Waking up son to pee

My ex-husband's brother and his wife had this same situation with their eldest son, where they would wake him before they went to bed and literally walk him to the bathroom to pee and then back to bed he went. The bad thing was that they never stopped this, so the kid always had problems wetting his bed. I remember visiting them when he was 11 and he was not only wearing huge pull-ups (maybe they were Depends!) at night time, but they were still walking him to the bathroom at like midnight.

I guess the moral of that story, is .... do you still want to be doing this with him 6 or 10 years from now??

I'm no expert in this issue, but I'd probably ask my pediatrician about it if I were you. Maybe there are some strategies you can take, like not allowing your son to drink anything after a certain time in the early evening, and maybe adjusting his bedtime to be a little later and having him use the bathroom right before bedtime.

Good luck with it!

DesertMom
http://ppdsurvivor.blogspot.com

We actually do the same with our 4 year old when in doubt. I don't give him any additional liquids after dinner. Sometimes, he does ask for a drink, and then I'll give him about 1 inch of liquid at a time.

We've also conditioned him to go potty before bathtime. And, frankly, if my intiution leads me to ask him to go again before he goes to bed, then I'll do it.

I think there is a lot to be said about parental instincts when it comes to little one's potty training (and potty training challenges). Do what feels right and if you are concerned about an "11 pm habit" try doing it one night at a time, along with cutting off liquids after dinner. That's what made a difference for us.

There are nights when he goes to bed extra early when he's tired and we will wake him up in the middle of the night to go,too.

Mouse_tales is a discussion leader in the East Valley for arizonamoms.com. She is a business owner, community volunteer, and aspiring runner (whew!), who most enjoys her roles as wife & mom. Her children range in age from 4 to 13.

Wow, that's a tough one. I think it's all about making changes in bits and pieces. Seems like if you start now, it certinally will not be a problem at age 11! ;) I think physically however, that he should be ok - I bet your pediatrician can make a reccomendation.

I think you do what works for you, but if you're worried about him not figuring it out for himself, I'd not wake him on Friday or Saturday night, and see how he does. That way, if he does have an accident, you won't be trying to get the bed stripped and sheets into the wash before school and work. I do think it works to limit fluids after about 7:30 p.m. or 8 p.m.

Karina Bland is raising her 9-year-old son in Tempe with a lot of love, humor and support from her friends and family. A longtime journalist covering child welfare and education issues for The Arizona Republic, she blogs about raising good kids.

We did the same thing with our daughters who were bedwetters and it worked most of the time, but we were exhausted. My recommendation would be to get some water proof pads (they're like the kind they use in the hospital) and put them under your son at night. Then if he does wet, you just have to toss the pad into the laundry room until morning and put a clean one on the bed. This way, he will feel when he's wetting and learn to wake himself up to go the bathroom. If he's going to be a consistent bedwetter, this probably won't help, but pediatricians won't make any recommendation for any kind of treatment until a child is 6 or older.

Nothing is ever easy with potty training. I think you've got to break the habit and risk a few accidents. Do try to cut off liquids after dinner and try to get him into the bathroom once before bedtime (even with the faucet running for encouagement!)

Susie is a discussion leader in the east valley for arizonamoms.com. She has two sons, ages 6 and 2.

Potty training should be a stress-free as possible for the child.

My advice? I don't think that waking your son at 11pm is really such a good idea - even though he goes right back to sleep - you are nevertheless interfering with his natural sleep rythms (alpha, beta, theta sleep etc.) and this could have harmful effects later on, or even right now, in his development at such a tender age that you may not be aware of, or that is not immediately apparent. Sleep for young children is immensely important.

When I was potty-training my son, I would have him go pee before his bed-time, and I had him wear night-time diapers until he was about 5 years of age. ]Children's bladder control nerves/muscles develop at varying stages - some children have bladder control earlier, and some later. Some children have real problems, but this is of concern only when they are about 6 years old and over. Please understand, for young children bladder control is for the most part not a 'learned behavior' but more a matter of 'maturity'.

If your son was 6 years old +, then I would be concerned. At age 4 years old, it is still a normal occurrence (especially in boys) for children to have 'accidents'.

The upshot of it all? Put a diaper on your son at night, and relax! :) It's OK. Let him sleep, he'll grow out of it, and if he's 6 years old and still wetting the bed, take him to the doctor and find out what the problem could be. Do a little research also - information is a powerful tool.

See this for starters:

" The development of continence in a child is dependent on three variables, all maturing concomitantly:

1. Development of normal bladder capacity
2. Mature functioning of the urethra-sphincter
3. Development of the brain and nerve pathways that control voluntary voiding

Ten percent of all children over age four, mostly boys, experience bed-wetting (voiding while asleep), which is the most common bladder disorder seen in young people.

http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=47923

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/bedwetting/article_em.htm

http://www.seekwellness.com/incontinence/bladder_disorders_in_children.h...

I am in the same dilema. We started to wake our son up at 11pm as well and then I would get up at 1-3 am depended on if he went to the bathroom at 11p to go one last time. We had a few accidents as well.

We borrowed a wetting alarm that would vibrate or make an alarm sound just as the child would start to dribble. My son is such a sound sleeper that nothing would wake him up nor even startle him. So needless to say, we are back to waking him up ourselves. He turned 5 in Feb and I'm wondering if he just is not ready to potty train at night yet or what. We did not have this issue with our daughter and I am so tired of hearing that boys are different.

I'd love to see what other moms advice comes around!

I am happily married for 10 years and have two children. A 7-yr old daughter and a 5yr old son.