My son is having a rough time with bed-wetting...I feel so bad for him.

[driver8]

My seven year old son Daniel is a very heavy sleeper. He sleeps so soundly, that he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night when he has to urinate. He has been wearing pull ups at night, but is getting too big for them and he hates them. He says he feels "like a baby".

We bought an alarm that buzzes when it senses moisture that is supposed to wake him up so he can go to the bathroom. Last night was the first time we used it -- the alarm went off, scared the shit out of him, and scared my wife and I to death! I thought it was a smoke alarm!

I'm not sure if we are going to get him to use this alarm again -- but we don't know what else to do. Have any of you had to deal with this at all? I would appreciate any suggestions that you might have.

[Kali]

1. very common

especially with boys

Both of mine did it for a ways past 8 - I had the same problem too, although I was tortured more about it as a result of my parent's anxieties.

with my kids I didn't do anything other than get plastic mattress covers and teach them how to use the washing machine.

We all grew out if it just fine.

Do make sure there are no physical problems - see a Dr. for sure, but really it is not out of the range of normal.

there are adult versions of pull-ups but I suspect that may actually delay thing - handy for sleep overs and such though.

[LuckyLib]

2. Agree with above poster. He'll grow out of it. In the meantime, be mellow, put

a pull-up in the bottom of a sleeping bag for sleep-overs, and tell him there are lots of kids in the same boat, whose bodies have just not adapted to deep sleep and "holding it."

[nolabear]

3. I completely agree.

Check out the physical, and explain to him that it just happens sometimes when kids sleep deeply and that he'll outgrow it. Most likely, he will, but I'd state it as a given. The less shame the better.

As to the alarm, well, sometimes they're helpful and you might use it for a bit and see. It won't be strange after it goes off a few times so won't be so shocking. If the effect is worse than the wet bed, just wash things and give it time.

[kimi]

13. This advice, totally

Don't know about current meds, they may be helpful, but he should be checked by a doc anyway.

I've raised 5 boys - OK, they're all over the age of 18, but they're still my babies, and at least 2 of them had this issue. Like Kali says, teach him to use the washing machine, it's useful info as well as giving him some control over an uncontrollable (right now) problem in his life.

You'll get through it, we always do. Low-key, as another poster suggested -- yes yes yes!! Make sure that he knows you're concerned but not going to hover over him. I actually researched the alarm thingies but heard enough to make me think it wasn't right for my boys; however, I encourage you to read up on it and see if it will help YOURS. All kids are different.

Good luck! And BTW he's a very fortunate kid to have such caring parents. :)

[hedgehog]

16. Same thing here - one of my girls took a while and one son took

a while. We just changed the sheets and carried on with life, no big deal. I honestly couldn't tell you exactly when he started sleeping through the night just fine.

[hfojvt]

4. a few things

1. don't stress about it
2. could try adult diapers, then he could feel like a geezer and size should not be a problem
3. avoid drinking for two hours before going to bed
4. visit the bathroom before going to be
5. I apologize if the last two are too obvious and already being done
6. be aware that it happens to almost every male during puberty with wet dreams
7. yeah, ditch the alarm

[HERVEPA]

5. Alarm worked for my daughter in about a week and a half.

For my son in about 2 days. Didn't scare them, just woke them up.

[mcar]

6. My son was a bed wetter till he was about 11

According to the urologist I took him to, it's a hormonal issue - some boys simply lack a certain hormone that tells their urinary system to shut down for the night (or something like that :-)). Once they start puberty, their bodies start producing the hormone.

He absolutely hated the pull ups so the doctor prescribed a medication he took every night for a few years. I don't recall the name of it but it's been around for decades with no apparent side effects (I researched it). It's a generic so was inexpensive; a nasal spray as I recall. It was quite effective.

He's 13 now and hasn't had an episode for nearly 2 years; he's been off the nasal spray for all that time.

[driver8]

7. Thank you, everyone, for taking the time to respond to my post.

I really appreciate all of the advice and suggestions.

