Sometimes, despite your best efforts, accidents happen. In the middle of the night when your child comes into the room with the announcement, “I wet my bed,” you might not be thinking about frugality, but when I was faced with this problem, I needed to find an answer to our problem and researched to find the answer to the dilemma…
What is the most frugal solution for an older child who wets the bed?
I felt like our journey to get our child out of training pants took so long that I did not want to risk going back in that direction. The accidents were not every night and using disposable training pants seemed wasteful since they ended up in the garbage after one use, whether wet or not.
I also wanted to find something that our child could handle without getting us out of bed. In my mind, if we could have the child accept responsibility for the accident and clean up without us, then the accidents would soon stop. (Psst… I was right.)
So, I looked for a way to cover the bed and these are the top three options I found:
Goodnites Disposable Bed Mats
Dimensions = 30 x 36 inches
Price = $7.49 with $2.00 off coupon
Quantity = 9 pads
Price per item = $0.832 each, not including shipping
Life expectancy of product = 2 nights unless wet on the first night
Notes:
- Not for children under 3 years old
- Cloth-like mats with adhesive backing
- Reviews claim they are too sticky and leave adhesive residue on the sheets
Simple Solution Training Pads, 50 Pads, Extra Large
Dimensions = 28 x 30 inches
Price = $27.08
Quantity = 50 pads
Price per item = $0.54 each, qualifies for free shipping
Life expectancy of product = until wet
Notes:
- Made for use with dogs
- Plastic backing
- Converts liquid to gel
And what we ultimately chose…
Reusable Bedpads
Dimensions = 34 x 36 inches
Price = $9.51
Quantity = 1
Price per item = $9.51, not including shipping
Life expectancy of product = reusable
Notes:
- Machine washable/dryable and can be bleached
- Non-slip backing
I used the hospital type washable waterproof pads that someone gave me. My heavy and long bed-wetter finally stopped when he went through puberty, around the age of 12 or so. I got a lot of use from them, and still use them. They are also great for a pregnant momma’s water breaking and birthing (I homebirth). I have used them with just about all of my kids. I’ve also had to use black trash bags under the sheet sometimes. They can be wiped down and get reused. Just about any kind of waterproof item on the bed will make you hotter. You may want to put a fan in the room to help with that. There is a device that you can clip to the underwear that will vibrate when it gets wet. I think it’s called a potty pager, or something like that. I just wish it had an alarm on it too. My son would not wake up when he wet (he was a very heavy sleeper, still is, lol). I made the mistake of putting a Goodnights on over his underwear and my potty pager got ruined.
I use cloth “pull-ups” (found on ebay and amazon) with my children at night. Each child is responsible for getting their pullup into the washer each morning (they do have 2, just in case). Even with daily washing, they hold up for years. As they got older, I bought washable cloth adult incontinence “underwear” until their bladders caught up to their bodies.
The bed pads are something very needed in this house. Thank you for bringing this up. We’ve needed a solution for awhile now. I don’t know why I didnt think to look on Amazon.
I have two bedwetters (11 & 13)…neither wake up even if they are sleeping in a puddle…and it is EVERY night…we wash a lot of sheets because a pull-up doesn’t always contain it…I like the idea of a washable cloth incontinence product, didn’t know they existed, will be looking for some!
I really like Brolly sheets. I found them on Amazon, they are kind of pricey, but they are water proof and they have ‘wings’ that fold under the mattress so they stay put. They are also quite large so that the kids don’t miss them. We will use them for years, so I think the expense is well worth it. 🙂