Well, I've been called worse....

[Gerald Creasy]

So I've been pestering my son...now 6 1/2 about wetting the bed.

He's still in pullups and makes NO effort to change. Nothing. Zero. No interest. Tried all the tricks. No drinking after a certain time etc and he still goes so bad the pullups overflow.

In every way I have reminded him about the importance of getting up and going to the restroom.

I've made up silly songs that get him laughing only to have an important verse be about not wetting the bed.

I've told him we'd spend the cost of Pullups on toys.

I've even threatened to mention his bed wetting to his friends at school.

Finally in desperation I told him we're going to have a PullUp party for his Seventh birthday. Everyone that comes will wear upside down pullups on their head as party hats. And He's gonna get packs of pullups for his presents.

"DON'T you DARE!" He shouted.

"Daddy! You're a meanie-ack!!!

[oletimer]

Gerald, from a dad that went thru all that don't do any of those things, for one thing they want do any good and will hurt your relationship with him.

If any thing take him in for medical exam, there may be a medical reason for it. Some kids and it seems like it more boys then girls that have this problem, just can't help it. Then one day they will just stop, but they may be ten or twelve though.

It will be harder on him in the next year or two then you, you may not see it now, but as he gets older it will be harder for him to cope with it.

One of the problems that we found out about our boy was that when he fell a sleep, he would go into a real deep sleep.

If I could give you any advice, it would be to take him inyour arms and just love him while you still have him young and don't waste one moment that you have with him. The Lord will one day he will grown and gone and all you will have will be menories, make them as good as you can.

Give him a hug for me and tell him it is from a friend that under stands.

[Ilovebigcats]

First of all that is HILARIOUS!!!

Second of all.. I wet the bed until I was 12.

Thirdly.. It could be emotional issues from his you-know-what. Or it could be something physically wrong. It was with me. They gave me a pill when I was 12 and I stopped immediately. You should probably mention it at his next Dr visit. Also.. wake him up in the middle of the night at specific hours and see if you can catch the time he is emptying his bladder and train him to wake up at that hour every night to go potty.

Again.. the pull up party idea is hilarious! I need to throw a booger cake party for my 7 year old who likes boogers. GROSS!!!!

[n2jesus]

Of course it's been a while since I had little ones...but from what I gleaned as a parent is that any child who still wets the bed over age 5 has a physical or psycological problem...Wendy had the 1st and possibly some of the 2nd with the stress in our home...Anyway we changed sheets and bed clothes every single day till she was 12 years old and we made no big deal out it...We hated it for her...The pediatrician tried a medication called imipramine which had a side effect of fluid retention...It worked immediately and the rest is a history of a clean, dry bed...

[Poimen]

That was super funny.
From the mouths of babes, aye?

BTW, I wet until I was in my early teens. Then I pretty well overcame it.
They tell me a boy's bladder doesn't grow at the same rate with the rest of the body. So they are more prone to being unable to "hold it" while asleep.

Of course, you are only right to do your "due diligence." But don't lose heart if his problem persists.

[PastorDaniel]

I know its tough....but have you tried to get up in the night and wake him to get him on a schdule. We've had this problem with several foster children. For some it was emotional, for some physical, some were scared of the dark, but for others...it was habit. No one had ever taught them to awake themselves and go. We have four bedwetters right now!! We have 2 of them almost trained...but they were deep sleepers and they had to learn to wake up and go. And we had to teach that.

[Shellie]

Gerald,

You will not be able to "shame" him into stopping. He's not doing it consciously so he cannot stop it consciously.

Not too many children will pee themselves and their beds that wet and then purposely lay in it. It is not a lazy issue, really. If he can sleep in a soaked bed with soaked pajamas then he is sleeping way too hard to feel the sensation to pee.

Just a suggestion, but get rid of the pull-ups. We may see it as easy clean up, but they see it as a diaper and that's rough on a kid in Kindergarten or above that is "growing up". I know it's more work, but I suggest putting plastic over the mattress and having access to fresh pjs and a fresh blanket. When we started doing this with Zeb, he would get uncomfortable and itchy with being so wet and wake up. He'd then climb out of bed, put on dry clothes and move to the couch. In the morning, I stripped the bed..with his help just to make him aware..and we put on fresh sheets. We didn't "talk" about it. As he started being awakened by being wet, he started to get into the habit of waking up easier and the peeing started to slope off. Within a year or less, he was only peeing about once a month or so and after that he would have an accident every now and again before he finally stopped altogether before he reached 9.

