friends that wet as kids

[oldwetter66]

          When I got out of the Army in 1971 I looked up a old friend Mark we talked he said he did not get drafted. He told me he was A bedwetter and they did not want him. He was Able too hide it from us and no one knew

[WBxx]

In my youth I overheard discussions concerning a male cousin’s (roughly my age) bed-wetting.  From what I gathered he wet every night or close to it, often more than once and his parents were at their wits end.  Whenever we visited their house (2-3 times a year) I looked for clues but all I ever found was a rubber sheet.  In all the time that we were together he never mentioned his bed-wetting nor did I mine.

Odds are I had other friends that wet, but if that was the case I never knew it.

[Bettypooh]

I was the only one I knew or know now. Everyone else in my life outgrew bed and pants wetting at an expected age. Now my oldest sister and my older brother have continence problems, though I have spoken only to my brother about my own issues. My sister talked some about hers, and she doesn't exactly hide her pads at home, but we never discussed me as an adult, only my childhood wetting.

Bettypooh

[Angela Bauer]

When I was a kid my Mom, Granny Vi, Aunt Betsy and my three sisters all needed diapers all or part of the time. I was totally dry when toilet-trained at 33 months, but with a tiny OAB. For trips Mom, who is totally urinary incontinent nicely asked my sisters and me to wear just-in-case diapers. Mom made friends with the mothers of kids with wetting issues she met through our pediatrician. Thus I had a lot of friends, boys as well as girls, who wet their beds. All of those kids who wet more than once a month were diapered for bed.

My loving husband Don tells me that when he was a kid actor on radio from 1934-42 it was standard practice to be diapered when in the studio, so he knew a lot of other kid actors. His best friend up to age 11 was changed into diapers immediately after school and had his diaper removed just in time to go to school. Most afternoons when Don was playing with that boy Don also allowed himself to be diapered as a sign of support,

[skizics]

Bedwetting is and always has been a taboo subject. But I had a lot of friends and playmates who needed diapers at night and you could see them (the diapers) hanging on the clothesline. I went to a lot of Sleep-Overs growing up and I can't recall ever being the only kid getting diapered for bedtime.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 11/3/2018 at 9:45 AM, WBxx said:

In my youth I overheard discussions concerning a male cousin’s (roughly my age) bed-wetting.  From what I gathered he wet every night or close to it, often more than once and his parents were at their wits end.  Whenever we visited their house (2-3 times a year) I looked for clues but all I ever found was a rubber sheet.  In all the time that we were together he never mentioned his bed-wetting nor did I mine.

Odds are I had other friends that wet, but if that was the case I never knew it.

My mother used to discuss it with an aunt who lived near us and with neighbors who also had bedwetting children. I used to get very embarassed overhearing the conversations. In the relatively poor neighborhood where I grew up you could often tell the houses where bedwetters lived because of the laundry hung out on clotheslines. A lot of the neighbors didnt have an automatic washer or dryer in their houses and there werent many products available back in those days.

[stevewet]

14 hours ago, rubbersheetmike said:

My mother used to discuss it with an aunt who lived near us and with neighbors who also had bedwetting children. I used to get very embarassed overhearing the conversations. In the relatively poor neighborhood where I grew up you could often tell the houses where bedwetters lived because of the laundry hung out on clotheslines. A lot of the neighbors didnt have an automatic washer or dryer in their houses and there werent many products available back in those days.

Same in our street. You always knew where the bedwetters lived. Although because back in those days large families were normal you didn't always know just which kids in each house were bedwetters.

My sister made sure everyone knew it was me not her in our house.

On 11/3/2018 at 4:19 AM, oldwetter66 said:

          When I got out of the Army in 1971 I looked up a old friend Mark we talked he said he did not get drafted. He told me he was A bedwetter and they did not want him. He was Able too hide it from us and no one knew

There was never any hiding I was a bedwetter.

[AbabeBill]

I can’t really remember exact kids, but l do recall overhearing conversations, my mom would have with others on the subject. I had wet the bed till about 6, so it came up from time to time, to my embarrassment. I do vividly recall, my younger cousin, by 2 years being put back in diapers. He was almost fully pottytrained, when due to a family emergency, was put back into diapers, by his mother. She thought, it would be easer when he was being babysat, and looked after by others, to just be in diapers. I remember, he was still wearing those plastic covered terry cloth training pants at 4 years old. I loved catching glimpses of his plastic pants, especially when he had to ask an adult to help him unbutton, and take him to the bathroom. There’s another time, when I was friends with this girl, we were about 10, 11, and sometimes she was forced to look after her younger sister, who was 4. She would come to my house to play, and I would notice her sister, who was obviously in a diaper. She wore thin cotton shorts, and her shirt didn’t come all the way down, so you could see the bulging diaper, and it stuck up over the top of her shorts. I asked my friend ( dumb question ), is she wearing a diaper? But, she only simply answered yes! I didn’t want to push, or seem overly interested, so I didn’t question her further. It did suck when she showed up with her sister though, cause it ment she couldn’t stay and play for long. 

