Bedwetting and Sitter?

Question

Two of our boys wet the bed. They are 6 and 11. I am using youth diapers on both of them. The 11 year old was using goodnites, but recently they started causing him problems so we switched him over to his brothers tena diapers and we haven't had any problems since.

Here is the problem though, tonight my husband and i are going out and our sitter is coming over. Our six year old has no problem with the sitter knowing about his bedwetting but our 11 year old is sensitive. We are planning on being out past 1AM and I have no desire to be cleaning wet sheets when I get home. I was planning on just having a diaper on both of them when she comes over tomorrow at 6, but it might be a little early. Does anyone have any suggestions? The sitter knows they both are wetters.

I was given the suggestion to just have the 11 year old put the diaper on himself, but we tried that a few times and it leaked all over. Normally I just put one on him before bed like our 6 year old.

Beleive me we've been to the docotr more times then I can count and none of the medications or sprays worked.

Our son tried for over a week both standing up and laying down. what i normally is just have the boys lay down throw a diaper on them and don't try and make a big deal out of it at all.

Answer 1

When the 11 year old tried it himself before, was it standing up or laying down? Maybe he could get a better fit if he did it laying down?

ETA:
Don't let the negative comments get you down. I know how frustrating it is to have an older kid with bedwetting issues. My oldest will be 8 years old next month and still wets the bed. We did chiropractic and DHA supplements for a while, which really helped. Unfortunately, we can't afford the chiropractic treatment anymore.

Answer 2

I have the same problem with my 11 yr old. I she doesn't wear anything like goodnites etc. She is very sensitive about the problem. She takes care of it herself though. She normally gets up and if she had an accident she changes, changes the sheets and throws the dirty ones into the wash. There is also a medication your ped can give the boys to help with this. It works great. Ask your ped about medication for eurosis (sp) that is a week bladder. I would let your 11 yr old take ownership of his problem and let him become more involved about helping with the cleaning up. No I wouldn't but a "diaper" on him. He can't help it and may take it as a punishment.

Answer 3

Several kids wet the bed, and there is nothing wrong with it, they just have to out grow the problem. My son who is 8 has wet the bed EVERY night since I could remember (he too is sensitive about it). The reason they wet is because their bodies dont produce enough brain/bladder correspondance. Eventually they will out grow it. We've tried everything with him, waking him up at night several times, tried bedwetting alarms, and now we just use the youth diapers or we call them "pads". The best way to handle the situation is to have the child put it on himself and have him learn how to deal with it when you are not at home. Either you or your husband needs to show him the correct way to put it on to prevent "accidents" from happening. My son too leaks out of it, so you could try to limit his liquid intake 2 hours before bedtime, but allow him a sip of water before he hits the sheets. I know how horrible and fusterating it is to have sheets and blankets to wash everynight. When we have a sitter here with the kids, the "bed wetter" knows that if he does not wear the "pad" he will wet. He descretly goes to the bathroom and puts one on himself and puts his pj's over the top (no on even knows it's on him). This saves the embarrassement for the child - he dont want his sitter to know he wets the bed (even though its something you should tell your sitter if she's staying overnight or for long periods, just incase he wets his sheets, so she can be prepared). You can also purchase a heavy duty absorbant pad like the hospitals use (its like a blanket) and lay it over his sheets, so if he wets, it goes on that and not on the sheets and into the mattress! You can purchase one of these at any Medical supply store. We use ours every night! It does help cut back on the laundry of the "blankets". Good luck to you!

Answer 4

He is old enough to be responsible for what he does. When he wets the bed- make him change the sheets and help with the laundry- or at least put it in a clothes hamper or something so you can do it. Also- as much of a pain in the butt as it is- wake him up 2 or 3 times during the night (yes you might actually have to set an alarm clock) and have them get up and go to the bathroom. Even though their "brain/bladder" connection isn't totally developed yet- after a few months they will get in the habit of waking up on their own in the middle of the night and using the bathroom. I was having the same problem with my 7 year old- but she took wearing the pull ups at night as an excuse to pee and act like a 'baby'. Now if she wets the bed- she has to help make it and she has to take care of the dirty laundry (ie she puts it in her clothes basket) ... however about 6 months ago i started setting my alarm and would wake her up during the night- at 3am (usually her accidents happened early in the morning a few hours before she'd wake up for school)... and now- I no longer have to get up- she gets up on her own around the same time and just goes in there out of 'habit' and 10 times out of 10 she has to pee. Sometimes it's only a small tiny amount- but at least she is going. Just my suggestion. god luck!

Answer 5

try an iron supplement. My grandma told me that her sons all wet the bed and it was because they were anemic. Anemia causes you to be very tired at night and sleep through the bladder telling you to go to the bathroom. Try it. It definately can't hurt.
My 11 year old cousin is adopted (for about a year) he is on some meds and can not drink anything two hours before bed. He is very sensitive about it but takes care of the mess himself and puts the diaper on himself. He uses goodnights. He only wears them in case right now.


I realize you feel bad for your boys but they need to take ownership in this. It is also kind of creepy (and borderline abuse) that you see your 11 year old naked on a daily basis. (unless there is some mental incompacity, of course)

Answer 6

This obviously isn''t going to help for this night but my brother was a bed wetter until he was 10 or 11 and my dad made up a "game" to help him stop it. It simply involved getting him to c how many times he could stop and start the flow during each pee. I'm sure you can find a way to make this fun for him - it helps to build up the pelvic floor muscle which will stop the bed wetting pretty quickly.

Answer 7

you might want to see a urologist about the 11 yo and the 6 yo seems to be fallowing in the same path. I suggest a more aggressive way of treating your children for bed wetting, it tends to indicate that their are some emotional matters that need to be addressed, maby a therapist could help

Answer 8

Go to CVS, Eckerd, Walmart, any of those stores. Go to where they sell the Depends and stuff, and they have bed pads, they are big and will cover most of the bed.
So have him put on his special undies by himself, but as a backup, have the pad on the bed, then put extra sheets next to his bed and show him how to make his bed, hes old enough! Then you won't have to worry about it until morning....

Answer 9

Your 11 year old is definately old enough to clean up his own mess. He can do his own laundy and should be responsible for putting on his own diaper... seriously. Unless he has a mental handicap you are doing him NO favors. Use a waterproof sheet, have a clean set of sheets nearby and let him do it all himself.

Answer 10

You are dealing with the symptoms not the problem.
Bed wetting at that age is a definite problem that needs to be looked at by an independent person.