My pediatrician said it is perfectly normal for boys to pee the bed on up to these ages. Their bladders do not form as quickly as girls.

I know it's frustrating, but he will stop. AND...it's not always a sign of emotional or physical problems. Peeing the bed is VERY normal for a 7 year old boy.

[PastorP]

So I've been pestering my son...now 6 1/2 about wetting the bed.

He's still in pullups and makes NO effort to change. Nothing. Zero. No interest. Tried all the tricks. No drinking after a certain time etc and he still goes so bad the pullups overflow.

In every way I have reminded him about the importance of getting up and going to the restroom.

I've made up silly songs that get him laughing only to have an important verse be about not wetting the bed.

I've told him we'd spend the cost of Pullups on toys.

I've even threatened to mention his bed wetting to his friends at school.

Finally in desperation I told him we're going to have a PullUp party for his Seventh birthday. Everyone that comes will wear upside down pullups on their head as party hats. And He's gonna get packs of pullups for his presents.

"DON'T you DARE!" He shouted.

"Daddy! You're a meanie-ack!!!

Have you tried target practice with you son? I had a member at one church I pastored and she would put cheerios in the commode and tell her son to hit the circle. It got him potty trained!

[Jennifer Smith]

It can be hereditary. We didn't find this out until one of my children had the same problem. The only thing that helped was the bed wetting alarm. It costs about $30 or $40 bucks but after using it one to two nights he didn't wet the bed anymore.

[Pastor Bill]

We're going through the same thing with our daughter (8 years old), and I'll say the same thing many have here, the shaming and fussing doesn't work, there are some things your Doctor may be able to help with, but nothing has worked for us, for some it just takes time. The only thing we haven't tried is the electric "shock" underware that jolts them awake when they start to wet. (and yes this is something they suggest for bed wetting).

It's most likely he is sleeping way too deeply, and this is very common.

It's very aggrivating, and we've done with and without the pullups, (clean sheets every day get's very rough) but it'll get better, just give it time.

[Mike Vande]

Gerald,
What do you expect the boy to do, grow an audible alarm on his forehead that wakes him up his bladder is full? How do you expect him to "try"?

my dad did the same sort of thing you're talking about to me when I was 8 or 9. Out of the blue, for no discernible reason, I started bedwetting. He wailed on me with his belt, browbeat me mercilessly over it, and made threats to do stuff like what you said. It was one of the most humiliating things I've ever gone through, and it was done to me by my own father. Think about your son having to be able to say that when he's an adult. Does that make you feel good about the way you're handling it?

It didn't work for me any more than it's working for your boy, because it wasn't about trying or wanting not to try. It was about physical development. Sometime a kid's urinary sphincter muscle doesn't develop as fast as the rest of their bodies. They have troubles maintaining control over it, particularly when they sleep. What's really ironic is that al the stress he created made the problem worse, not better, just like it's doing to your kid.

Any man who'd humiliate his own son like that over something he has no more control over than breathing is a skunk, plain and simple. My father did it out of ignorance. You no longer have that excuse. Take your son to a doctor, get him examined, and and see what the doctor says, instead of screwing him up emotionally.

[Gerald Creasy]

Thanks for all the viewpoints and advice.

The only thing I had to go on was my own experience.

I only had an "occasional accident"

[pastorables]

Thanks for all the viewpoints and advice.

The only thing I had to go on was my own experience.

I only had an "occasional accident"

Exactly. Children don't come with a manual. I have wished for one more times than I can remember.

[darylscook]

I just wanted to agree with the others. If your son could quit, he would. He doesn't want to do it. As a bedwetter when I was growing up, I would love to have quit.

Do what you can to help him and encourage him.

The alarm worked for my daughter and it didn't even wake her up. I had to hollar from the other room, GEEETTTTTUUUUUPPPPP

Daryl

[Jennifer Smith]

It can be hereditary. We didn't find this out until one of my children had the same problem.

We didn't find out that a couple people in my family had had this problem until our son had this. But, my grandfather and at least one cousin were older when they stopped wetting the bed.

I hope it works out okay for you!