Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

not to worry that my 8 year old still wears night time nappies...

39 replies

Laura0806 · 27/10/2014 23:57

Just wondered. I have not been too concerned but maybe I should be. Tried doctors tablets, alarms and nothing working. Apparently my brother was very late to be dry at night and told it was a hormonal thing. How common is it? A bright happy high functinonning child in all other respects

OP posts:
losthermind · 28/10/2014 00:05

DS has been dry for round 7 months now
Hes just turned 9
I still keep the plastic cover under his bottom sheet just incase
And I try to make sure he doesn't drink too much after 7PM
His father was round 11/12 when he stopped apparently
Don't worry about it, he will stop eventually

puds11isNAUGHTYnotNAICE · 28/10/2014 00:17

I wore them until 9. Was a serial bed wetter also. I was a very heavy sleeper which contributed to this. I haven't wet the bed since I was 10. YEY!

ColdCottage · 28/10/2014 00:25

My nephew is 12 and still having problems but they are nearly better. I need to sleep now but pm me if you want more info as I may forget to return to thread due to DS 5.5 months

flummoxedlummox · 28/10/2014 00:40

I was the same, my mum took me to various doctors and we used various devices/methods without effect. I just stopped naturally between 10-11 years old. Hasn't caused me any harm apart from the fact I couldn't go on the PGL type trip in year 6. I'm still bitter 38 years later not Grin.

however · 28/10/2014 03:47

My son is the same at almost 8. I wish he'd grow out of it only because he wets so much he leaks sometimes. He was bang on every other milestone so it's just one of those things.

however · 28/10/2014 03:48

My other two were almost as late as him btw.

MammaTJ · 28/10/2014 04:05

My DS is 8 and still in 'night pants'. I did get the school nurse involved and the last time she visited, she could see how stressed I was by other things in my life. She told me to leave it for now and she will visit again in the new year. She is not bothered.

My friend has three DSs. The eldest has just recently got dry at night, he is 13. She also has an 8 year old, he is not dry at night and neither is the 4 year old.

YANBU!

checkeredpresent · 28/10/2014 04:37

I think it happens when it happens. My ds was 9ish when he stopped wearing pull-ups at night but it was more that he was a little self-conscious about it by then and some nights were still "risky", but it was his choice. My 2 dds were dry around 5 so not particularly early but not too late either.

Now he's 11 the bed is never wet although I notice that he sometimes changes his pyjama bottoms during the night so maybe he doesn't quite wake up in time. A couple of years ago I noticed that he never wore his pyjamas in matching sets (always top from one set, bottoms from another) and I think this was him feeling a bit embarrassed that he sometimes had to change them in the night and this was his strategy for avoiding comments from his sisters!

AuditAngel · 28/10/2014 05:33

DS was 8 when we started seeing the enuresis clinic. He was dry after 3 appointments. PM me if you want the details of the advice we received.

DS did do a school journey in year 4 (a few months after the clinic) with no problems.

Marylou62 · 28/10/2014 10:26

Sorry if you don't want to hear this but both my boys were still wetting at 13 and 15....not just sheet either as youngest would wrap himself in duvet and even pillows were wet...(Pyjama pants didn't fit after about 12)....Tried everything but just heavy sleepers.....and I do want to say not to worry about school camps or sport (overnight) events...the teachers were great and DSs only had to mention in the morning that stuff was wet and it was washed and dried ....also one teacher said he tried to put all the wetters together (without them knowing..just in case)....no one ever found out...and DS2 played rugby to high level and went often for overnight stays..it is so much more common that you think......good luck and it is truly a momentous occasion when you realize that they have eventually stopped....

Shesparkles · 28/10/2014 10:28

YANBU, my ds still wore them at 8, I really don't think it's that unusual

Kittykatzen · 28/10/2014 21:25

It's very common. If he's dry in the day and it's just at night, then I would expect it to get better with time. Does it bother him? The Eric website (www.eric.org.uk) has lots of useful information. (Paediatrician here)

bealos · 28/10/2014 21:42

My son is 9 in a couple of weeks and still wets the bed regularly. We have up with pull ups a couple of years ago though as they didn't hold the liquid and I felt we're demeaning for him.

