Six Year Old With Bedwetting

“I am looking for advice about my six-year-old son who wets the bed every night, so he is still in pull-ups. Is this normal for a six-year-old boy, or should he have stopped by this time? He goes to the toilet before he goes to bed.”

You can definitely speed up the development of dry nights if your son is beginning to feel self-conscious about his bedwetting and is ready to get out of disposables. Bed-wetting at age six is still quite common, with about one in every six or seven children still wetting the bed. It is also more common in families with a history of bedwetting in either parent.

But this is also a great age for some intervention with a bedwetting alarm.  There is no reason that you need to wait years for his bedwetting to “go away” by itself. He is old enough to be cooperative and understand what to do when the alarm sounds, in response to wetness.

A bedwetting alarm senses wetness, then sounds, to alert you and your son that wetting is happening.  This allows his brain to begin to make the connection between a full bladder and waking up to use the bathroom.  This is much different than setting an alarm clock or walking him to the bathroom during the night on your schedule.

Our most popular alarm, Rodger wireless, consists of specially designed moisture sensing underwear.  Your son simply wears this underwear instead of a disposable pant when he goes to bed. When moisture is sensed anywhere on the underwear, the receiver sounds until someone turns it off. He then walks to the bathroom to finish in the toilet and condition his body that this is the right response when he has a full bladder. Over time, his body learns to get up before the alarm sounds or hold his urine until morning.

When choosing an alarm, look for one that is comfortable for him to use.  The fewer wires and steps to hook it up, the easier it will be for him. Some kids are also reluctant to have a unit on their shoulder or arm so this is important to consider. Wireless alarms don’t require large body worn alarm boxes, so are often worth a few more dollars to insure his success.