My 5 yr old son is wetting the bed at nightime. Usually happens once a night. He used to wear nappies until a few months ago when I decided it was time for him to try and stay dry at night. However most nights he is wetting the bed.
I use waterproofs on the mattress but the bed sheets are getting wet. I don't know what to do. A friend of mine told me a Health Visitor said to cut out drinks after 6pm. But I feel cruel to do this, especially at the moment with him having a cold as he needs fluids.
what did you do? I could do with some ideas/ suggestions.
Thanks
Janet

I used to wake mine up late at night as I was going to bed myself and take them to the tiolet, they just go back to sleep on there own and wake up to a dry bed in the morning.

I did cut out drinks an hour before bedtime as well

Janet have you tried lifting your son out of bed when your going to bed & sitting him on the toilet & telling him to go?

That is what I did with both mine when they were little. Cutting out drinks at night is also good advice as long as your little one is getting plenty through the day.

You really have to stop giving him a drink early.
Also, don't let him think because you have the mattress covered, that it's ok for him to wet the bed.

I understand he needs fluids when he has a cold, but after he his better, make sure he stops drinking after 6pm. There will be tears and tantrums to begin with, but it will be worth it in the end.

Good Luck DC

I had both my sons wetting the bed until they were both 9 years old, my daughter on the other hand never wet the bed after 2 years of age.

I tried the lifting thing, only on a rare occasion did I have a dry bed.

I never stopped the drinking after 6pm as I think it's cruel especially if they are genuinely thirsty, the more fuss made over why you can't have a drink the more likely it is they will wet.

Don't despair, many children mainly boys wet the bed up until at least 10 years of age, never tell him off for wetting, I used to praise a dry bed but didn't reward them because that just made them feel so bad about wetting which they couldn't help doing, the reason they wet is because there triggers in the brain for the bladder control isn't always mature enough to let them know when they need to go even though they were dry during the day.

eventually your son will become dry, it is a nuisance to keep having to wash the sheets but imagine how it is for them to wake wet every day, it must be horrible for them.

Sorry this is a bit long, I did get some tablets from my GP for them, I cannot remember what they were, but they were to stop bed wetting on the nights they wanted to go away, like to friends or with the school, they did work but can only be used for short periods, like a week at a time, my younger son stopped wetting after he took the tablets for his week away with the school, coincidence or just his time to stop I don't know, but as I said they both stopped at 9 years old.

Be patient, he won't wet the bed forever.

Gillie XX

Try ..........giving him LOTS to drink in the morning ...get the school involved in this and the school nurse if you have one ....drinking lots in the morning stretches the bladder then helps it learn to hold on over night ........

Like you are doing no drinks after 6 .....

This is what our school nurse said ....

Lift him out at your bedtime,,,it will work maybe take a week or so,,but wet beds will get less and less,dont give juice before bedtime,,,,,give milk,,,,,,or half the normal amount of usual juice,,,,,,

Everyone says the same as me .Reduce drinks and lift for wee about 10 or so.
I think I heard about an alarm that rings if a child starts to wet the bed.It is supposed to wake them so they can go to the loo.It might be worth looking into.
I'm sure he will stop eventually.Just hope he dosen't have the mickey taken .Kids can be horrible when they know something!

hi dizzy chick i agree with forget me not my son is 8 and still wets the bed quite alot and they do need fluids my son has drinks through the night i have tried everything that has been suggested and none worked the doctor told me just to leave him and when he is ready it will all stop take carexxxx

my daughter go an alarm from the health visitor for her daughter which seems to work and now she wakes up herself when she needs to

good luck

chris x

Janet

Think my daughter was about 6 before she stopped, now she wakes up and goes......what we did was take her to the toilet before we went to bed, but i also got some of them Pampers mats and put them over the sheet as they were easier to change

Julie

When I was training my daughter I found the best thing was to keep her out of pants and PJs. When she wore them it was like her brain telling her she was wearing a nappy and it was ok to let go. If she wore just a nightie or t.shirt to bed, she stayed dry.

Assuming your son has no physical problems, dont forget that emotional problems can lead to bedwetting. I used to wet the bed till I was 11-12 - mainly because I felt unloved and insecure.

But to be safe,,have a word with your doctor or health visitor to rule out any niggerly problems there could be causing it,,,,,,but its quite nornal for bed wetting long after 5years old,,,,

someone mentioned the buzzer alarm that you can get so i would ask the doctor about that, where you can get it etc.

My daughter wet the bed every night until she was five, then she had measles and she completely stopped, i can only think that the temperature made her a bit hydrated so she didn't need to go and she formed the habit of not going.

Ann
Glos

Hiya.....see you already have lots of advice so i hope you dont mind me poking my nose in too lol

first thing to remember is that it is really really common and most PCT's (School Nurses & Health visitors) dont consider it a problem until your child reaches the age of 7 years, statistics show that
* One in six five-year-olds suffer with it
* One in seven seven-year-olds
* One in 11 nine-year-olds
Children learn how to control their bladder themselves. There is very little, if anything at all, that parents can do to 'teach' a child how to 'hold it'

Some kids just cant do anything about it so it is important not to show your cross, just be matter of fact 'oh dear well lets get you changed' no blame, no feeling ashamed or your child may start to try and hide the fact they have wet in the night

It is worth chatting to your school nurse but as i said at the beginning usually only if a child is still wetting the bed at the age of 7 will they intervene. Then there are various ways they can help, including an alarm that has already be mentioned by someone else.

xx

have you mentioned it to the doctor, sometimes it can be a medical problem, my advise like the others say dont make a big thing of it, It must be awful for him.

For more advice check out ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence)

http://www.eric.org.uk/

they have a great leaflet about bed wetting under the parents section, click on information packs and it is available there as a PDF named 'Bed Wetting Guide'

Having had two who did and two who did not wet the bed, I disagree with the lifting.
the are still half asleep and my daughter still wet the bed... after me lifting her.

My doctor told me NOT to stop the drinks as it actually aggravates the bladder.
There are so many theories, but it does not stop a bed wetter wetting the bed.
A rubber sheet will not MAKE THEM think it is okay to wet the bed.

And most of all NEVER EVER chastise them for it.
They are not doing it to annoy you and they are upset about it themselves... no need to make it worse for them.

Do go to the doctor, but ..in my opinion... don't take it to school.

Good luck with it all of you and the best I can say is, they are not doing for spite, and they will grow out of it in time.

Deanna X

i was told that drinking orange juice at night acted as a diuretic,

think no drinks after 6-00 and not orange juice as the last drink before bed might help....

I had the same problem with my 5 year old earlier this year. Read in a book that alarms were the best but to try a star chart first. I know it sounds silly but i started a star chart and gave her a star whenever she had a dry night. She went from no dry nights to a few a week and within a month was completely dry and still is. I don't know if it would work for your child but it worked for mine, don't know how or why but it did.
Good luck anyway and remember it's still normal to be wet at 5 years old.

Karen x