Now, if we lift him at 9.45 (not 10!) he will wee in the loo and stay dry til morning. Mostly.

If he goes to bed late or he's very tired, he'll wet the bed. If he drinks too much at supper time, he'll wet the bed.

We've tried alarms (he never woke! Such a heavy sleeper) and now he's having hypnotherapy which stated today - I'll report back!

JulietBravoJuliet · 28/10/2014 22:12

Ds is 8.5 and still in pull ups as we've never had a dry night. I don't stress about it too much as I wet the bed until I was about 13.

MrsSchadenfreude · 28/10/2014 22:35

YANBU at all. But please, when your DC goes to stay with friends/relatives, could you mention it to the parent? If I had known that DD's friend was a bed wetter, I'd have put a waterproof mattress cover on, used a washable duvet, and not suggest that if might be fun if she shared a bed with DD. The amount of pee a large 8 year old can produce is phenomenal!

Original poster
Laura0806 · 28/10/2014 22:48

Thanks everyone. Really appreciate the advice and support. Mrs Schadenfreude, I wouldn't do the sleepover thing atm

OP posts:
OvertiredandConfused · 28/10/2014 22:54

My DS11 is still a regular bed wetter. We've tried everything. Now, we're quite matter of fact about it. Limiting drinks in the evening, loo trip around midnight, double-making the bed with waterproof sheets, careful planning for sleep overs. I've done the worrying, now I just figure he'll grow out of it one day

Aeroflotgirl · 28/10/2014 23:05

Where are these 3/year olds who are dry say and night. Dd is 7.5 and still wets the bed.

jazzsyncopation · 28/10/2014 23:49

YANBU: my pal's dc had and had tablets for sleepovers. Isuppose you know the'avoid fizzy/fruit drinx 'theories [Also just a thought that maybe nappies not a good idea ? asopposed to warm clothes,..different when your doing the washing tho i suppose!]

jazzsyncopation · 28/10/2014 23:53

ps you have to ensure bladder is 'well flushed out' during day

MrsToddsShortcut · 28/10/2014 23:57

DD is 8 and still in pull ups. DS is 6 and just stopped wearing them.

DD is under the enuresis team and has just had an ultrasound to see if her bladder is okay and then we take it from there.

She wets very heavily and often wets through the pull ups several times a night.

I think it's much more common than people think tbh. I often think parenting books/magazines tell us what our children should be doing to the point where we become embarrassed about what they are doing, even though it's often very normal.

She had her first sleepover last weekend, which she was very nervous about. I had a quiet word with the friends mum who helped her get undressed somewhere private, and no one was any the wiser Smile

NeedABumChangeNotANameChange · 29/10/2014 00:27

Wow, I never knew how common this was. A Dcousin was still bed wetting at 12 but I never knew ahoy many others had this problem.

elliejjtiny · 29/10/2014 00:30

DS1 is 8 and still in pull ups at night.

MeDented · 29/10/2014 00:51

I'm interested to hear how many others have failed with the alarms! I'm beginning to despair as have tried 2 different types and DS just sleeps through them! He says they didn't go off! But sometimes I hear it & my room is the other side of the house! He is such a deep sleeper & also wraps himself in his duvet. Medication helps a little but for some reason he is currently going through a phase of wetting again even on the meds! It's hard work having to wash duvets & pillows nearly every day, I long for the day it all stops. He's nearly 11!

Straitjacket · 29/10/2014 01:08

My DS is 9 and still wets the bed. He has tried Desmopressin (only slightly reduces the amount he wees, so stops him leaking every night through the pull ups!) and he has also been under the enuresis clinic which didn't help. Tried everything they advised us to do, and also tried the alarms but he just sleeps through it. It wakes me up and I try to get him up but he is such a heavy sleeper. Even when he appears to be awake, he just talks random crap (the other night he said "You leave the field towards the left" Hmm ) and then goes back to sleep. No matter how long I try to wake him for, it just never happens. I do think that is part of the problem.

It is far more common than you realise. Yes it can be really frustrating and stressful when needing to wake up in the middle of the night and change their pull up so they don't leak, whilst they are fast asleep, or/and having to strip the bed every day but I know it will stop at some point hopefully soon.

Over all, YANBU!