How to Help an Older Child Stop Bedwetting

Bedwetting by older children is probably more common than you think it is. There may also be an hereditary component to bedwetting. Some families react badly to older child bedwetting. Some children may do it on purpose, sort of a passive aggressive behavior. Others may have small bladders, weak pelvic muscles, and be heavy sleepers. How can you help an older child stop bedwetting?

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Vinyl mattress cover with zipper
• Vinyl pillow covers
• Kegel Exercise Instruction
• Kitchen timer
• Big Kid pull-ups
• Nose Spray
• Wee Alarm

1. Purchase vinyl covers for your child's mattress and vinyl pillow covers too if necessary. These will prevent the mattress from being ruined. You won't need to air the mattress out or let it dry before making the bed. Just remove the sheets and mattress pad and wash those. Wipe the vinyl cover with a damp cloth if necessary and make the bed.

2. Purchase big kid pull-ups for your child to wear at sleep overs. Instruct your child to change in the bathroom. Give your child a plastic bag to put a wet pull-up into to bring home so friends don't find it. Send loose fitting pajamas so the pull-up is obvious.

3. Teach your child to do Kegel exercises to strengthen pelvic muscles. Boys and girls can do these.

4. Set a timer when your child needs to go potty. At first, try to get your child to wait just 5-minutes before going potty. Holding the urine can stretch the bladder so it can eventually hold more.

5. 
   Wake your child

   Wake your child in the middle of the night to get up and go to the bathroom.

6. Buy your child a wee alarm. At the first touch of moisture, the alarm goes off, waking the child, who is supposed to get up and go potty.

7. Ask your pediatrician about a prescription nose spray for older children who still wet the bed.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't get angry or upset with your child buy a mattress cover.
• Children eventually grow out of bedwetting.
• If bedwetting is on purpose, getting angry or upset will prolong the behavior. Ignore it, get a mattress cover.

Resources

• Foster child bedwetting
• Parenting tips
• How to Tell if Your Adopted child Has FAE Fetal Alcohol Effect
• How to Pack a Child for a Week of Summer Camp
• How to Cut Your Own Children's Hair to Save Money

[sonni57]

on 3/22/2009 Good suggestions on how to help older kids stop bed wetting this is a serious problem, but usually works out if you handle it properly. Thanks for the good article.

[megan-amom]

on 10/22/2008 HOW I SOLVED MY CHILD'S BEDWETTING: Before age 6,I would just use pullups.Once a child reaches 7 it usually starts to hurt self esteem. I finally researched alarms on the internet. Using an alarm took 2 months but it worked wonders! From wet every night to completely dry every night!
My child (AGE 8) wore the alarm every single night for 10 weeks.I often wonder if he'd still be wetting the bed if we hadn’t tried the alarm.
I strongly recommend the book, Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness, by Renee Mercer for parents. And the children's book, Prince Bravery and Grace – Attack of the Wet Knights by Gail Ann Gross. www.braveryandgrace.com It's the story of a young prince who struggles with "the Wet Knights" and eventually defeats them by using an alarm. The book is full of dragons and knights which children love. It gives children hope courage & incentive to use alarm. www.braveryandgrace.c

[bookmom]

on 8/26/2008 Really good advice. We're fighting this with my oldest, but he's still young enough where I'm not really worried...yet.

[almondspecial]

on 8/9/2008 Great article actually was looking at this exact topic on the Tyra Banks show yesterday.

[Cherst1031]

on 8/3/2008 Good advice - in fact get TWO mattress covers. Put them both on, then the sheets. If you get up in the night, just pull off the top layer and remake the bed over the bottom mattress pad. (or just throw a comforter over the child and bottom mattress pad).