Eliminating Bedwetting Challenges for Older Kids

Eliminating Bedwetting Challenges for Older Kids

Many parents hope that bedwetting will stop after their child is toilet trained, but this often isn’t the case. Daytime bathroom habits when a child is fully awake are quite different from nighttime habits when they’re asleep. However, there are several strategies you can employ to help your child stop wetting the bed.

1. Understand Your Child’s Bathroom Routine
Pay attention to how often and when your child uses the bathroom. Some children might not feel the need to urinate before bed. If they don’t sense that they need to go, they might skip the trip to the bathroom, which can lead to accidents during the night.

Additionally, some kids avoid using the bathroom at school out of embarrassment, leading them to drink a lot of fluids in the evening, which can also result in bedwetting. Rather than stopping your child from drinking water before bed—which can lead to dehydration—ensure they drink enough fluids during the day to prevent excessive drinking later on.

2. Consider Your Child’s Health and Emotional Well-being
Bedwetting may stem from medical issues like urinary tract infections, constipation, or diabetes. Address any such conditions first, as treating them may resolve the bedwetting.

Stress and anxiety can also cause bedwetting. Children might be anxious about school grades, bullying, moving to a new home, or welcoming a new sibling. If stress seems to be a factor, support your child by talking through their worries. Reducing their stress might also reduce bedwetting incidents.

3. Use a Bedwetting Alarm
Often, bedwetting is not about medical issues or stress but rather that your child’s brain and bladder are not yet communicating effectively. A bedwetting alarm can help speed up this connection. These alarms wake the child as soon as they start to urinate, prompting them to get up and use the bathroom. Over time, this trains the brain to wake up when the bladder is full or to hold the urine until morning.

With consistent use of a bedwetting alarm, older children can typically overcome bedwetting in two to three months. Without the alarm, the process might take a few years.

Throughout this period, be patient with your child. Remember, bedwetting is not something they can control on their own, and scolding them won’t help. Consider using washable underpads to make nighttime cleanups easier until the bedwetting issue is resolved.