How do I help my 5 year old daughter stop her bed wetting?

Question

She is a very sound sleeper and does not respond very well to negative correction. I have also tried offering rewards for going several days with no accidents. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

First of all (and I am not trying to tell you how to raise your child here) any type of attention brought to this issue is going to cause her stress and probably worsen the accidents. My son wet the bed until he was 8. There could be something medically wrong, such as her bladder not growing at the correct speed, etc. I would suggest purchasing the big kids pull up to have her wear at night. At least with these you aren't washing her sheets daily, and she will not be laying in a wet bed all night long, which is just not sanitary anyways, The pull ups help pull the moisture away from their bodies, so if you go to bed and don't wake up until she does in the morning, she should be okay. When you say to here "Jane, if you don't wet the bed for three nights I will give you two dollars" that just reinforces to her that this is her fault and she can control this. When you ground her or spank her or whatever your negative correction is, she thinks "Mom is mad at me because I wet the bed." Cut out her liquids after a certain time, and do not bring anymore attention to this. If you leave the pull ups in a drawer in her room, she can put them on herself, and no one else (other siblings, friends, etc) will even know she has them on. I would also suggest changing her bath time to morning if it is in the evening now. Just remember to show her TONS of love as I am sure you do.

Answer 2

Some kids take a little longer to outgrow night time wetting. If she was potty trained for a while, then started wetting again, it may stick around until she reaches puberty. My daughter was trained by 2, then started again around 5 or 6. I finally put her on the DDAVP inhaler (it also come in pills), which is a pill that mimics your body's own antidiuretic hormone (basically, if there are no medical reasons for the bedwetting, people who wet the bed often have less of this hormone for those who don't, so they actually produce more urine during the night, which they cannot hold until morning) Anyway, It worked brilliantly! She had no side effects and we used it until she finally outgrew bed wetting at 13. I highly recommend it because it made it possible for her to have sleepovers without worrying about her friends finding out about it.

Answer 3

First off, punishing her won't do anything. They can't help it. It's not her fault. She's just as confused about it as you are. I was punished by my step-grandparents for bedwetting and YEARS later, i still remember them as mean people who embarassed me for something I couldn't help.

To help her stop, you could always try the "no drink before bed" method or the "bathroom before bed" method. I, personally, didn't stop until I was 13. That was HIGHLY embarassing and nothing worked. We found out that it was a genetic disorder and that the only thing that helped was a device by Pacific International. It was a sort of screen that we put under my sheets. Whenver it would feel the least bit of moisture, it would go off and wake me up so that I could use the bathroom. After a while, I became dry and no longer needed it. I have been dry ever since and now will wake up ON MY OWN in the middle of the night if I feel the need to use the restroom. I'd have to say, that was probably one of my best investments. Especially now that I"m in college. haha.

Answer 4

She's only five years old. Give her a break. I used to have a bed wetting problem. My aunt would spank me everytime I wet the bed. There is no need to punish her. You can try to avoid it by simple stuff though. Like no drinks before bed. Use the bathroom before bed. And wake her up to go to the bathroom several times during the night.

She's a kid. She can't handle her bladder the way adults can. Bribing and punishing her for it won't work.

Answer 5

You are offering her rewards in expectation of her controlling something she is unable to control. That is like telling a person not to sneeze. She is only 5 years old her bladder probably isn't developed to the point of going all night every night without an accident. Get her a plastic mattress cover, eliminate drinks after 5:00pm and get up in the middle of the night to take her to the bathroom if you're hell bent on her having dry sheets in the morning. She is a child, not an adult and her body is just beginning to develop. Now, next tiem you have to sneeze I don't want you to hold it in...

Answer 6

Bed wetting is usually involuntary and can be caused by some medical conditions. I used to wet the bed when I was a kid and my parents tried to reward me and things like that, they thought I was doing it because I was too lazy to get up and go to the bathroom but I honestly didnt know. And believe me, if I could have controlled it, I would have, it caused me a lot of embarassment. Get your daughter some Good Nites, encourage her to go to the bathroom before going to bed and don't allow her to drink anything hours before bedtime. She will eventually stop on her own. Visit this website for more info. And try not to be too hard on her!
http://www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/standard/transform.jsp?requestURI=/healthatoz/Atoz/ency/bed-wetting.jsp

Answer 7

You are probably just going to have to let her grow out of it. Some kids wake up and others don't, punishing and rewarding won't help with something that isn't a conscious choice. Try the no drinking before bed and then get her the "Goodnites" and don't stress over it.

Answer 8

Give her a break...Chances are she'll continue to have this problem until she's 12. Get her some night diapers for her age and size. Don't let her worry about it or it will become a problem. This is usually hereditary. All three of my boys wet the bed until they were 12. I worried about my youngest the most, especially since he stopped at 2 and began again at 6. If it is not hereditary, it is usually something bothering them psychologically and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it except be understanding and there for her.

Answer 9

1. Bedtime by 9 pm.

2. Nothing to drink an hour before bedtime.

3. Get her up to use the bathroom before you turn in for the nite.

4. Beyond that, nothing really works. At some point she will outgrow it.

Answer 10

If she can't physically wake up why do you think punishments or bribes will work???

You need to wake her before you go to be (assuming you go to bed later than her) and take her to the bathroom. You may need to set an alarm and take later if that doesn't work. Some people have had luck just setting the alarm for the kid in their room, depends on the kid.