Almost 5 and still in Pull-Ups?

Question

My daughter will be 5 in October. She still wears Pull-Ups and soaks them every night. I have tried stopping liquids three hours before bedtime, only offering a little water if she is thirsty, which she usually says she isn't.
Pull Ups and Training Pants don't really fit her anymore.
Are anyone else's kids still in Pull-Ups and almost 5 years old? I feel like the only parent sometimes who still buys them for their 4 year old. of course, all of my friends children stopped wearing them to bed at 2 and my friends just look at me like I'm crazy when I tell them I still use Pull Ups....

Answer 1

A lot of good advice here. I don't have 'the' answer...but I can tell you what I am doing right now with my son. But before I do, I would say do not attempt potty training of any sort with a child unless BOTH you and the child are ready, otherwise it's a pointless waste of time and very stressful. If you are worried that you feel your child is 'too old' to be still in pullups, speak to your doctor.

But this is my story...and hopefully you might take something useful for yourself from it somehow!

My son has just turned 3. He has been dry since he was 2.5 years and trained really quickly. Poos are still a problem and I am simply accepting that I keep cleaning him and encouraging him to go, and eventually he will.

2 nights ago, I decided that it was time to give night time training a shot.
I put a plastic bag and then a towel under his mattress cover, so that he wouldn't notice anything different. I then stuck a sticker chart on the wall next to his bed and explained to him that for every dry bed in the morning he gets a sticker on his chart (at the moment the stickers are sufficient reward in themselves!).
I told him that he was a big boy now, and didn't need his pullups on at night. He agreed to this (which is key) and seemed pleased to be a big boy!
I explained that I would leave the bathroom light on for him, and if he woke needing a pee, he could get out of bed and go himself. He was also happy with this.

On the first night, I dressed him on in his PJs, no day time pants as I wanted him to feel different so he didn't 'forget' he had no pull ups on in a drowsy state. He peed before bed (only 1/2 cup of milk before bed). I tossed and turned all night , and heard him wake about 3am. I went through and took him to the toilet. I wanted him to have a success that first night if possible. He went back to bed and slept until 7.30am, coming through to my room, DRY! I was delighted, and then he went for a pee.

Last night, my husband got him ready for bed and put pants on him. He went to bed as normal, and woke at 1.30am. I went through to check on him, and again decided to take him to the toilet. I don't want to do this every night, but I wanted to have early success so he felt he could do this. AT 8am I went in to wake him this morning, and as he woke, he wet the bed. I am sure that in his drowsy morning state he thought the pants were pullups and peed.

Tonight, he is off to bed, pantless, and we will see how he gets on. I will maybe wake him again tonight, so we have another success and another star on the chart in the morning(there is nothing worse than an empty chart to underline failure!)

People are judgemental about all aspects of other parenting, but potty training in particular. If you want others advice, then ask, otherwise tell them all to but out...after all YOU ARE the expert on your child.

Good LuckXXX

EDIT: Night no 3 just finished- total success! Dry bed - and no lifting to the toilet through the night. He was so proud of himself when he woke...and so was I!

Answer 2

Sometimes the pull ups work so well the child does not feel the wetness. I would buy a plastic covering for her mattress and let her go to bed with out the pull up on. Make sure she goes to the bathroom half an hour and then right before bed. It will be a pain to wash her bedding everyday for a bit, but I bet she will become more aware of what is happening. As a side note... the Good Nights are a little bigger.

Answer 3

My second daughter is 4 years old and also still wears Pull Ups to bed. Her older sister was dry all night at age 3. We tried just last week for a whole week without them but her bed was slightly wet each morning, damp only though, so we think she does it in the middle of the night and does not wake up, not toward morning since it is not really wet and she uses the toilet when she gets up no problem. (She always sleeps on her tummy). I don't think there is much you can do about the problem until your daughter grows out of it. My daughter is 100% fine during the day for well over 8 months now but night she just can't control it. It upsets her too to know she pees so I know it is not on purpose! Don't worry about it too much.

