5 Year Old Still Wears Pull-ups to Bed.

Updated on January 15, 2009
S.S. asks from Macomb, MI
19 answers

My daughter just turned 5 and wets at night. I've tried stopping liquids at night and having her going potty before bedtime...but she still wets. Any suggestions would be great!!

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L.C.

answers from Kalamazoo on

I agree with the response from Deb S. When my daughter was 5 yo she was wearing pull-ups to bed because she was wetting the bed. I went to see her doctor who told me to get rid of the pull-ups. She said she probably knows she has to go at night but doesn't have to because she has the pull-ups.

I got rid of the pull-ups. At first I would bring her to the bathroom when I went to bed but she wasn't fully awake most of the time so it didn't work. So, I just let her wet the bed and made her help me with all the clean up when she did. It took a few maybe a couple months of wetting the bed before she slept dry but it worked.

By the way later I found out she told a friend she had over for a sleep over before we got rid of the pull-ups that she should wear a pull-up to bed because then she wouldn't have to get up to use the bathroom.

Hope this helps. Good luck

L.

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

I carry my 5yo to the bathroom when I'm going to bed about 12, get her on the potty and tell her simone says to pee and rub her back till she go's.
My friends 6yo is still in pull ups at night.
Hope that helps, :) A. H

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M.H.

answers from Detroit on

I really don't have any suggestions but just wanted to say you're not alone. My son has just turned 6 this month and he still wets his pull up nearly every night (he has been dry in the daytime since he was two). It is so frustrating and we even looked into an enuresis clinic but couldn't afford the cost, it was in the thousands. I have tried putting him on the potty when I go to bed, stopping fluids two hours before bedtime, taking his pull ups off to see if wetting wakes him etc etc. I think it's the same as other milestones, all kids mature at different rates. My son is a very heavy sleeper and just doesn't wake up with the urge or even if he's wet. My doctor told me there could be tests done but I don't really know what that would achieve, you could ask your doctor about that. I think we just need to give them time for their bladders to mature. Good luck, I know this one is very frustrating at times but she'll get there as will my little one, I'm sure.

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M.W.

answers from Saginaw on

If you take the pull ups away and she still wets, I would recommend a pee detector. My son was still wetting every night even at 8 and we tried drugs that had side effects. So we broke downa and bought a 100 dollar pee detector and within 3 months he was not peeing the bed anymore. He was wetting 2 times a night! We really had tried it all. This will help! Check it out! Good LucK!

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M.W.

answers from Detroit on

Hi S., Your daughter maybe a very sound sleeper and doesn't receive the signal from her brain to wake up and pee. Try taking her to the bathroom before you go to bed. I would walk my sleeping son to the bathroom and sit him on the toliet. He always peed. Kids hate wetting at night, especially the older they get. Stopping her fluids at 7pm is a good idea. Just keep on trying, she will get there.

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L.N.

answers from Benton Harbor on

She'll be just fine. Don't over-worry yourself. If she needs a pullup it's likely that she's just a really deep sleeper, no biggie. She'll outgrow it.

~L.

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A.M.

answers from Detroit on

Hi S.,
My daughter just turned 5 and still has problems with wetting the bed at night. She has been potty trained for years now, but still has problems at night because she sleeps so soundly. What we do now is we get her out of bed and take her to the potty at midnight every night and then she can make it through until morning. So, then she can wear her "big girl underpants", and I am not constantly washing sheets and changing the bed. It's a little of a pain, but it has worked great, and she no longer has accidents. She isn't very awake when we take her to the potty-some nights she doesn't even open her eyes, but is used to the routine and knows when we set her on the potty to go.
Good Luck!

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D.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

S., first of all you need to take the pull ups off, pull ups dont help in potty training, there are no consequences for peeing , although some claim to feel wet, it does not work to potty train in pull ups, buy a good matress protector, and dont be afraid of some work, and laundry, once the matress is protected, buy her some girl pannies, she is old enough and will enjoy them, she will pee them and get things wet, when she does, she helps you clean it up carrying it to the laundry room etc, and she can help you make the bed, this will help you not to wet the bed, this will take time, and you will have mistakes, if you are worried about messes, buy training pants, and put plastic pants over them either way have her help wash them, or carry them to laundry room , and put them in washer, you will have mistakes, and many , so dont yell at her for doing what is natural, just teach her how to do it right, she will get it, its funny how when we treat them like babies how they will act that way, pull ups are not helping you with this, have her pick out her own underware, she will enjoy it, and tell her when you have to go potty, dont pee your pretty new panies, and if you do we will clean it up, enjoy life, and have fun, D. s

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R.A.

answers from Detroit on

My daughter will be 5 in few weeks. The bag of pullups we bought in December we told her would be the last bag of pullups we would buy. Just before Christmas she started wearing her underwear to bed, cold turkey with a waterproof sheet (plastic side up). The first two nights dry as a bone, we did wake up her up to go before we went to bed. Christmas eve and Christmas night were a differnt story-but understandable due to excitement.

Since then she has only had a couple of accidents and they were really week ones not getting the bed wet just her undies and maybe a little of her pj's.

