Parents Bed Wetting

[Gymnastdad]

Right this is a difficult question I know, but is their a propensity for this in young gymnasts?

Reason for asking is my daughter has just moved up to the top squad in her gym but in the youth section as she is 8 nearly 9. My wife while chatting as moms do at the gym and somehow this subject came up (is there nothing women won't talk about!) anyway it appears it is quite a common issue at the gym and at least 50% of the girls in this squad experience it, two of them said it didn't start until their daughter joined this squad, they have all (bar one) put it down to extreme tiredness, whilst one has said it is a "medical issue".

If it's tiredness then they are obviously overtraining. However, I was in the military for several years, and we experienced "extreme tiredness" and not once did we end up peeing our racks.

Now I was pretty horrified by these figures amongst 8-10 year old girls and don't be;ieve it is normal so underlying issue or common problem?

If you prefer to PM I understand

 

[gymmomntc2e6]

I have not heard of this at my DD's gym. However, keep in mind her gym is extremely small with total team of 18 girls L3-8. We have one L8, 4 L7's, 1 L6 ( with 3 likely to move there for fall). A couple L5's, 6 L4's (all hoping to move to L5 inApril) anda few L3's.

Ages range from 7-14. The 7's & up range from 9-14. Like I said iam not aware of any of our gymmies having this problem, but it may be that it isnot being talked about.

It is however an alarming % if indeed accurate. Hopefully someone else will have more info than I do.

 

[Ingwe]

How many days/hours is she at Gym? What level is she competing?

 

[dancesterx3]

I don't know the exact cause of this, but when I was a kid in gymnastics, I did experience this problem, it was quite embarrassing actually and never actually connected it to the possibility of gymnastics, cause I stopped when I stopped doing gymnastics... Thats weird. Is it just because of the amount of time spent working out that could be the issue?

 

[gymcoach26]

Bed wetting can be caused by stress. For example a child whose parents divorce could start wetting the bed again. They may not have a physical problem, but the stress of everything can lead to wetting the bed. If your daughter is anxious or stressed about her gymnastics this may be the cause. Have you ruled out the possibility of a medical issue by taking her to see a doctor?

 

[bogwoppit]

I am guessing you are in the UK, 'cos you talk like me!!

I have never heard of this, I would take your child to the GP and have her checked out generally. There are many things that can help her. Stress is a factor in this, but also genetics you usually find this runs in families (literally eh?) To have 50% of the girls in one squad struggling with it is bizzare.

I find it hard to imagine that gym could cause bed wetting, though bouncing on the trampoline sure makes me want to go!

Good luck, but I have never heard of an adult bed wetter, so they do grow out of this.

 

[Mariainlv]

I think tiredness could be a factor. DD who is has done this in the past when she is WAY overtired. A number that high in the gym would be concerning to me.

 

[gymnut1]

I haven't heard of it even with young girls training 20 hours a week. Seems odd to have so many in one club. That would really concern me.

Wetting can be linked to dehydration strangely enough. My older dd suffered up to the age of about 11. She was under a consultant at the hospital for years. She suffered constant low grade infections which caused the wetting caused by not drinking enough. The nurses gave her a plan where she had to have a drink and go for a wee at set times during the day. This really helped (when we could get her to remember. lol.

I wonder if this (coupled with extreme tiredness) could be the case with this squad of gymnasts. Do they train long hours in a hot environment without drinking?or going to the toilet? With such a high level activity like gymnastics they should be drinking a good drink every hour at least. I have heard of clubs where girls train for 3 hours and are not allowed a drink or the toilet the whole time. Wrong and very bad for them.

I think you should get your wife to ask more questions. It isn't normal.

 

[emorymom]

I wonder if they are being encouraged to drink on a regular basis in evening training and then just konking out before they can process the water.

I would look at this -- look at the fourth type, vasopressin supressed by abnormally high intake of fluids.

Link Removed

 

[emorymom]

Actually come to think of it there was an episode of House where he diagnosed a clinic patient with diabetes insipidus and asked her if she'd done gymnastics as a youth. She had, and he said something like she'd knocked her head on the beam too many times? Can't remember the exact, fictional doctor dialogue.

 

[marie83]

Before I respond, just wondered if you are from Great Britain? (You can send a Private message if you want!)

