6 Year Old Still Wet at Night

I haven't read the other responses so maybe someone has already said this but according to my kid's pediatrician, kids can be as old as seven before they learn to wake up to go to the bathroom. He said to not put them in underwear as a way to learn because this might only cause them to not sleep well at night due to worrying about peeing the bed and upsetting you, the parent. It made sense to me!

T., I really think you need to just let her grow out of it. No amount of intervention will make her body ready before it's ready. My son is 7, and just really grew out of that this year. It is SOOOO common. Get her some "Good Nights" (Like Pull-ups for big kids) to wear at night and try to not make a big deal out of it. She's probably already self-concious. Good luck - it will happen eventually!

Not only was I a bedwetter as a child, both my kids were too. Pullups work well until they outgrow them, plastic sheets (put on under the sheets) help protect the mattress. The way I dealt with it was to let my kids outgrow it on their own as it was a matter of them sleeping too deeply to wake up and getting my son (my oldest) up at night to go was a disaster as he never woke up enough to know what he was doing and after two nights of cleaning up his mess on the back of the toilet and the wall I decided it wasn't worth it! lol What I did was to teach my kids how to help take care of it themselves. I had a special laundry basket for them in thier room and in the morning, they would strip their bedding off and put it in the basket so I could wash it (as they got older and could reach it, I'd have them put the sheets right into the washer). They knew that they weren't allowed to sit anywhere until after they'd cleaned themselves up too (you don't want wet panties on a couch!), making sure that the tub was filled with a bit of warm water and a soapy washcloth was ready for them when they got up, just in case. If they didn't need it, they'd just drain the tub. Spraying Fabreeze in the room also helps with the smell and the plastic sheets wipe up easily and kids can learn how to remake their bed with clean sheets (when they get home from school so things have time to dry out).

My kids did outgrow it, between ages 9-12. If she ever goes on an overnight, send her with pullups and tell her to change in the bathroom at her friends house. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the alarms, they will only scare her awake and that can cause other problems....she may become afraid to go to sleep for fear of setting off the alarm or she may just sleep through it and it wouldn't do any good anyway. I was threatened with having an alarm as a child and the thought that everyone in the house would know I'd had an accident as soon as it happened terrified me and stressed me to no end. Thankfully my parents decided against it and I eventually outgrew it on my own, as did both my kids. Good luck to you hun! :)

I don't have any advice for stopping it I havn't had that problem yet. but instead of buying a plasic matress cover why not use what I used when potty traing.... I worked for 6 years at a nursing home and we used soakers, i'm not sure what the real name for them is anymore but i know you can buy them on line for like $7 dollars each... they are just a big towel like thing with a cloth top and a soft plasic backing that you just have to throw in the wash and change and just put a new one on... no washing sheets all the the theim http://www.assistedlivingstore.com/c-12-underpads.aspx?gc... that is a link to what i'm talking about, later when your done with the you can find uses for them , bathroom or kids playing with something messy. let me know what you think of them please

Maybe try chiropractic?? www.chiropracticfranklin.com I have a lot of info on my website, you can learn more.

T. - believe it or not but chiropractic care can help with bed wetting. It has to do with the nerves and misalignment in the spine. If you live in the south metro area, I would highly recommend a couple of different clinics that could help with this problem.

Good luck,

D.

So long as she has good bladder control during the day, I wouldn't worry. They make "pull-ups" for bigger kids that basically look like underwear (I think they're called "Good Nights"), so there's a market for this product--you are not alone!

Also, Hanna Andersson makes "training underwear" that are really thick underwear. I don't know what sizes they come in... Depending upon how much she is urinating overnight, these might be a good option.

Hyland's (the company that makes the famous "teething tablets") also makes a homeopathic tablet for bedwetting. Maybe worth a shot. Just google "Hyland's bedwetting tablets" and you should get the info you need on them. They are OTC. We've used Hyland's products on my son--they are amazing.

Lastly--and you may already be doing this--but wake her up right before you go to bed and have her go to the bathroom.

Good luck!

We're going through the exact same thing with our oldest. We've decided to stop the Pull-ups because I think they just perpetuate the problem. The kids get used to peeing in their pants during the night, so they've got no need to wake up. I'm frankly tired of buying the things, and hate the environmental impact they have. We're going to put a waterproof barrier under the sheet, put an absorbant layer on top of that (probably some big beach towels) and then his sheet. Yes, I will be washing sheets and towels every day for a while, but at least the mattress will be dry (unlike when the Pull-ups leak). Good luck!

HI T.,
Bed wetting is way more common than people realize. It is often hereditary. Sometimes you just have to use pull-ups until they outgrow it. One thing I have heard is artificial colors and flavors can bring it on, particularly yellow 5, hey it's worth a shot.
best of luck,
S.
homebusiness owner listed on Mamasource

My son wet the bed until he was almost 8 yrs old (although not every night). We never put him on meds. I put a water proof liner under his fitted sheet, stopped his liquids at least an hour before bedtime, made sure the last thing he did before getting into bed was go potty, and just let him grow out of it.

You have gotten a lot of great responses.
I just wanted to let you know what worked for us. My son would go to bed right after going to the bathroom. Then my husband or I would walk him to the bathroom just before we were heading to bed (between 10-11) and he would be fine, there were no more problems. We didn't carry him to the bathroom becuase we thought it would be better to get him in the habit of walking on his own.

Hi T.. My almost 6 year old son has been dry at night for almost a month now, so I did have a couple of tips that may work for you too. He used to wet through a pullup, so he would put 2 on for bed. Now he wears underwear, goes to the bathroom right before bedtime (7:30)and since he is such a sound sleeper, I carry him to the bathroom when I go to bed (10:00pm). He sleeps right through it. This seems to be working great for him, and since he doesn't drink anything throughout the night, he can hold it til morning. Most important to remember is that it will happen when their bodies are ready, we can gentle help them, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Good luck!

