Ideas for bedwetting 7 year-old going to camp???

[firstwomantomars]

Hello!

My seven year-old will be spending two nights at camp next month and often still wets his bed. He's wondering what to do if he wets his sleeping bag the first night. His pajamas would also be wet and he might feel embarrassed (the rooms might be coed).

I've been thinking that cloth might work somehow? Maybe wool underwear? Is that a crazy idea? Do you know of any other ideas or alternatives to disposable underpants?

Thanks for any suggestions!

[LynnS6]

they make all cloth night time training pants, I just googled something and got this:

http://www.babyworks.com/catalog/pro...6&pf%5Fid=1620

I'm sure other moms here would have a good idea about what works best (hemp liners? I remember reading about them, but don't remember now)

[chel]

isn't 7 alittle old for co-ed sleeping?!

My dd has bedwetting issues and we have used the nose spray med for a recent slumber party.

I would also try to find an adult to confide in. I'm taking my dd's Girl Scout troop camping this summer and would hope someone would tell me info like this. Then you could send extra sheets/blanket and have an adult help your dc change the bed if needed.

You might try a fleece blanket instead of a sleeping bag, if it does get wet, it should dry quickly. Send waterproof bag for dirty clothes bag (won't look out of place and will keep the smell down) -found in the camping section of stores like Target or WW:

[julie128]

He may not wet at all due to sleeping in a new place and not being used to it. That's pretty common, actually. It's only two nights. He won't have time to get used to it.

[Heavenly]

My 6.5 year still wets every night too so I don't think its too big a deal that he still wets the bed but I know peers can be cruel. I would go with the Nikki all night pants that someone linked. I've heard they are really absorbent. Then line the sleeping bag with fleece so it wicks any moisture away if he links. Wool shorts or pants over top of the nikki's would work too.

On a sidenote I also think 7 is too old for co-ed sleeping.

[delphiniumpansy]

I recommend you rethink the disposable pants idea. Think about it. You are trying to save him from embarrassment. What if he wets a wool or cloth pant? What is he going to do with it? If he tries to wash it the kids will know. If he tries to pack it in his bag without them seeing, he might make a mess and then they will know. What if it leaks? The other kids will find out much easier if he uses cloth or wool than disposable.

If he wets a disposable pant, he can stuff it down deep in the trash if it gets wet and no one will know anything about it.

I went to camp once, as a teacher, with first graders and we had one girl in good nights. Not one child figured it out. She threw out her pants each am and no one was the wiser. Her sleeping bag stayed dry and she had a great time.

IF your child is found out to be a bedwetter, the other kids will never let him forget it. He will carry that stigma for all of the years he goes to school with them. It sounds cruel, but I've taught school long enough to know that it is likely to come true if he has an accident. Save your child that embarrassment, even if it is only a small chance of it happening, and buy him some good nights. He will have a great time at camp and thank you for it for the rest of his life.

Why would 7 be too old for co-ed sleeping? They do this all the time at camps when puberty is not an issue. Particularly useful when there are more of one gender than the other.

[thismama]

Yeah, another vote for the disposable pants too.

[spsmom]

Originally Posted by julie128

He may not wet at all due to sleeping in a new place and not being used to it. That's pretty common, actually. It's only two nights. He won't have time to get used to it.

sorry to have to disagree here, but you can't count on that! i had bed wetting issues until i was about 7 or 8. i clearly remember a slumber party with all the girls from pop warner cheer. i wet the sleeping bag. i didn't tell anyone and i can't remember if it soaked through to the carpet. i just remember being mortified!

we have the cloth overnights from one step ahead. but they may not be big enough for your 7 yo.

but doing cloth somehow is how i would deal with it. good luck!

[oliversmum2000]

http://www.drynites.com/uk/drynites-...s/default.aspx

these might help - i think they go up to size age 11

[AbbieB]

The PP's have given you some great ideas.

What does your son want to do? Risk it? Disposable? Cloth pants? That I think is the best way to know how to deal with it.

[firstwomantomars]

Hi!

Thanks everybody for all the great ideas!

Yes, like the PP said, I will let my son decide what he'd prefer. Today when we talked about it he didn't seem so worried anymore (before, he didn't even want to go to camp, for that reason).

The reason I didn't want to try the disposables is that he said he'd prefer not to. He has two younger sisters and one in diapers and he feels that it would be like being a baby again. I don't know what is best, but I'm glad to have the suggestions and links here that I can share with him!

Thanks again!

Oh and on the coed rooms, he said that has changed and they will not be coed. But I did find out just this week that in school, when they have physical education, they actually all change clothes in the classroom:
It doesn't bug me that girls and boys that age undress together. At home, I am very comfortable with nudity, etc. But my son, at this point in time, does not, and hasn't for about a year (he doesn't even feel comfortable if we see him in his underwear at times, though that varies). He likes his privacy and we respect that. So I can't believe that for one, he never told me this before (that they change in the classroom) and second, that the teachers don't know that some kids at this age don't feel comfortable undressing in front of others and that they weren't given a choice!:

We are planning to homeschool next year and that just made me feel even more confident about our decision (my son rarely tells us about stuff like that and keeps so much for himself).

Thanks again!