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by NoFlyZone on November 19th, 2008

NoFlyZone

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My son is 4.5 years old. He still wears a diaper at night. Should I be concerned? Sometimes I think he does it knowingly b/c he doesn't want to get out of bed at night. How can I motivate him to stay dry?

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Answers. 11 helpful answers below.

  • by Ruh Roh on November 19th, 2008

    Ruh Roh

    my stepson wet the bed until he was around 12. He slept so deep that we banged pots and pans right in his ear not 10 min after he fell asleep and he never moved. We purchased an bedwetting alarm, that woke us up immediately after he wet the bed, and we woke him up then, After about a month he was able to wake up on his own. OMG! If only we had got that earlier!!

    (the alarm / trainer ws an electrical device that had 2 large "foil" pads, with a sheet or something in between. When the sheet got wet, it closed the circuit and the alarm went off. I dont know if they still make this kind, a quick check on ebay shows an updated, smaller version.)

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  • by BROADWAYTHECAT on January 7th, 2009

    BROADWAYTHECAT

    There's alot of good suggestions here...a visit to the doctor just to make sure there's nothing physical going on...counseling if you think he's having problems adjusting to something or is experiencing some kind of distress...no water/fluid intake within 3 hours of bedtime...there's nothing wrong with putting him in a pullup if they come in his size until he figures out to solve this problem. if there's nothing physically or emotionally wrong. I worked with a little guy once that was afraid to leave his bed at night and go to the bathroom by himself. I had to have several little talks and really listen to him before he felt comfortable enough to tell me what was going on...he had been told only sissies get scared...he' rather get in trouble for wetting the bed than be called a sissy. A nightlight, a "ritual" to rid the night of all things scary before bedtime (and parents stopping the name calling) helped this little guy fix his problem all by himself.

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  • by Lori K still ignores stalkers and trolls on January 7th, 2009

    Lori K still ignores stalkers and trolls

    He's still very young. You can discuss this with your pediatrician, but many children still have problems with this well into the school years. Some of the causes of bed-wetting include the following:

    * Genetic factors (it tends to run in families)
    * Difficulties waking up from sleep
    * Stress
    * Slower than normal development of the central nervous system (which reduces the child's ability to stop the bladder from emptying at night)
    * Hormonal factors (not enough antidiuretic hormone is produced, which is the hormone that slows urine production at night)
    * Urinary tract infections
    * Abnormalities in the urethral valves in boys or in the ureter in girls or boys
    * Abnormalities in the spinal cord
    * A small bladder

    Bed-wetting is not a mental or behavior problem. It doesn't happen because the child is too lazy to get out of bed to go to the bathroom.

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  • by Carmella on January 7th, 2009

    Carmella

    He definitely shouldn't be wearing diapers at night, and an occasional accident is fine but constant bedwetting is a bit of a problem.

    Try a sticker chart. Draw up a simple chart and put it somewhere he can see, then give him a sticker for every night he stays dry. After he collects 7 stickers (or slightly fewer, if staying dry really is a challenge), he gets a treat -- maybe a new toy he wants, a trip to the theater... you get the idea.

    Talk to him about how it's time to use the Big Boy toilet at night and explain the diapers have to go. Use that opportunity to find out if he's scared of using the bathroom at night, if he doesn't like the cold, if there's anything that would help him etc. Make sure there are nightlights in his bedroom and bathroom and that he can see in the hallway so it's not too scary for him.

    Placing a shower curtain under his sheet will help with accident clean up. Wake him up during the night to take him to the toilet, even if he says he doesn't need it, carry him to it if you have to. Wake him up at least once and at the same time each night, but more than that if he's still wetting. Cut out drinks a couple of hours before bedtime, if you don't see an improvement ask your doctor for other suggestions like a bed wetting alarm.

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  • by thumberlina on January 7th, 2009

    thumberlina

    Listen to my experience..I stopped putting on diapers at night on my daughter at the age of three and she still wet the bed but only two times because she hated it when she got wet and I had to wash her so she never wetted the bed again...another trick leave the boy three hours without drinking before putting him to bbed...it will help a lot

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  • by jamesgalardo on November 19th, 2008

    jamesgalardo

    encourage him to finish all meals and drinks by four pm. then he will piss it out for a while until he is empty tank. Other wise, make him excercise by swimming a lot. This makes children very sleepy. he will sleep all night through. when he starts waking up with dry diapers, then you can take them off. Make sense? It's just simple logic.

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  • by Lizard on November 19th, 2008

    Lizard

    Chances are he will grow out of it...but I would be concerned with an underlying problem either physical or emotional. Better safe than sorry, I would take him to the pediatrician for a check up and some counsel. Good luck!

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  • by Smile loves California on January 10th, 2010

    Smile loves California

    If you think he's doing it because he doesn't want to get out of bed at night, offer him a positive reinforcement for sleeping without the diaper- maybe a certain treat the next morning.

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  • by Banana Breath plays the piano on January 7th, 2009

    Banana Breath plays the piano

    You can train him by YOU getting out of bed each night and walking him to the bathroom. The easiest was I've found is that YOU drink a tall glass of water or tea before bed and when you have to get up to pee, take him too.

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  • by Tenaciouscj on January 7th, 2009

    Tenaciouscj

    Is it cold where you live? He might be a bit keener to get out of bed if he has a nice fluffy mat to step onto. He could have some physical reason for not being dry at night eg. small capacity bladder, very deep sleeper so it's best to get things like that checked out before getting too concerned.

    One of my brothers wet the bed until he was 12 and my sister until she was 8 or so and then they grew out of it.

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  • by NoFlyZone on March 23rd, 2010

    NoFlyZone

    Thanks for all you concern and suggestions. He is now fully potty trained at night and has been for about 6 months!!!

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