OT: Help! How can I get my 4 yr old to stay dry at night??

This is driving me completely crazy!!!! My four yr old is completely trained during the day, but keeps having accidents at night...I've tried sticker charts and rewards... Not working.


Any help?? Thanks in advance. You guys rock!

Kim- my son was a late bloomer in that regard too. My doctor told me-rewards and stuff won't work at night-he's a heavy sleeper and the only way he'll stay dry at night is to just wait until his bladder is large enough to hold it-which has to do with age, not behavior. Some kids just cannot wake up to go to the bathroom-they just sleep too hard. Thankfully they make pull ups in larger sizes. They also have pads you can lay down if your child doesn't move all over the bed-which will help protect the mattress-so will a rubber sheet under the bed sheets. One thing of course you can do is limit his liquid intake after 7pm. My doctor said if he's still wetting at age 8 they would look at medical intervention, but he didn't need to-he was 5-6 when it stopped-hard to remember exactly when since he's 12 now. I'd say don't worry- buy a few extra pairs of pj's and sheets so you don't have to wash everyday, and just see if he outgrows it.
Hang in there!

I don't think he or she can help it.  You could get him up to go potty before you go to bed.  Maybe that will help.  It's a pretty common problem.

Laura

Kim there is a pill the pedi can give your son to help with bed wetting.  Been there, done that with my oldest and he still occassionally has accidents. 

He sleeps hard it never wakes him up.  Our Pedi said it is very common, especially with little boys.  I know how you feel, it's frustrating to say the least.  Put him in a Pullup to sleep, make sure he stops drinking by 7:00 and that you bring him to the bathroom before he goes to bed.

We had a couple boughts of bed wetting when Rhi was learning. I stopped giving her liquids after 7ish like Alissa said. Seemed to help (but it was hard cause she would get thirsty, so maybe she'd get 4 ounces of water tops.) I think it was age and just a learning curve for the most part.

I personally  was a VERY heavy sleeper as a child and wet my bed frequently. I swear I would dream I'd be going to a toilet to go to the bathroom in my dream, and have at it. Weird stuff. Once I got old enough to learn the real feeling versus dream I was able to catch myself. So your baby will too.

What I would recommend for you is to go buy those absorbent pads in the store (square 18"X24" folded pads near the adult diapers) and when you make their bed put one on the mattress where their bottom would be, then put on a sheet. THEN put another pad on that sheet, then another sheet over it all. It won't feel as gross as a towel underneath (that does nothing), saves your baby from having to find a dry spot in that wet bed afterward, a pee smelling mattress, and YOU from having to make the bed at 3 in the morning. Just rip off the top layer and put them back to bed with plans to handle the sheets in the morning.  

Hope this helps!

Chris and Adam never had a problem thank goodness.  But I know someone who did until he was 12.  He still remembers that first morning he woke up dry and it was over and never happened again.  Be patient with him its not his fault and he will stop.

I would honestly take this stage as what I going through with my 3 year old.  She refuses to use a potty.  The first time she sat on her new one it made music and scared her so now she will not get on a potty.  I once heard it said that Dr. Suess said all kids would potty train themselves by the age of 3.  Well this one is sure proving that wrong and I do not know what to do to help it anymore than I already have.

Yeah it's not a rewards type thing, it's a growing up thing. You're gonna tramatize your child by making a bigger issue of it then it is.....

Get some overnights......and call your kids doctor to find out if there is a medical condition causing it.

Scott

Same here with my youngest son.  I just kept him in diapers at night because they were cheaper until he started waking up dry consistently.  He was potty trained during the day for over a year before he was able to stay dry at night.  He finally grew out of it.

I can tell you from personal experence he will eventully stop. my parents gave me a nose spray that helped me stopp wetting the bed at night. it could be his age but it also could be a medicle thing. mine was a medicle thing and it stemed from gentics on my dads side of the family. so like they said give him some time and see what happens. also when i would stay at my grandparents they would wake me at night to go potty then let me go back to bed b/c i am a hard sleeper. my parents used a waterproof matress pad as to no ruin the matress. hope things get better