It wouldn't hurt to try chiropractic as some moms have suggested. Otherwise I would just give it more time. I think it's more common than people realize. One of my boys was wet at night until age 6 and the other until age 7. They have no problems now at 9 and 12. My oldest can drink a big cup of water right before bed and sleep through the night (dry)! Good luck.

We had this issue with our oldest daughter. Everyone at night produces a hormone that causes us not to make urine. Her body was lacking that hormone. She did take the pills, which are the hormone. It was good for her. No side effects. She worn Good Nights before that, but she was getting so old that she wanted it to stop. Her self esteem went WAY up when she stopped wetting herself. I, personally, think the meds were great. She felt so much better with herself and that is worth sooooo much. Now as I said, it can be a hormone missing in the body. For my daughter and her cousin, when her hormones changed when she turned 14, the bed wetting stopped. She is just fine today. Give the meds a thought, don't rule them out. If it doesn't bother your daughter, then great, but if it does help her out with the way she feels about herself and take the meds. Oh, they told me that if a child is wet EVERY night, then it is probably hormones. That was my daughter. Not all kids are wet EVERY night of their lives. Then it is a training thing. Just make sure they are AWAKE when you take them to the bathroom at night or you are still teaching them to wet when they are asleep.

We did use bed alarms for along time. They work great, except you still can't spend the night with friends. It was YEARS of the alarm, for my daughter, because it was a hormone thing not a behavior.

Good luck!!

The bed wetting could be caused by an allergy. Try taking certain foods out of her diet a few days at a time and then putting them back and see what happens. My daughter couldn't have anything with artificial flavors or colors or she would wet the bed. I would start there but also try dairy products, wheat and other grains. Keep trying you will find it.
I stumbled upon it many years ago when my daughter was about 4-5 yrs old. I was watching the Jenny Jones talk show and she had a guest who was a pediactric allergist. the doctor said that as a parent we know our kids best and to become our own detective sometimes and find out what is wrong with our kids.
Good luck.

Our youngest son has had the same problem. He just turned 8 and now only wets the bed MAYBE once a month. Our pediatrician assured me some kids' bladders just develop later (enough to make it through the night) and not to be too concerned just yet. Our son is a little smaller (size)than our other two children. For a long time after we thought we were done with the pull-ups, we would get him up between 10-11:00 (before we went to bed, but after he'd been in bed a few hours) and have him go potty...although it got old sometimes, for me, it was better than washing the sheets every day! Also, limit her liquid intake at a certain time of the evening 1-2 hours before bed and make sure she tries to empty everthing she can before sleep time. Hang in there! I feel your pain. Good luck.

I actually wet the bed until I was 13.. it was always so embarassing! Now my heart goes out to my 8 and 9 yr old boys, they still do it. They wear the Good nights for the older kids. We tried the chiropracter with both boys and myself but it never worked for us.. but it worked wonders with my cousin and his children. We never put them on meds but our ped has suggested it. We are just waiting for them to out grow it. Limit their fluid intake and make sure they use the potty before bed is what we do. We were told that sometimes the bladder is small and it will catch up in size around age 9-12. Now our 8yr old does it once in a while and our 9yr old does it pretty much every night. All we can do is reassure him that this will go away.

I do not know if this is even a choice you are willing to make but it worked for me. My daughter was the same way as your daughter. So I would force myself to get up every night between midnight and 2:00 or so depending on what time my daughter went to bed. I would carry her to the bathroom and then set her on the toilet and tell her to go. Most times she had her head on my shoulder still asleep. But she would go for me and then after a while she got used to waking up and she now does it on her own. But sometimes I would over sleep a little or she would go before I got in there. But it is a commitment you have to make. It worked for me and I had a lot less laundry to do. Hope this helps. I was like you and did not want to go with meds or anything like that so she eventually got used to getting up.

Good luck

S.

We used an alarm for DS, and so did my cousins for two of their DS. Their doctor said the alarms don't always work well before the age of seven. (We started a little early with DS.) Our DS was getting tired of being wet each night--and was always embarrassed when we were staying overnight at relatives' houses because he knew he was the only kid in a good-night. With the alarm, they were underwear to bed. As soon as a drop of urine hits, the alarm goes off. My son is a very sound sleeper, and it definitely work him. (They recommend "trying out" the sound during the day--walking through the whole process--before using it at night.) My son did wake with a start the first time the alarm went off, but the following nights he did not. (And he was really motivated to use the alarm because he was tired of being wet each night.) It took a while to get to the 21 consecutive dry nights, but it did work for him. (One tip if you decide to go with an alarm: use plastic-backed mattress pads under the sheets especially the first few nights.) Using the alarm can take some work (especially at the beginning) but it was definitely worth it for my son.

FYI--We have also found connections between certain foods and other things that seem to contribute to the wetting. A couple things are red Koolaid, lemonade, and one of DS's asthma meds.)

Feel free to contact me if I can help with any other info--and good luck to you and your DD! :)

I'm afraid I dont' have any ideas, I just wanted to reassure you that she will eventually outgrow it. My nieces and nephews on my husband's side were all the same way. They continued to experience the problem until roughly around 11-14 yrs old. Thank goodness for pull-ups because they were able to use them at slumber parties. I wet my bed until I was about 8. I too couldn't wake up when I had to go. What changed me was the fact that my mom decided I had to learn and so I stopped wearing diapers at night. She would let me wet the bed and then I would wake up. After a time, I began to wake up before I had to go to the bathroom.