Almost 5 Year Old Still Needs Pull-up at Night

[Anonymous]

I’m at a loss of what to do. She is such a deep sleeper, she has no idea she’s peeing. Some mornings she’s dry, some mornings there’s a good bit of pee in the pull up. Pediatrician has said to not push it, so we haven’t. But she’s about to be 5...

[Anonymous]

Both my kids went past 6...my dd to 6.5 and my ds to almost 8. Neither of them wet the bed now. It’s biological and there’s not much you can do. I guarantee a lot of her fellow 4 year olds are still in pull-ups

[Anonymous]

Mine was the same. And then, right before her fifth birthday, she just announced that she didn't need to wear her pullups anymore, and . . . she didn't. It's not the same as day training -- it's about whether the brain connection that keep you from peeing in your sleep is wired up or not.

[Anonymous]

Your own pediatrician said not to worry about it. I’m not sure what else you were hoping we could tell you?

[Anonymous]

My stepson went until he was 11. And then he just grew out of it. It's just a thing.

[Anonymous]

There is nothing to do but wait. You can drive yourself (and her) crazy with developmentally inappropriate expectations. Or you can just wait.

[Anonymous]

My just turned 6yo is still wearing one too. His sister stopped before she turned 3--so it's not a parenting thing.
He's been getting better, he's dry more often, but not reliably enough to stop wearing one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your own pediatrician said not to worry about it. I’m not sure what else you were hoping we could tell you?

+1

Why is 5 such a big deal to you, OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m at a loss of what to do. She is such a deep sleeper, she has no idea she’s peeing. Some mornings she’s dry, some mornings there’s a good bit of pee in the pull up. Pediatrician has said to not push it, so we haven’t. But she’s about to be 5...

Check the pull up 30 minutes before she wakes up in the morning. If it’s consistently dry, she’s peeing during wake up twilight sleep because it’s easier. If she’s wet, she is peeing at night in her sleep and you just have to wait it out.

[Anonymous]

She will stop when she is biologically ready. Truly. 5, 6 or 7 years old. It's no big deal. Now, if she's still needing a pullup every night by 9 or 10 years old, your pediatrician will talk to you about other options. But for NOW, it's all good.

Truly.

[Anonymous]

My daughter woke up with a full *overnight* diaper until age 7. My fed-up DH decided to try going cold turkey and waking her up at 11 each night. There were a LOT of wet sheets those first few weeks--and usually she would just sleep through it. We were sleep-deprived for months, since occasionally she'd wake up and let us know that the sheets were wet.

She's now 8.5 and has been dry for about a year, but it was tough going getting there. Not sure I would advise that approach, as she could've just outgrown it around the same time.

[Anonymous]

My almost 5 year old still wears one at night. Never wakes up dry, ever. We’re not concerned.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:She will stop when she is biologically ready. Truly. 5, 6 or 7 years old. It's no big deal. Now, if she's still needing a pullup every night by 9 or 10 years old, your pediatrician will talk to you about other options. But for NOW, it's all good.

Truly.

This isn’t true. My ped isn’t worried at 10. Some people are just deep sleepers and this takes a while.

[Anonymous]

One of my kids were pull up till six and then was dry every night. My second child was not right at six and one to try the potty alarm. It took three years for her to be completely dry at night even with the potty alarm. I went to bed till I was 10, my both my siblings with the bed until at least nine. One of my kids wore a pull up until six and then was dry. My second child was not dry at six and wanted to try the potty alarm. It took three years for her to be completely dry at night even with the potty alarm (we went through the regimen three different times.). I wet the bed until I was 10, both my siblings with the bed until at least nine. The pediatrician said that he doesn’t worry about this type of thing until around age 8. A five-year-old who is a deep sleeper and still using a pull up is not an anomaly. Just wait it out, she will outgrow it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m at a loss of what to do. She is such a deep sleeper, she has no idea she’s peeing. Some mornings she’s dry, some mornings there’s a good bit of pee in the pull up. Pediatrician has said to not push it, so we haven’t. But she’s about to be 5...

Check the pull up 30 minutes before she wakes up in the morning. If it’s consistently dry, she’s peeing during wake up twilight sleep because it’s easier. If she’s wet, she is peeing at night in her sleep and you just have to wait it out.

This. Another alternative is just to leave her w/o a pull-up for a week knowing that you may have to come in and do clean up. If, at the end of the week, she is still wetting the bed, you just have to wait it out. But my DH, who is a pediatrician, says that, IHE, about 50% of parents who try this at 4+ will discover that their kid is dry and actually was biologically ready to potty train, but just peed by habit.