6 Yrs Olds - help get them out of pull-ups at night

Our guys are first graders and we all know (them included) that it's time to be out of pull-ups at night. We just don't know how to do it. They are heavy sleepers, so the need to go doesn't seem to wake them up. I know one strategy is for us to wake them, but don't think we can handle that every night as someone is always not going back down easy. Cutting off liquids after dinner doesn't seem to do the trick.

Please any advice.
Thanks.

 

What's the time gap between their cutoff and bedtime?

 

If you are concerned talk to their pediatrician. Staying dry at night is something they don't have conscience control over, so telling them they have to stay dry simply doesn't work. My nephew wore Goodnights until he was 10 or 11. Some kids just don't get that control until much later. Think of it as a medical issue (because it is), not one of simply willing it to happen.

 

She is exactly right.

I have a 5 yr old who still wears pull ups at night.

 

Sarah still wears Pull-ups at night. I see night "training" as something the child and the parents really don't have control of. She doesn't have a lot of liquids, she just sleeps for a long time and very deeply. So, with her, I have the choice of a well-rested child for the next day in a pull-up. Or I have the choice of a poorly-rested child who kept getting woke up at night to go the bathroom who spends the next day melting down and crying even though she woke up dry. I take well-rested.

If you're really concerned, talk to your dr. They probably tell you some kids just need more time. I can honestly tell you also that Sarah used to be totally dry at night, for even almost a year. Then we moved and she got her own room and started sleeping better and longer and started wetting again at night. So, for us, a Pull-up is a happy solution.

Marissa

 

I have one 9 yr old in pull ups at night. She went to see a pediatric urologist at Boston Children's Hospital (for something else) and he said, that we didn't need to worry about it. Many kids are in their early teens when their bodies are finally ready to go through the full night, dry.

 

There is a hormone that suppresses urine at night - this hormone release begins at 4-5, but frequently much later. Many researchers feel that bed wetting is not an issue until after 7 years old. One of my girls has been dry since before she was 3, the other wets several times a night at 5 1/2. It is already a struggle to get them to drink adequate water, I am not going to restrict fluids. When she is wakened at night, she frequently is up & ready for fun for the next hour - other times she just moans & whimpers. She has occasional night terrors that are exacerbated by sleep disruptions....I am just going to wait it out. Do I like still buying Pull Ups - No. But I like it better than a cranky, over tired, under watered child.

I would advise waiting it out....6 is still within the range that many children are still wet at night.

 

I agree with the others. Our specialist for their ADHD said some kids especially boys can take up to age 9 before they have the bladder control to stay dry over night. My daughter was about 7 before we finally got rid of the goodnights. She was also a very deep sleeper who just did not wake up to go potty.

 

Like the others have said, it is not uncommon for some to still be in pull-ups at night. I have one that still pees the bed about 2x a month. He is a very heavy sleeper. We tried waking him up for a while, but with him being on the top of a loft bed it is nearly impossible to get him up. He just asked us to get him an alarm clock to wake him, but not sure if we want to do that. He does share a room with his brother.

 

I know the feeling, but I wouldn't worry about it. My oldest didn't stay dry till he was 8 and the twins are 7 and still wet the bed. I never made it a big deal, I just buy the generic nighttime pants for them. I figure when their body is ready, they will do it. My DD on the other hand stopped wetting the bed as soon as she was potty trained at the age of 3. (I don't start potty training till 3, but that's another story. )

 

My older boys are 5.5 and 1 of them has finally managed to stay dry overnight. The other one wakes up soaked 6 out of 7 nights. It makes me want to :headbang: but I know he has no control.

 

This is my daughter too. She just turned 7 and is wet most mornings. We don't make a big deal out of it either. It's not something she chooses to do.

The little girls were dry at night within a few months of being dry during the day.

 

Ditto what everyone else said... One thing we did do with our kids that COULD stay dry (meaning they had for a stretch of time and then reverted for some reason), was to put them to bed, and before we went to bed, we would get that child up and take them to the bathroom one last time. Usually that child would go, but not always. It did help them to stay dry, and also helped build the pattern for staying dry again. Now, my 16 year old son is still struggling with this, and let me tell you, nothing worked for him... except medication (DDAVP), which if he takes it as the instructions indicate, it works great... However, it's EXPENSIVE... Like $6.00/night. Thank goodness for extended health benefits... This medication is supposed to help the brain make the connection that hasn't been made, over time... He could be on it for 3-6 months, and then wean off... It is a last resort for us, because of the cost, but nothing else worked...