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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel disheartened that DD age 7 wet the bed last night?

28 replies

jaychops · 01/05/2023 10:57

We were doing so well, it had been nearly 6 weeks.

We've never had to have intervention as it would be a couple of times per week, just one accident, so not soaking the bed and not wearing pull ups. Had followed advice on the ERIC website. I personally feel she has developed the hormone to reduce urine production at night, it's just that she is a heavy sleeper and when she does need the toilet she doesn't wake.

Is it unusual for a normal 7.5 year old to wet the bed on occasion - which seems to be where we are at now? I suppose I should just be happy with the progress that's been made but I'm a worrier and she has a 1 night residential with school in July and is asking for sleepovers with friends.

OP posts:
Tropicalsunshine · 01/05/2023 11:03

I used to wet the bed.
I remember clearly waking up and being too scared to go to the loo in the dark. I'd then fall asleep again and that's when it happened. Might be worth checking this isn't the case with your DD.
It stopped around 7-8 and wasn't a problem after that.

Wishiwasmycat · 01/05/2023 19:03

Hello! I’ve been in a similar situation. Sounds like she’s doing really well and this is very normal. We bought an alarm via the ERIC website and DC (same age as yours) was dry within a week.

Bradsgoodreally · 01/05/2023 19:11

I do not think it is unusual. Both my children were 7-8 before they were totally dry at night. Try not to worry. She will get there very soon.

Foxy1616 · 01/05/2023 19:58

Absolutely normal - for the sleepover I’d have a quiet word with school (they are usually good at being subtle about dealing with it) & maybe ask her if she’d like pyjama pants to wear “just in case” - she won’t be the only one wearing them (&also pop a plastic bag in her bag so she can put wet pyjamas in easily without getting everything else wet!)

Nimbostratus100 · 01/05/2023 20:00

completely normal

BraveFaceScaredInside · 01/05/2023 20:38

One of my sons had frequent accidents until he was about 9. We managed sleepovers/school trips by putting pull ups in the bottom of his sleeping bag, so he just had to pull them on/off when he was in it. Not a perfect solution for if its more than one night, but its easy enough to put a sleeping bag in the wash (or sometimes cheaper to replace it)

Don't be disheartened, some children just take a bit longer x

mauveiscurious · 01/05/2023 20:50

My DC was 9 the last time, we changed the sheets quietly and had no drama. We used bed covers beyond 9 but it just passed away. It will pass

QforCucumber · 01/05/2023 20:53

Ds1 is 7 and wets the bed 4-5 nights out of 7. It’s not a big deal and we don’t make a big deal out of it. He’ll get there

IamSuperTired · 01/05/2023 20:53

My now 11 year old used to wet the bed every few months at age 7 / 8. Even now, I'd say it's about every 6 months, when he's v v v tired and in a v deep sleep! My 9 year old wets the bed about every 6 months too. In both children it's becoming rarer and rarer, but at age 7 I really wouldn't be worried!

sarahzbaker · 01/05/2023 20:54

Oops. Double negative question

RoseGoldEagle · 01/05/2023 20:55

My 6, nearly 7 year old is still in pull ups at nighttime. Keep reading different opinions- can anyone advice if I should take her for GP check or is it ok to go straight for trying an alarm? Thanks!

buckleten · 01/05/2023 20:57

This is very normal, one of mine was like this and one of my neices was more like 9

rainbowssky · 01/05/2023 21:09

Please don't worry sounds normal with my nieces to compare to.

Wavingnotdrown1ng · 01/05/2023 21:27

I was an ardent bedwetter until I was 8, as a child. The fact that pull-ups are readily available in this size indicates that many others are too. Re school trips, I have been involved in many secondary ones as a teacher and many a parent/ older sibling has informed the school that their 11+ or young teen still has accidents so it’s nothing unusual at your child’s age. I absolutely resonate with being too frightened to go to the toilet or even dreaming that I had gone, as a child, only to wet myself.

