Bedwetting

[godlytomatosoup]

raisingolives.com/2012/05/beginning-homeschool-newborn/

We have three children who are bed wetters. (This is a separate problem that they’ve struggled with well past 6-7 years old.)

This seems worrying to me, but I might well be overreacting. Maybe this is one of those things that's completely normal to parents, but seems really weird to people who haven't had children, but... she has three children over six who still wet the bed? At the same time?

I know bedwetting is not necessarily a psychological problem. And I know it's really common. I just didn't know it was routine. Or is this one of those things where the more children you have, the higher chance of getting three betwetters at one time?

[BlackHawk]

We were all bedwetters until a late age. I also have a few cousins who wet the bed well in to high school. We weren't that bad, but I think my brothers and myself each wet the bed until we were around 10 or 11. In my family, it's pretty normal.

[terranova]

Same here, both my sister and I wet the bed until we were about 10, as did our cousins. Not every night but occasionally.

I don't think it's always a sign of issues although I think it has been linked to childhood sexual abuse.

[godlytomatosoup]

I don't think it's always a sign of issues although I think it has been linked to childhood sexual abuse.

It's also been linked to psychopathy, but to be honest I'm less concerned about that and more wondering if there's a medical problem.

[BlondeAgent007]

it can be a sign of abuse, but many people don't have a lot of control to hold it through the night. my ex was a chronic bedwetter until he was about 10 or so. Even to this day, he goes to the bathroom frequently. Some people have better control than others. His problem was that he wouldn't wake up when he felt the need to urinate. The only way to avoid the problem was for his mom to wake him up several times a night to have him use the bathroom.

[Sola]

Same here, both my sister and I wet the bed until we were about 10, as did our cousins. Not every night but occasionally.

I don't think it's always a sign of issues although I think it has been linked to childhood sexual abuse.

Not entirely correct and this is where confusion often lies. Bedwetting has been linked to abuse, but in children who were previously dry at night.

[terranova]

The mental signal that tells us we need to urinate is one of the last to develop in children, which is apparently why premature babies toilet train later than full term ones. Perhaps that has something to do with it, if the children were all early.

[godlytomatosoup]

I've read her birth stories. They weren't all early, but she did have a history of very difficult births. Multiple broken collarbones, one Erb's Palsy. Finally, on baby #10, she decided it was God's will that she start having Caesarians.

[CrazyCatLady]

bed wetting runs in families so if your parents were bed wetters you likely will be. most children wet the bed from time to time but if it becomes a chronic problem you should ALWAYS take your kid to an MD to make sure there is not a physical issue. I had a friend when i was in jr. high who continued to have bed wetting issues that were later tied to a problem with her urethra that required surgery, so it can be a medical issue.

and yes, bed wetting into the teenage years is linked to psychopathy (see Gary Ridgway) but for most of us it has to do with sleeping too deeply to hear nature's call!

[Justme]

I have a cousin that was a wetter, too. She was nearly a teen before she stopped. She was such a sound sleeper, she'd not wake. There was nothing "wrong" with her or her family (very loving). They tried all kinds of things. Ultimately, she just used a night "diaper" till she outgrew it.

[BlondeAgent007]

said ex wasn't a fundie watcher like me, but I did show him the pictures from Emily's home. It made him really sad that her oldest son slept on a pee soaked, naked mattress. He said he had no idea how he would have gone through the whole ordeal if his mom had been so uncaring and not understanding.

[Conuly]

Bedwetting is a complex issue, and yes, it runs in families. It's not all that unusual for children to still not be dry at night consistently after the age of six, although it gets more unusual as they get older.

[FlorenceHamilton]

Bedwetting does run in families, as the posters here at FJ have shared. In the common case of familial physiologic bedwetting, it is usually puberty that makes it go away. It really is nothing more than a normal variant.