My daughter could soak a pull up most nights, but went dry when she knew she needed too. It may not work with yours, but it did with mine and she like myself is a really hard sleeper.

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E.O.

answers from Lansing on

I totally understand where you're coming from. My daughter wet the bed until she was just about 6(last summer). We tried everything from limiting liquids, to rewards, to just switching to underwear and nothing worked. I was at my wits end and felt like I was failing her somehow, because she was becoming very aware, almost embarassed, of the fact that she still wet the bed. It broke my heart. My pediatrician told me she would probably outgrow it but it could take until age 8 or 9. Last summer she had some "gas" issues so I took her to the doctor and was told she was lactose intolerant. She NEVER had problems with milk before and in fact would suck it down every chance she could. We switched her to Lactaid and she IMMEDIATELY stopped wetting the bed. It was so bizarre. I read awile ago on this website another child that had a bed wetting issue assocaited with a milk problem. It's a long shot - but if you felt the way I did...I was willing to try just about anything reasonable :-) Good luck.

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G.B.

answers from Detroit on

A lot of children cannot wake up when they need to use the bathroom. You can try limiting fluids and using a reward chart and waking her up when you go to bed, but it may be that she physically isn't ready to do this, especially if this seems to run in your family. Pull-ups are great for these kids, better than changing all the bedding everyday which is what I had to do with 2 of mine, now grown. They didn't stop till they went through puberty. Very annoying but we lived through it!

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B.B.

answers from Detroit on

My uncle was close to 12 before we stopped teasing him about why NOONE willl let him sleep on the TOP bunk of the bunk beds...
There is a part in the urinary system that must be at the proper maturity rate before they can and will stay dry all night... Some people truly do have issues with that part maturing later while others HAD that problem and sorta got in the habit....
Patience and don't make a big deal out of it... I think my uncle (same one) who has 6 kids... talked to the dr about it since a few of his kids have the same issue. I think the dr gave them some kind of meds to help it...

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T.C.

answers from Grand Rapids on

My pediatrician has told me that there is something physical in each child that must develop before they will stay dry throughout the night. Each child is different and it solely depends on their body - not their brain or anything that we do - before they will have dry nights consistently.

Try to be patient!

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A.F.

answers from Detroit on

Hello there, I thought it was odd too when my 6 year old boy was still wetting the bed on a regular basis... seeing that his 2 older brothers didn't have any problems like that. I asked my doctor about it and he told me " sometimes it just takes longer for some kids..just relax, don't pressure him." I will say, it was very frustrating when every night he wanted to "try it without the pullups" and I would agree( trying to encourage him ), but then he would flood the room during the night! AAAHHH!!! Yikes.. My husband just kept talking me off the ledge each night about 3 am when my youngest would wake me to give me a bed wetting update. ( sigh ). After a while of just really trying to encourage and not pressure, he stopped.. yay..

Bottom line.. at this age, it is nothing to be concerned about.. in a few years it will start to be a problem. for now, try to ignore it as much as possible. good luck

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L.O.

answers from Detroit on

she will grow out of it someday.

you can get an alarm that will alert you and her when she wets .. it works for some kids... not for others.

you can wake her up and take her potty when you go to bed

you are really just waiting for her bladder and brain to mature and then she will be dry at night.

My friends son is 13 and is still in pull ups...

they are still waiting for him to grow out of it..

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L.U.

answers from Lansing on

To begin, this is not all that uncommon. But, that said, only a urologist( a Dr. who specializes in bladder and kidneys) can tell you if your child has an abnormality or is just a deep sleeper. Before you try any severe fluid restrictions, it is always a good idea to rule out the physical. Some children have abnormal attachments of the ureters (tube between kidney and bladder) or other physical issues.... sometimes even a low level bladder infection. Only a physician can tell you if you can rule those out. This is NOT to say this is likely, but it is always a good idea to be sure it isn't a medical condition before you embark on any reward or behavior programs.
good luck, L.

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L.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

Not sure if this will work for you or not but it seemed to work for my DD (26 months old). I don't let me DD have anything to drink after 7-7:30ish and she normally goes to bed around 9ish sometimes later sometimes a little earlier. Then I quit using pull ups. I know it give some kids a false sense of relief. It took about a week of washing her sheets daily but she hated waking up wet and soon she just stopped wetting the bed. Good luck and i hope you find something that works.

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R.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

My brother was long to stay dry, but his pediatrician didn't make a big deal about it until he was 8 or 9 and then made the condition that if he continiued to wet the bed, he would have to change his own sheets and clothes in the night. It happened ONE time and he was dry from then on.

Otherwise, just try to be patient - my son is 6, and he has accidents every once in a while; it seems he has growth spurts and it occurs then.

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M.V.

answers from Saginaw on

Hang in there! I had the same problem with my 5 year old son. As of about a month ago, something clicked and he's been fine ever since. I read a lot on bedwetting while we were going through it, and pretty much everything just said to wait it out. It was hard to do, but pull-ups weren't bothering him, and we didn't make a big deal out of it. Celebrate any dry nights, and this will pass.

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