Original poster
jaychops · 02/05/2023 14:07

Thankyou for all the replies, they have really reassured me!

OP posts:
Nimbostratus100 · 02/05/2023 14:42

one of mine had an accident at 11, about 4 years after becoming dry at night. they were devastated at the time, but we completely played it down, told them it was nothing, and it was normal to have a one off, and I dont think they even remember it now. I remember my brother having a similar incident at a similar age, and helping him hide it from our parents. As a secondary school teacher, we do have students have an occasional accident in year 7, very few, but we just treat it is a non event, and it is normally just the once, if there is no SEN. I think some children at this age decide bladder is mind over matter, and then discover actually it isn't!

Jules912 · 02/05/2023 14:49

Very normal, DD 7 wets the bed once or twice a week. I must admit I'm worrying more as she wants to go on Brownie camp in the summer.

Xiaoxiong · 02/05/2023 15:14

We just had a talk from the school nurse who reassured us that in year 6 it is developmentally normal for some kids not to be dry at night yet and not to worry on overnight trips or boarding, they won't be the only one.

OnLockdown · 02/05/2023 18:24

Yep, my almost 8 year old still does on occasion and I was even older. I used to dream that I was going to the bathroom and having a wee. Except I wasn't in the bathroom!

Iminthemoneylife · 02/05/2023 18:25

My nearly 7 year old has been dry over night since before 2 and I can count on one hand the number of times she has wet the bed. It has happened twice within the last year.

nomoredrivingytu · 03/05/2023 02:43

DS1 was toilet trained around 2.5 and never had a wet nappy at night since that

DS2 was toilet trained around the same, wasn't dry at night until around age 8

Honestly, it's a lottery, try not to worry.

FunkyBrownie · 03/05/2023 13:59

Jules912 · 02/05/2023 14:49

Very normal, DD 7 wets the bed once or twice a week. I must admit I'm worrying more as she wants to go on Brownie camp in the summer.

Brownie leader here - please don’t worry. Chat to the team ahead of time and she won’t be the first or last they’ve come across.

I’ve had multiple girls come with pull ups (packed in the bottom of sleeping bags so they can pull them on when getting changed so nobody notices), put in a bed closest to the door/toilet, allowed to take a water bottle to bed so that any wet patches can be explained away as spillages… there’s so many ways we can help and help your daughter feel confident enough to come

budgiegirl · 03/05/2023 14:16

Very normal, DD 7 wets the bed once or twice a week. I must admit I'm worrying more as she wants to go on Brownie camp in the summer

It's totally normal, and very common, for 7 year olds to still be wetting the bed. Don't worry about camp, just chat to the leaders, who may have strategies in place. I'm a cub leader, and on each camp there's usually at least one wet bed incident - we always take lots of spare sleeping bags and blankets in case! And, perhaps surprisingly, most children are very understanding about other children doing this.

My own DS wet the bed until he was about 9 or 10, and on residentials, I just sent him with spare sheets blankets, pyjamas, pyjama pants etc, talked to him about strategies (such as bundling wet things into plastic bags in his sleeping bag) and then let him get on with it. I think it worried me far more than it bothered him!

Dis626 · 03/05/2023 14:18

Completely normal! My DS was still wetting the bed on occasion at 9.

yikesanotherbooboo · 03/05/2023 14:28

This is one of those areas of parenting that no one gets taught and seems to be some sort of secret; another is that newborn babies have to latch on for hours at a time to build up supply and that there is no milk at all for the first couple of days. Night time wetting is common until ages 10 or 11 and cannot be trained. Most children are dry by 5 but a significant proportion are not. It shouldn't be a cause for embarrassment, avoiding social events , medication regimes or shame. These threads crop up so often and multiple posters are surprised to find that they are not alone and that it isn't the parents' responsibility if a child isn't dry over night at two and a half.
My DSes weren't reliably dry until the summer of year 6. No other problems and they were both dry in the day between 2 and 3.