[jesssnerch]

Psychopathy usually needs the trifecta: bed wetting, harming animals and setting fires. I'm thinking bed wetting does run in families, though because my husband was a bed wetter and my son has bed wetting "issues" (he's 3, so yay for Pull-ups). My daughter barely wet the bed since being potty trained (she's 6). My pediatrician says they don't consider bed wetting an issue in boys until after they turn 5.

[snarkbillie]

I had a cousin who wet the bed up until she was 12. They finally took her away into foster care (other issues) and the foster family took her to the doctor. Apparently she had a physical issue where she didn't always get the "urge" to go and at night it was worse and her pee would just leak out when the bladder got too full. They basically had to re-potty train her to go or at least try to go on a schedule. She's an adult now and does not wet the bed. I'm glad the foster fam. took her to the doctor, because with everything bad happening in her life it very well could have been psychological and maybe she would have never had relief if they didn't also take her to an MD for it. I believe her father (my uncle) used to beat the living shit out of her for messing up the bed though. Sad story.

[Snickerdoodle]

Ditto to the mentions of the genetic component.

One of our daughters had this problem (nocturnal enuresis) until she was about 14 or 15. No abuse, no psych problems. Her brain just didn't respond to the signal of a full bladder at night. We tried all the common tools and therapies and nothing worked. One night, everything suddenly clicked and she's had no problems since then. It's terribly frustrating for the parents, and more so when it's alleged that they've mistreated their child and caused the problem.

[keen23]

Chronic constipation can also lead to bedwetting.

[pomology]

I wet my bed until a relatively late age (I don't remember, but I do know that my parents were worried and took me to a specialist on the subject). In retrospect, I think I wet my bed so long because I am an incredibly heavy sleeper and just did not wake up when I needed to go to the bathroom.

So I wouldn't read very much into it.

[She Who Laughs]

My boys wet the bed until they were around 9 or 10. I had brothers who had the same problem. With my boys it was because they just wouldn't wake up. I tried getting up with them in the middle of the night to use the bathroom but it made zero difference. Even if they went to the bathroom in the middle of the night they would still be wet in the morning. The doctor said it's an issue that is pretty common, and boys seem to have more of a problem than girls and they'd just have to grow out of it, which they did. They were excited when they started staying dry consistently enough that they could go to camp or spend the night at a friends house without fear of wetting the bed and being embarrassed about it.

[celestial]

Or is this one of those things where the more children you have, the higher chance of getting three betwetters at one time?

Not quite sure I understand what you're asking here. As others have mentioned, it's not at all uncommon for kids to wet the bed even after age 6, and it does tend to run in families. So yes, having more children would up the odds for having more bedwetters, but not proportionally more than in a smaller family. Is that what you meant?

[Snickerdoodle]

Or is this one of those things where the more children you have, the higher chance of getting three betwetters at one time?

Yes. I don't know the statistical incidence of bedwetting, but let's say it's 1 out of 3 kids (if one of the parents had the same problem). So if you have 3 children, odds are that 1 will have bedwetting problems. If you have nine kids, 3 might have bedwetting problems. And since bedwetting can be a problem that lasts many years, yes, those 3 children could all be bed wetters at one time, even though they may be far apart in age (say, 11, 8, and 5).

[fluttershies]

I wet the bed until I was 16 - the combination of being a deep sleeper and having a weak bladder is not a good one. I eventually controlled it via pelvic floor exercises.

[VVV]

Immature bladder + very deep sleep pattern = bedwetter

It frequently runs in families. One of my siblings was a bedwetter into the teens. One of my children was a bedwetter until 12; the other two stayed dry from the age of three. Our pediatrician was not concerned and we weren't either.

[B5SnowDog]

In retrospect, I think I wet my bed so long because I am an incredibly heavy sleeper and just did not wake up when I needed to go to the bathroom.

I had that issue as well as dreaming that I had gotten up and was sitting on the toilet.

[SpeakNow]

I had that issue as well as dreaming that I had gotten up and was sitting on the toilet.

I used to always have dreams about sitting on the toilet whenever I wet the bed as well.