[FishMouth47]

My best friend since the 6th grade, Franky, wet the bed as a kid. To my knowledge he did it well into adulthood(well, we're in our mid 20s now, so the word adulthood is relative I suppose). For some reason I've never been able to bring myself to tell him I'm a bedwetter too, though I've known about his nighttime issues for many years.

[stevewet]

3 hours ago, FishMouth47 said:

My best friend since the 6th grade, Franky, wet the bed as a kid. To my knowledge he did it well into adulthood(well, we're in our mid 20s now, so the word adulthood is relative I suppose). For some reason I've never been able to bring myself to tell him I'm a bedwetter too, though I've known about his nighttime issues for many years.

As far as I am aware none of my closest friends were bedwetters but I knew several kids that were and one or two that wet well in to their teens like me.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 11/8/2018 at 5:28 AM, stevewet said:

Same in our street. You always knew where the bedwetters lived. Although because back in those days large families were normal you didn't always know just which kids in each house were bedwetters.

 

Yes there were lots of big families where I grew up too. But there was also chatter about some of the neighbors particularly among kids. Siblings including my own often spread the news. I had one sister in particular who did this. I remember there was a house down the street with two girls and wet bedding and pjs were often hung out on the line. The younger girl made sure everybody knew she didnt have "that" problem so the rest of us figured it out it was the older sister. At another house one block over it became clear which of the boys who lived there was a bedwetter especially after the older ones left one to go to school and one to the army and wet bedding continued to be hung out on the line to dry. But I already knew the younger one who was actually older than me was a bedwetter because his mother who was friends with my mother didnt keep it a secret. She also didnt hide the fact that the oldest one wet the bed well into his teens. Word got around.

[iampadded]

In grade school on more than one occasion as 3rd or 4th graders I can remember playing at friends houses and seeing their beds airing out or stripped during the middle of the week.  Did not take a rocket scientist to understand why   As late as 6th or 7th grade, I can remember sitting on several friends beds and instinctively feeling a rubber or plastic sheet.  I am sure they could feel mine.  Whether that is because they were still wetting at night or their mom's were just being careful because of prior issues is unknown.  But clearly I was not the only one.  I never had the nerve to actually ask one, because I know how humiliating that can be.  I went to summer camp with one of the neighbor kids when I was 10 and had more than one "accident'.  Although I was trying to be discrete he discovered me ditching a wet pull up in the bathroom garbage.  He inquired so I told him I still had bedwetting issues.  He told me that he had only recently (the prior year) stopped wetting alot and he still had "accidents'.  He told me he prayed he did not have one at camp because he had no pullups and he would be outed.  He told me he would not tell anyone, and to my knowledge he kept his word.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 6/26/2019 at 10:30 AM, iampadded said:

In grade school on more than one occasion as 3rd or 4th graders I can remember playing at friends houses and seeing their beds airing out or stripped during the middle of the week.  Did not take a rocket scientist to understand why   As late as 6th or 7th grade, I can remember sitting on several friends beds and instinctively feeling a rubber or plastic sheet.  I am sure they could feel mine.  Whether that is because they were still wetting at night or their mom's were just being careful because of prior issues is unknown.  But clearly I was not the only one.  

At that age its not something we talked about among our friends. I once disclosed to a friend that I still wet the bed and he seemed to treat me differently after that. But back then because not as many people had their own washers and dryers laundry was often hung out on clotheslines. We used to get some idea from that especially if sheets were hung out to dry without being washed. My mother sometimes did that to save time although she'd rinse the pjs in the sink before hanging them on the line.to dry. But the pjs along with the wet sheets on the line was like a big sign saying "bedwetter lives here." I was lucky because i grew up in a big family so I wasnt the only suspect in the house. 

[iampadded]

20 hours ago, rubbersheetmike said:

At that age its not something we talked about among our friends. I once disclosed to a friend that I still wet the bed and he seemed to treat me differently after that. But back then because not as many people had their own washers and dryers laundry was often hung out on clotheslines. We used to get some idea from that especially if sheets were hung out to dry without being washed. My mother sometimes did that to save time although she'd rinse the pjs in the sink before hanging them on the line.to dry. But the pjs along with the wet sheets on the line was like a big sign saying "bedwetter lives here." I was lucky because i grew up in a big family so I wasnt the only suspect in the house. 

