Wetting the Bed: How to Stop

My 8 year old son is still wetting the bed. He sleeps so soundly that he doesn't even know when it happens. He really wants to become dry and is so frustrated. Help!

It sounds like your son is ready for some effective strategies to help him become dry at night.

Here are 6 Tips to Help Stop Bedwetting:

1. Make sure he has a regular bedtime and is not overly tired. A relaxed bedtime routine and going to sleep in a dark, quiet room is ideal.

2. Double void before bed. He should urinate 30 minutes before going to sleep, then once more immediately before turning off the lights. This insures that he begins the night with an empty bladder.

3. Insure that he has a soft stool every 1-2 days. Ask him about his bowel movement frequency. Increase his fiber intake, either by foods or supplements, so that he feels the urge to have a bowel movement every day. Increasing fluids during the day also helps with this.

4. Begin using a bedwetting alarm every night. He is old enough that he will benefit greatly by starting a bedwetting alarm. This will sense the wetness and sound so that he begins to realize when the wetting is happening. This is the first step in putting together the important brain-bladder connection. Over time, his body will begin to associate a full bladder with waking up or holding on until morning.

5. Chart progress. Learning to stay dry at night is a process and does not happen overnight. Initially, many children even sleep through the loud sound so parents have to help wake them. Signs of progress are smaller wet spots in bed, less frequent wetting and wetting closer to morning. Chart when the alarm sounded and the size of the wet spot in the bed. Your son can see how well he is doing by looking at previous weeks.

6. Use the alarm until he has 14 consecutive dry nights. The first few weeks are the hardest. Make sure he uses the alarm long enough so he becomes permanently dry with little relapse.