Nappies - How Old is too Old ?

[David48]

Nappies - How Old is too Old ?

The gf's niece wets the bed ... she's 7 years old.

Nice enough kid.

She doesn't smile in many photos because some of her teeth have dropped out before they were replaced

... but that's a different issue.

She's typical of many Thai Kids ... passed around the Family.

Has a mother, but she doesn't live at the Farm all the time.

So she collectively sleeps with her Grandmother, my gf etc.

At 7 years old, she still sleeps in nappies.

Her mother being indifferent to her plight.

Now, I know that it's not uncommon that some kids still do this at her age ... about 10% apparently from the below graph.

Thanks to the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne.

Why do I care ... she's not my kid.

Well, we (gf and I) are building a bedroom at the Farm and I'll be buggered if I'm going to

buy a new mattress and have the young one leak on it.

Of course you can tell her not to use the bed, but you are in another country for 6 months,

hard to control or enforce that.

Plus, it would be nice, from her side of the equation if this was resolved.

I've read a bit on the internet about it ... but I was hoping for a Thai perspective.

Any thoughts ... anyone with experience?

Thanks

Edited October 14, 2013 by David48

[iancnx]

No experience of 7 years old problem. Aged 2, My first two, we used to lift them from sleep every 2 hrs and make them pee, this in time became 3 hrs, then 4 hrs etc etc. cannot wet the bed if bladder is empty. Or perhaps there are psychological issues unknown.

[krisb]

You can buy slip on plastic covers for beds. Not sure if they sell them in Thailand but they do in oz. Maybe try a bedding store or a chemist might know where. Poor kid, she probably finds it embarrising at 7 and hope she grows out of it soon.

[Boo]

Daytimes nappies, anything over 3.5 years old is too old imo.

Nighttime, well some still need at 9 or 10 but if it were my child I would be looking at underlying issues, bladder control issues, medical problem or some problem in the kids head that makes them wee at night.

I got my son day dry at 2.5 years old by watching him carefully & pre empting any toilet accidents with frequent trips to the toilet. Rewards were given & lots of praise for independant toilet visits & he was night dry at 4 in a similar manner. I would take him before bed to wee, then sleep walk him to the toilet at 11 & again at 3am, shortly (1 week later) the 3am visits stopped & after a motnth or so the 11am visits weren't needed either, during this time he had on nighttime nappies, in case of leaks. He has probably had 6-7 accidents in the time since (he is 6.5 years old) and usually due to forgetting to to wee before bed or drinking too much in the evening.

If the child doesn't have anyone to take time to get her out of nappies she might be in them for a few more years still.

[Dr Robert]

you are never too old for a fresh nappy/diaper...some people really need them much later in life.

my kids were trained before two-it's not rocket science, if you use basic behaviourist motivation, (just lax parenting in my experience)

[EyesWideOpen]

My daughter stopped diapers nightime at about the age of two years and two months. Never had a accident

after. Was not the result of any tricky training on my part, kids just seem to stop when they want to....

[Chittychangchang]

If any of my children were bed wetting a 7 years old the Thai wife would give them hell for being lazy and i would talk to them and try to find out if something was bothering them.

Empty bladder before bed and little drink.

At the end of the day if it's not your child and it's in Thailand then your options are limited.

CCC

[Jasun]

There are more 77 year old's wearing nappies than 7 year olds, but that kid should definitely be out of nappies. From what I've heard, Thai kids toilet train faster than Westerners - something to do with the hot weather and running around naked more often.

[nikster]

We were very careless so our older was still wearing nappies in bed at 4.

After that I learned it's simple water management. That's all. The second one stopped night time diapers at 3, it was much easier with him somehow. There would still be the occasional accident but only if the parents were careless. No blame on the child.

Here's what to do:

1 - For stubborn cases, lift the child outta bed at night and make them pee. I usually did that 2 or 3 hours after bed time, before going to sleep myself. This was with the older one. For the younger one, we switched to [2], below....

2 - A much easier solution: NO drinks an hour before bedtime, and make them pee before going to bed (even if they say they don't need to).

If you manage to do [2] - and I know this is challenging with relatives around who just don't seem to get it no matter how many times it's explained to them - then you'll never have a problem.

Also our kids are on a strict bed time schedule so that probably helps. I don't know if it would be that easy if they went to bed whenever. Pretty much the only thing we've managed to be consistent about

About the psychological angle: I believe that's total BS. Some kids don't wake up when they need to pee - they will eventually. Don't make them feel bad by telling them there's something wrong with them - they're kids, they will believe you.

Edited October 26, 2013 by nikster

[Kinate]

You should solve this proble, carry her to the doctor, i think 7 old is too old

[Skint]

My 2 mates are in their 40's and still pish the bed, don't worry about it.

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[eezergood]

My 2 mates are in their 40's and still pish the bed, don't worry about it.

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Alcohol related???

At 40 I would really worry about it!