Answer 4

First of all, talk to her doctor .Some kids bladders do not grow as fast as others so they cannot hold it as long or as well. At least rule out this possibility.
My son was in pull ups until he was 4 1/2.He considered it a convenience to wear them. He figured that he could wet them and go right on playing...and his friends were none the wiser for it.Once I figured out that this is what he was doing, I started him on big boy underwear.I did this on a day when we were home all day and no other kids were around. When he wet his underpants...in shock, I told him that there was a way to avoid that... Use the potty!!!! He got a penny for every time he used the potty.The pennys were redeemable for treats or TV privileges.I told him to stop what he was doing and go use the potty.His friends do it, he can too. It took 2 days to potty train him after this. Night time is usually the hardest for kids.Maybe a night light in the bathroom and a flashlight by her bed incase she is afraid of the dark.
This is what worked for my son.
Bottom line is that every child develops in different time frames at different levels, remind your friends of this.When your daughter is 40 , no one is gonna care when she stopped wearing pull ups. One warning though... I am a day care provider and some providers and schools require the children to be potty trained before they are enrolled. I didn't but others do.Lame I think because you can scar a kid for rushing them through this. And the other kids in school do not help this by teasing a child who isn't potty trained. Hang in there, Mom.You just continue to do what you can to encourage her in this.

Answer 5

At that age, bedwetting is common and there is a possibility that pull-ups are the only solution until she grows out of it. However, maybe you could try taking her to the bathroom every hour after dinner until bedtime, and then try one night without pull-ups. See how it goes. If it goes well, try another. If it doesn't but you're game for another, then try another. The hardest kids to potty train at night are the deep sleepers. My 5 year old son is potty trained in the daytime, but he still wears pull-ups to bed. He doesn't wet every night, maybe 3 or 4 nights a week on average, but the pull-ups allow us to have a restful night of sleep without changing sheets. So I think you should experiment for a few nights, see how it goes, and make a decision from there. :)

Answer 6

My niece was 5 years old in June and she still wears Pull-Ups. She has a premature bladder and truly can not hold it all night long. Her pediatrcian gave a a chewable pill (not sure the name) and she takes it right before bed and she has been on it for almost 2 weeks now and has only had 1 bedtime accident since she started!

Answer 7

The first thing that I want to tell you is to just relax. Every parent thinks that if their child isn’t completely potty trained by 4 years-old, then they are a failure. It is not true. I had a very similar problem with my ,now, 5 year-old. She was wearing pull-ups when she was 4. I had many friends who told me that they had their children completely off pull-ups by 2 years-old, but as it turned out (and I think this may be the case with your friends as well) they weren’t exactly honest about their children’s potty skills. Most parents stretch the truth because they don’t want to feel like they are failures as parents. My advice is don’t worry about it too much. The truth is children do learn on their own. Your child will get it just like mine did, but only after I stopped trying so hard to push her into learning faster than she was ready.
I would say that you should get rid of the pull-ups and let your child sleep in her underwear and pajamas. You can get plastic mattress covers that go under the sheets to protect the bed. She will probably still wet the bed a few times, (washing the sheet, blanket and clothes with a cap full of bleach will eliminate the odor and sanitize them) but she will eventually learn to get through the night and stay dry. So, don’t worry you will both get through this soon enough, and if it helps you can exaggerate as well. After all, who really needs to know your child’s potty habits?

Answer 8

My daughter is now 5 and I took her off pullups when she 1st turned 5. I took her to the doctor and they gave me a nose spray for her to help her not wet the bed at night. It really did work. Every once in a while, she will still wet the bed, but I really decided it was time to take her off of the pullups. I even got her out of bed when I woke up in the middle of the night to go potty to try to get her in the routine of going in the middle of the night. That really didn't work though. Good luck, and I do feel for you, I was the same way. My sister in law has girls the same age and they were out of pullups loooongg before my daughter was.. haha.

Answer 9

It can actually be quite normal for children to continue to have difficulty staying dry at night, even years after having been toilet trained. Rewarding a child when they stay dry is a good technique. However, disciplining them or making them feel guilty is not recommended. It is something that can be totally out of their control.

Alas, there is good news! GoodNites were created for children that outgrow diapers and continue to tackle nighttime wettings. They come in two sizes: S/M and L/XL, to fit kids 38-125pounds plus!

I've listed two great websites to read up on the issue. One offers several articles and the other tells about the GoodNite products!
Good Luck!!!

Answer 10

You aren't crazy, and I don't care what your friends say, most kids can not control their body functions at night. My daughter is 4 and she still wears pull ups to bed only. We call them her "night-night panties". I'm sure your friends are changing the sheets on those beds all of time, whether they admit it to you or not.
I remember sitting in a Dr office waiting room a few years ago, and the tv was on one of those medical info shows. Well, they were talking about potty training and bed wetting. They stated that not every child gets that little voice in their heads while they are sleeping, saying, "let's go potty". Plus, if there is family history of bed wetting, they said, that your child is prolly going to have that problem as well.
Don't push her, if she stays dry, make a big deal about it....she's a big girl! But, if she wets in them at night, just don't say anything, is she really hurting anyone or anything? She will grow out of it eventually.