Night Time Potty Training

United States
September 2, 2009 4:02pm CST
I have been coming back to this problem for at least 4 years now. My daughter is now 7 years old. She has been day time trained completely since she was 3. At first I didn't worry, these things happen and it would work out. Then as she got older, hearing problems developed, our doctor suggested they might be related and I took her to an ear, nose and throat specialist. She was about 5 then and this doctor said her tonsils and adenoids were abnormally large and needed to come out. He also thought he heard something going on with her heart. So I took her a heart specialist. The heart thing worked out as a little to big but nothing to worry about for now, she should see a heart specialist every 2-3 years. Back at the ear and nose doc. he said 9 out of 10 kids have no trouble using the bathroom a few months after the surgery. That most likely she isn't reaching all the stages of sleep, cannot wake up and has apnea. All should be better when this is over. That surgery was a year ago, she is 7 years old now and still wears a pull up to bed. I guess we were the 1 in 10 instead. Some nights she is dry and others she will soak and even leak through. I try to watch her liquid intake in the evening and make sure she uses the bathroom before bed. What else can I do for her? She is old enough for sleep-overs but doesn't want to, of course. Thanks myLoters
1 response
@writer44 (58)
• United States
2 Sep 09
Hello, I hope I can provide you some useful advice since we have faced this problem ourselves a couple of times. Children who have had surgery, or who have had to take medications for various things, end up wetting their beds because they often sleep so soundly due to the effects of the medications they take, that they cannot wake up enough to use the restroom. The following was suggested to me by a doctor, my daughter's surgeon and a psychiatrist, and it worked well; to give my children drinks all afternoon, and tell them to hold it as long as possible before they go to the bathroom. As unhealthy as this may sound, it does retrain the bladder, and increases its capacity to hold more liquid. Because I had two kids with the same problem, it became a game to them to see who lasted longest, and the loser got to do an extra chore off the winner's list. You get the point, Im sure.... Bed wetting is a common and natural problem for this age group anyway, and it usually will resolve itself by age 10. If it has not, you may consider seeking help from a psychologist, after being cleared of any medical issues which may be causing her to sleep through her bathroom breaks. Good luck, I hope this helps.
• United States
2 Sep 09
Thank you writer44. I will start trying that tomorrow. It does sound unhealthy but I know that her bladder is small because she goes potty about every 10 min. after she drinks anything and often when she hasn't had anything. That girl must pee a million times a day. Thanks again.
• United States
7 Sep 09
I just want to thank you again for your advice writer44. Trying to stretch her bladder is working. She has been dry for 2 days in a row. And she is loving the game of it. Sometimes I pay her a penny a minute, and sometime we see who can hold it the longest. I am sure she gets her tiny bladder from me, she wins most of the time. lol.