Growing up, everyone has a time when they wet the bed. Whether they are a toddler or older child, it’s something that is almost a milestone in growing up. But it gets old both as the child and as the parent and we just want to be able to stop bedwetting in its tracks.
With our oldest, we had the rule of no underwear until she had at least a week of no accidents at night. It worked perfectly in a short amount of time; probably around a month or less. But having more than one child means we see more than one side of this story. One of our kids took a few years of trying to be completely successful with this strategy.
So learning a few extra strategies is helpful when finding what works for each individual child to solve the bedwetting problem!
Top 11 efficient home remedies to stop bed wetting, especially in older children
As parents, we are always looking forward to the day when our kids stop bed wetting completely. Such simple triumphs as successful potty training bring joy to our hearts. There is no telling when our kids will stop bed wetting and it ranges widely from one kid to the other.
However, when older children still continue to wet beds, it is time to act decisively so that we can assist them to stop as it quickly becomes an embarrassing thing for them. It’s important to make a good faith effort in order to preserve their self-esteem.
Assess their diet
Many times children that have too much sugar in their system are more likely to struggle with wetting the bed. This is predominantly because of an increase in UTIs and other bladder/kidney functions. It’s not always the case, but if you think your child could use an adjustment in their food intake, it’s definitely not going to hurt!
Check for signs of constipation
May times a child will have incontinence issues associated with constipation. A good dose of regular high-dose vitamin c and magnesium can help keep the body regular instead of throwing off the entire bodily systems. If children are holding onto their bowel movements they might also be hold their urine for too long.
Keep a journal: Could it be stress, anxiety, or something else?
Bad dreams, deep sleeping habits, anxiety, and other factors can play into whether a child wets the bed more often than a peer. And sometimes it’s just a trigger every once in awhile instead of nightly.
Of course the bigger issues of anxiety should be discussed with a health care provider, but at least being in tune with your child to try to spot triggers and stressors that lead to more or less bed wetting could help unlock new ideas! So journaling the incidents is an easy way to try to narrow down solutions.
Cut down of fluids in the evening
There should be no fluids for the kids right before bedtime. This will keep their bladders empty and reduce the consistent urge to urinate at night. They should especially avoid fluids such as coffee and tea as these have diuretic properties that will make them urinate more.
We personally try to not drink a lot of water about an hour before bedtime and after and try not to drink teas that are diuretics in the evening.
They should urinate before bedtime and use the toilet whether they need to or not
Before they go to bed, encourage them to empty their bladders on the stool. You can have them do this a number of times to ensure that they do not have urine in their bladders and this might reduce the instances of waking up or urinating at night.
Practice bladder control techniques in the daytime
Bladder control techniques are designed to enable them to hold urine for longer periods of time. Bladder control exercises should be done during the day. Have them try to hold going off for the longest possible time. When they do so repeatedly, their muscles will develop well and they can be able to hold urine until morning.
Talk about what it feels like to have a full bladder and to trust the feeling of urgency when they have a full bladder when the sun is out so that they understand if they wake up in the nighttime to recognize those bodily cues.
Protect their nighttime bedding
Do not place older kids in diapers if at all possible. This will be extremely embarrassing and it will not do much justice to their self-confidence. Instead of diapers, you can have them sleep in clothes that have good absorbing capacities.
You can get some waterproof underwear or plastic pants. This will help reduce mess they would make on their beds. They will wake up feeling uncomfortable in those clothes and it might assist in reducing their frequency of bed-wetting. whether you use training pants or not is up to you, but allowing them to feel the wetness usually has a greater chance of teaching them to recognize the need to get up.
They also make great under-pads for that can go either on top of or underneath sheets to help with messes as they arise. I even got to meet the maker of really cool zip and washable mattresses! So there are very interesting solutions out there.
Try a bedwetting alarm with a moisture sensor and Schedule wake-up urination breaks
You can set alarm at different times of the night and wake them up to go to the bathroom. Or if they have a fairly early bedtime, simply make sure that it’s the last thing you do before going to bed yourself. Having to wake multiple times in the night together could be challenging for both of you, but it can be a very effective undertaking in reducing bed wetting among older kids.
To somewhat help them understand when they have had an accident, you can also get a bedwetting alarm that is ultimately a moisture alarm. This can help the brain make connections even when they’re asleep!
Use herbal tea treatment
Herbal teas are amazing when it comes to reducing instances of bed wetting. I tend to err on the side of caution with hat I give my children and teas tend to have less side effects than other medicines.
However, make sure that they do not take the herbal tea right before they go to bed because reducing their fluid intake in the hours before bedtime is also helpful. A concoction made of horsetail, bearberry, cinnamon bark, and oak bark can help prevent the flow of urine while sleeping. Though even trying just one might be of help as well.
Related: Scholarly research on enuresis and its herbal management
Where to get the tea – as affiliates we earn from qualifying purchases.
- Horsetail Tea
- Cinnamon Bark chips or sticks
- Bearberry Tea
- Oak Bark Tea
- Remember you can brew together, separately or even find some tinctures to add to a glass of water.
Talk to them about it & celebrate any progress made
Have an open discussion about the issue with them. You might find that they bed wet because of something bothering them and things change for the better when you fix that.
Whenever they wake up dry, celebrate them. Do not punish them when they wet the bed because it’s not the child’s fault no matter their age! They will be looking forward to the days you will be celebrating their triumph.
Establish a good bedtime routine
Most people have a routine of baths, books, brushing teeth and more, but make sure that you are helping create a long-term solution by making it a habit to use the bathroom before bed. No matter the amount of urine, it’s imperative to create repetition and habit forming rhythms.
Keep reassuring them
Let them know that it is a common issue and they should not be too worried about it. Encourage them to keep trying and soon enough everything will be okay. Reward them when they have dry nights and refrain from punishing them for natural bodily functions if they have a bad night.
Assess their diet
An intake of too much caffeine can be the cause of both nighttime and daytime wetting and can have the most influence long term success.
Talk to a doctor or health care provider
If the problem persists, you might consider looping in advice and consultation of the child’s pediatrician a family doctor. There can sometimes be symptoms and underlying issues at hand such as diabetes or a urinary tract infection outside of the normal developmental phases. A physical exam may reveal causes of bedwetting you may not have considered. They also might come up with solutions or medication that would take care of the problem faster or even just reassure you if you’re worried. Just remember that all kids develop at different rates, and developing the muscles to hold urine all night long takes time.
More natural remedies and parenting resources
Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 5 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
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