 

[ellabella]

My DD wets the bed. She just turned 5 and still wears a pull-up at night. I've discussed it with her Dr several times and he just isn't concerned so I've just stop being concerned for the moment. I limited drinks before bed and made her go right before bed and even would wake her up in the middle of the night if I was up or at least when I get up for work at 5am, but still it was hit or miss.

For her at least it has nothing to do with gymnastics. I've talked to a lot of moms and a lot of kids seem to have a problem with it. Could it be that most girls on team are really small? My Dr claims that children small in size struggle more with it. They have small bladders and it makes it more difficult. Who knows if he is right about that.

 

[thnkGd4kds]

I would be alarmed at this! The fact that about 50% of team has had issues with bedwetting is a huge signal to me that they are overstressed and/or overtrained. There is something wrong going on there, and, if I were you, I'd spend a lot of time closely observing the gym and would continue to do so indefinitely, ready to pull her out to attend another gym if else doesn't seem right. My just-turned-10 yo dd trains in the "fast-track" squad at least 20 hours a week, is intense about her training, and does not drink an adequate amount of water during training (much to my chagrin), and she has never had this issue. Neither have her teammates, as far as I know, and, as you pointed out, we moms would've talked about it at some point if it was happening!

 

[meeeshymoo]

My daughter is one of those still with bed wetting issues . However, it is not connected to gymnastics, it was an issue before she became a gymnast.

In fact since she has increased her training hours I have seen a significant imrovement, again probably not related just growing out of it.

My doctor has said that bed wetting is extremely common with 1 in 7 seven years olds still wetting, his explanation to me (very simplified lol)is that there is a little switch in the brain that turns the bladder off at night time. generally the switch starts working between 2 and 4 years of age, but in a lot of children the switch doesn't wotk until much older. There is medication (a nasal spray), which will force the switch which is usually successful. I decided not to medicate and not make a fuss and just deal with it. If there are overnight stays away from home a quick word with the host ensures no problems.

And hydration can be a problem, drinks should never be restricted.

Can you tell I've been through it lol

 

[gym law mom]

If I read your post correctly, this is a new problem for your dd? I would have some serious concerns and she needs to see her doctor to make sure there is no underlying physical reason. If she checks out fine with the doctor, then you need to look at stress/anxiety as a cause. I know from working with children who are in a bad family situation(divorce, abuse etc), it is very common to hear that they start bedwetting. I'm certainly not implying that your family situation is the cause---it may be the gym has pushed dd and some of her teammates too far/too fast.

I read your post in the introduction forum and you do write about her missing out on much of her childhood and how tired she gets. I certainly would get more info from your wife(yup, women will discuss anything!) about what she is seeing in practice---how the girls are treated by the coaches, do they look happy/stressed? While your dd loves the sport, you have got to be her adult advocate and if things aren't good for her emotionally or physically then find a way to change it.

 

[Gymnastdad]

Hi BW,

I sppose this should go in intors, but I'm here now so...

Yep, originally from the UK, moved to the States with my mom when I was 16 when my parents split up, spent 8 years in the Marine Corps then 5 years back in Europe in the Legion. Since then travelled a bit then settled back in the US which I call home. But I still write how I speak (like an Englishman!) and color is still colour to me!

Anyway sorry if I caused some confusion, daughter hasn't YET moved to this new squad, (thank goodness,) but they plan on moving her sometime soon I was just wondering if this is something common in gymnasts and could become an issue, because personally if it is an issue , I would probably pull her from the program.

 

[snowbound]

My 6 yo son is a bed wetter. He is very (very!) small for his age (like 100th percentile...we were excited he finally made it to the chart this year) and yes, smaller people have smaller bladders. low hydration can also be a problem because it can lead to constipation, which in turn puts pressure on the bladder.

I don't understand why it would be clustered at a gym like that unless all the kids are extremely small, and the coach is either not letting them get enough drinks, or encouraging them to drink so often they are getting over hydrated.

All the same, I took my son in just for a checkup to make sure everything is okay, and I would recommend that for anyone whose child was still experiencing that at 6 or higher years of age.

Snowbound

 

[bogwoppit]

Just a note, a child on the 100% would be considered to be the largest child, a very small child would be in the low %.

 

[snowbound]

okay, 1 percent. My bad!