7 year old wetting the bed

[yummystepford]

My just turned 7 year old ds wets the beds most nights. On fairness, we moved house in December to a completely new area, from a small flat to a big house, and I am aware this may be a factor. But, he was wetting the bed before we moved and hasn't really ever been dry. Tbh, I stopped nappies 7-8 months ago and bought waterproof covers and thought after a few nights he would start to become dry. I am thinking of starting a reward chart, but worried that my 5 year old who only wets occasionally will earn more rewards and that won't be good for ds1 confidence. (Ds2 is very bright for his age and ds1 is a bit behind so this is a regular issue) I also wouldn't know what kind of treats/rewards to put in place, would they need to be dry for the whole week to earn it or when they've earned X amount? Are there other solutions. I am tempted to visit the doctor now that he is 7, but I think they would blame it on the house move.

My DS is 8.3 and he may just be getting there

We haven't done much about it really although I approached the school nurse before last summer as DS was starting to be self-conscious about it. She suggested getting him checked out by GP in case there was any infection, losing the pull-ups and using bed mats, drinking lots in the day but not drinking blackcurrant or fizzy stuff for a few hours before bed (can irritate things apparently) DS took it all onboard and it seemed to be working - got down to 2 wet beds a week. Then for a while it wasn't working but now we have only had 2 wet beds so far this month and DS and I are hopeful.

I wouldn't go down the rewards avenue as it is mainly hormonal and not under his control and it definitely won't help if his little brother does better. I just try be as 'normal' as possible whether the bed is dry or not.

If it helps approx 10% of under-10 year old boys are still not dry at night which is a big number but just not something that is discussed.

I totally agree with Feetheart. Our GP referred us to the school nurse who has given us several pointers, mostly outlined by Feetheart.

DS is improving at 7.3, but not 100% reliable yet. My 5 yo DS2 is still in pull ups, yet my 2 1/2 yo DS3 is dry day and night. His twin sister isn't yet potty trained, they're all so different!

There is help out there, don't feel like you and he have to suffer in silence, and I'd be very surprised if the GP blamed everything on the house move, given that he's never been reliably dry.

Sticker charts for dry sheets aren't really appropriate as he's unlikely to have much choice over whether he wets or not, but don't hold back in accessing help.

oh no, please don't do rewards!

If he will go along with it I'd put him back in Dri-Nites - the fact that they go up to age 15 now might make him (& you?) feel a bit better about it, as well as preventing wet beds, & you can still monitor any improvement in dryness. & you can buy them online now.

School nurse service were very helpful for us so definitely try them first (maybe via your GP/HV? I think different areas organise differently)

DS1 is nearly 5 years older than DS2, & still DS2 was dry long before he was - it's just one of those developmental differences & we always stressed that to both boys so there was never any teasing or gloating.

Our school nurse was fab too. I would definitely recommend having a look at the ERIC website, their advice is really good and it's quite reassuring.

Ds1 suddenly got it at about 7 1/2, it was like flicking a switch for him. A friend of mine's dcs all took until they were 8, without any intervention.

If you do want to reward him then think about rewarding the behaviour that he is in control of rather than the result. Drinking and regular toilet trips during the day can help so maybe a sticker if he finishes the water in his bottle at school for example?

Good luck. I remember feeling we were never going to get there and then suddenly we did.