[zanana1]

8. My friend's son's doctor said...

He is six and is having trouble bed wetting. The doctor explained that, sometimes, the bladders of young children don't keep up with the growth of the child,and it takes awhile for the bladder to "catch up". Maybe that's what's going on with your son.

[pacalo]

9. Yes, immature bladder muscles is what I've read.

:hi:

[Ahpook]

10. I had that problem till about 12 years old.

My parents tried some placebo bit with the doctor which did nothing:) My mother used plastic covers for the bed. As someone else said I was taught how to use the washer and dryer so I could do those things in private.

Often think it was caused by our broken home. My dad was a menace to any living thing on earth, including us.

My hardest time was sleepovers with friends. I would shy away from them and it saddened me quite a bit. But, I managed to grow out of it like most children do.

[Generic Brad]

11. You're a good parent

When I had that problem my whole family thought public ridicule was the best way to handle it.

I recommend you keep it low key. Remain understanding. And realize he hates this more than you do. If he could stop doing it doing it, he would.

[driver8]

18. Thanks...I appreciate that.

My wife and I try to keep it low key, and we understand how frustrated our son is. He absolutely hates the pull-ups and hates when he has an accident in the night. He was so proud the other night that he got to wear underwear to bed.

[CC]

12. My SO said his son slept so

deep that even a pounding rain hitting his face didn't wake him (bed below open window that night) so they pretty much knew the bed-wetting was because he was in a deep sleep.The SO used to get up around midnight or so and sleep walk his son to the bathroom, tell him to go them walk him back to bed. It did keep the bed dry and by 12 he was waking himself up around midnight to go. Time and understanding usually clears it up.


Asked the 40 year old step son. He says he still semi-wakes up after about 4 hours of sleep and goes to the bathroom whether he feels like he has to or not. :)

[Brickbat]

14. We used the alarm and it worked in two weeks.

Stick with it if you can. Also, we found this book VERY helpful: http://www.wakingupdry.com/

[LynneSin]

15. I would have him tested.

My niece had the same exact issue and it turns out she had diabetes. This was at age 7 she was diagnosed.

[Sabriel]

17. Good advice here. I'll reinforce that you should normalize it.

Both my kids took a while (7 and 8) and didn't have any anxiety about it, mostly because my partner and I didn't have any ourselves. It's all good. It's all normal.

OTOH, those large overnight diapers are obscenely expensive, so I was happy that they moved on. Ouch.

[driver8]

19. You are right -- the pull ups are VERY expensive!

Plus, my son HATES wearing them!

I know he will come through this ok...

[Brickbat]

21. I agree with the "normalizing" -- we kept a very "no big deal" attitude about it.

We also called the pull-ups "night-time underwear" to avoid any implication that we thought they were babyish. We were at a cabin with our friends when my son was still using the night-time underwear many years ago, and when we got ready for bed, one of the other kids asked him, "Hey, are those diapers?" and my son was like, "No, it's night-time underwear." End of story. I was proud of my kid, but of our friend's kid too, because it instantly wasn't a big deal for him, either.

You're in my thoughts, because it does feel like it'll never go away. It eventually does, but it can feel like it's taking forever.

[Common Sense Party]

20. Sorry you're going through that. My kids didn't have problems with

that, but I vaguely remember I did around age 6 or 7. As other posters have said, plastic sheets and time got us through it.

[surrealAmerican]

22. The alarm might work, and it might not.

It depends on whether you child is mature enough physically.

Both my children (a boy and a girl) had this issue. We tried the alarms. It worked first time for my older child, but the younger one (he was about your son's age at the time) was not helped by it. About two years later, he wanted to try again, and it worked.
It wasn't that he lacked motivation the first time, he just couldn't manage the waking up. We had to drag him out of bed when the alarm went off: he just wasn't ready.


Remember this is not unusual at all at his age. Make sure he knows that: it will help him feel less like a failure. It's really not his fault.