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
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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.
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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.
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3
Teach your child to do Kegel exercises to strengthen pelvic muscles. Boys and girls can do these.
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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.
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5
Wake your child
Wake your child in the middle of the night to get up and go to the bathroom.
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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.
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7
Ask your pediatrician about a prescription nose spray for older children who still wet the bed.
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1
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.
Related Searches
Resources
- Photo Credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/galfred/116219716,www.flickr.com/photos/lxsocon/1047978857
Comments
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Remove apple juice completely from the diet if you have a bed wetting child. Read labels to make sure there is no apple juice.
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sonni57
Mar 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.
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bookmom
Aug 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.
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Simone Pierre
Aug 09, 2008
Great article actually was looking at this exact topic on the Tyra Banks show yesterday.
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Cherst1031
Aug 03, 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).
