Dr. Robert Needlman
Specialist in pediatric behavior and development.
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 Ask Dr. Needlman
Peeing in the Corner at Night | | | QUESTION | | | Dear Dr. Needlman,
My grandson is four years old and lately has started peeing in his bedroom at night. He did this before and stopped but is doing it again, this time it’s worse than ever. He doesn’t wet his pj's or his bed just gets up and pees in the same spot every night, what do you think?— Nannie C. | | | ANSWER |
June 12, 2001 | | | Dear Nannie C.,
My first response is to wonder about obvious causes: Is he afraid to walk to the bathroom in the middle of the night? Would it help to leave a light on in the hall and in the bathroom? The best way to find out is to ask your grandson, then try it.
You may be able to take advantage of the ability people have of giving themselves instructions before they fall asleep. Many people, for example, tell themselves that they are going to wake up at five a.m., and they do! Children can do this, too: Tell your grandson that this is going to help him to remember to go to the bathroom in the toilet, when he wakes up in the middle of the night: Have him lie in bed, and pretend it is the middle of the night, and he has to "go." Have him imagine how it feels. Then have him get up, walk down the hall, and pretend to pee in the toilet. He can repeat this performance three or four times, each time with a lot of praise for really using his imagination.
To add incentive, put up a chart and give him a sticker for each successful dry night, with a nifty (but not necessarily expensive) prize when he succeeds say three nights in a row, and another treat when he's remembering every night.
It's pretty common for children to wake up only partway and still be a little confused. This is what causes sleepwalking. It may be that your grandson has a case of sleep-peeing (I don't think this is a real medical term, by the way).
One thing that often works for sleep walking, and may work in this case as well, is to wake the child up a few minutes before the time he usually has his nighttime problem. This intentional waking seems to re-set the sleep cycle and sometimes eliminates the partial waking problem.— by Robert Needlman, M.D., F.A.A.P. |
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