How do I stop my 7 year old wetting the bed?

[Anonymous]

Boys take a long time to go through puberty so sometimes it lingers into it but stops after.

[Anonymous]

Girls often stop earlier than boys

[Anonymous]

Wet alarm. Get her started on it asap

[Anonymous]

You can't frame it as "you are too old for pull ups, you have to stay dry at night." You are forcing it on her before she's ready and before you've done anything to get her ready. You will create more stress around this topic and you can actually create behaviors that lead to accidents this way (kids who are anxious about toileting issues, and who are afraid to ask for help with accidents whether they happen in bed or right next to the toilet, are more likely to have accidents).

You can start helping her get ready for ditching pull ups but teaching her to empty her bladder before bed and to get in the habit of visiting the bathroom when she first wakes up. The pre-bed pee can be especially useful because it can help kids learn to empty their bladder even if they have no urge to pee -- also a useful skill for before school, long trips, etc.

But don't take the pull ups away. Tell her when *she* is ready, she can ditch them. And she may continue to wet the pull ups for a while even if she's using the bathroom right before lights out and learning to go first thing because there is a hormonal shift that has to happen so that kid's bodies wake them to pee at night, so if her body is used to nocturnal peeing, this will likely go on for a while until her hormones shift.

You need to let this happen on her terms. You are creating unnecessary shame and stress around a normal body function.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here - I would like to try an alarm before giving up. When we ditched the pull ups we made a big deal about how they are for babies and how she really needs to be grown up and being without them. So I don't really want to go back at all.

But they’re not for babies. Her bladder is growing and she may continue to wet the bed off and on through growth spurts. Better to set aside $ for the therapy she’ll want from your shaming.

[Anonymous]

She is 7 now, she'll be having sleepovers soon. Do you still have their children this age in pull ups really?

I'll look into alarms, I didn't want to disturb her sleep too much but if they're effective we will try them.

[Anonymous]

My DD stopped wetting at age 12. There is a hereditary component to bedwetting. If you or your husband was a bedwetter the greater chance of your child being one.

As a child who was horribly shamed by my parents for my bedwetting, I beg you to stop the shaming. It will not solve the problem and will cause lifelong resentment. 50 years later, and with my parents long dead, I still feel the animosity.

The cause of my bedwetting was chronic UTIs for which I later started on a daily antibiotic.

[Anonymous]

Alarm.

Pediatricians are generally useless for this sort of thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She is 7 now, she'll be having sleepovers soon. Do you still have their children this age in pull ups really?

I'll look into alarms, I didn't want to disturb her sleep too much but if they're effective we will try them.

They have medication (DDAVP?) that helps for sleepovers and camp. I wouldn’t do it every night.

[Anonymous]

You need a new doctor.
You are scarring your kid mentally with these decisions you’re making.
My DD wet the bed until she was 8. We tried the alarm but it came off her undies and went off and woke the whole house up. We also tried limiting liquids, midnight pee etc.
she was and still is a deep sleeper. Nothing worked except time.
We didn't shame her, or make her feel bad, or like she wasn’t trying.
They can’t control their bladder when they’re in a deep sleep.
Buy larger pull-ups, apologize to your kid, and take a step back.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need a new doctor.
You are scarring your kid mentally with these decisions you’re making.
My DD wet the bed until she was 8. We tried the alarm but it came off her undies and went off and woke the whole house up. We also tried limiting liquids, midnight pee etc.
she was and still is a deep sleeper. Nothing worked except time.
We didn't shame her, or make her feel bad, or like she wasn’t trying.
They can’t control their bladder when they’re in a deep sleep.
Buy larger pull-ups, apologize to your kid, and take a step back.

Thank you for sharing. There's a lot more than I expected telling me to go back and leave it for now. Did you keep using the pull ups and then she became dry ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here - I would like to try an alarm before giving up. When we ditched the pull ups we made a big deal about how they are for babies and how she really needs to be grown up and being without them. So I don't really want to go back at all.

Alarm is fine but every other thing you’ve posted so far is not. Are you a troll? Or did you literally Google “What to do with a bed wetting child” and decide to do the exact opposite?

Take the PP’s advice and build a good nighttime and middle-of-night routine that should help set your child up for success. But beyond that, don’t blame or demean your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s biological. Some kids just can’t stay dry. Punishing her is cruel.

Agree completely. No one ever went to college still in pull ups. Your daughter will outgrow this. If you are concerned, talk to your pediatrician.

[Anonymous]

My daughter wet the bed until she was 8. My son wet the bed until 9.5. Both had sleep apnea and both stopped wetting the bed after tonsils and adenoids were removed.

Your doctor is an idiot. If a kid keeps wetting the bed day and day, they can’t control it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here - I would like to try an alarm before giving up. When we ditched the pull ups we made a big deal about how they are for babies and how she really needs to be grown up and being without them. So I don't really want to go back at all.

But they’re not for babies. Her bladder is growing and she may continue to wet the bed off and on through growth spurts. Better to set aside $ for the therapy she’ll want from your shaming.

OP, here's what you do. Tell her that you spoke to a special doctor who is an expert on kids bodies, and she told you that every kid's body has to figure out how not to pee at night, and some bodies take longer than others. So, you were wrong when you said only babies wear pull-ups! Actually, big kids whose bodies are still figuring out how not to pee at night DO wear pull-ups. Then put the pull-ups back in her room and invite her to put them on at night, so that she doesn't wet the bed while her body is practicing.

Then, you can tell her that you've also learned about a special alarm that sometimes works to help kids' bodies figure out how not to pee. Ask her if she wants to try it. Use it with the pull-up. Give it 2 weeks. If it doesn't work, tell her that her body just needs more time to practice, and you will try the alarm again in a few months.

If you thought she was just using the pull-up because she was lazy, you've figured out now that you were wrong--she's wetting the bed while she sleeps. She can't help it. Tell her you were wrong. Help her feel better about this. It's not her fault.