Besides being "suspects" did any of your siblings still have bedwetting issues?

[WBxx]

On 6/27/2019 at 4:28 PM, rubbersheetmike said:

At that age its not something we talked about among our friends. I once disclosed to a friend that I still wet the bed and he seemed to treat me differently after that. But back then because not as many people had their own washers and dryers laundry was often hung out on clotheslines. We used to get some idea from that especially if sheets were hung out to dry without being washed. My mother sometimes did that to save time although she'd rinse the pjs in the sink before hanging them on the line.to dry. But the pjs along with the wet sheets on the line was like a big sign saying "bedwetter lives here." I was lucky because i grew up in a big family so I wasnt the only suspect in the house. 

Growing up a bed-wetter in the fifties, I too feared discovery from outside drying.  After washing, mom also hung my pajamas and sheets outside to dry.  But it was worse for me.  She also hung the rubber sheet (fabric coated) on the lines next to my pajamas.  So swaying in the breeze all by themselves were a pair of boy’s pajamas, bed sheets and a rubber sheet.  It couldn’t have been more obvious.

Differing from your mom, the few times mine didn’t wash my peed sheets they were “hidden” in place under the covers during the day.  Let me tell you, I was shocked how wet and smelly my bed & pajamas were the following night.

It was a different time!

[Gejoe]

In my neighborhood we knew that the kids down the street were bed wetters because the always smelled like pee. I had a friend that was my age of 12 and his brother 9 that were chronic bed wetters and made no effort to hide it. His brother always had wet pants during the day and when you went in to their room they would often still have peed in sheets on theiir beds and his brothers peed soaked undies were on the floor. Bed wetting ran in their family and so it was treated as a normal thing. When we went camping with them their parents would hang their pee soaked sleeping bags on a clothes line to dry. 

My younger cousin wet his bed until he was eight or nine. The curious thing was that most all the bed wetters I knew did not use diapers, they just peed the bed. 

[stevewet]

On 6/30/2019 at 8:11 PM, Gejoe said:

In my neighborhood we knew that the kids down the street were bed wetters because the always smelled like pee. I had a friend that was my age of 12 and his brother 9 that were chronic bed wetters and made no effort to hide it. His brother always had wet pants during the day and when you went in to their room they would often still have peed in sheets on theiir beds and his brothers peed soaked undies were on the floor. Bed wetting ran in their family and so it was treated as a normal thing. When we went camping with them their parents would hang their pee soaked sleeping bags on a clothes line to dry. 

My younger cousin wet his bed until he was eight or nine. The curious thing was that most all the bed wetters I knew did not use diapers, they just peed the bed. 

From being about 8 or 9 I just peed the bed as my mother took my nappies away. I just got used to having a wet bed and it never bothered me.

On 6/29/2019 at 5:19 PM, WBxx said:

Growing up a bed-wetter in the fifties, I too feared discovery from outside drying.  After washing, mom also hung my pajamas and sheets outside to dry.  But it was worse for me.  She also hung the rubber sheet (fabric coated) on the lines next to my pajamas.  So swaying in the breeze all by themselves were a pair of boy’s pajamas, bed sheets and a rubber sheet.  It couldn’t have been more obvious.

Differing from your mom, the few times mine didn’t wash my peed sheets they were “hidden” in place under the covers during the day.  Let me tell you, I was shocked how wet and smelly my bed & pajamas were the following night.

It was a different time!

My mother often refused to wash my sheets.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 7/3/2019 at 7:54 PM, stevewet said:

From being about 8 or 9 I just peed the bed as my mother took my nappies away. I just got used to having a wet bed and it never bothered me.

My mother often refused to wash my sheets.

My father wouldnt allow diapers after a certain age. He apparently thought it encouraged bedwetting by making it more comfortable. 

My mom was restricted by time limitations. She had seven kids to deal with and four were overaged bedwetters so she dealth with it however she could. She worked parttime so sometimes the laundry got washed and sometimes on busy days it just went out on the line to dry. When we got old enough she showed us how to use the washer and dryer. I had to do my own laundry from about 13 onwards. 

On 6/30/2019 at 3:11 PM, Gejoe said:

The curious thing was that most all the bed wetters I knew did not use diapers, they just peed the bed. 

Back when I was young I think it was unusual for overaged bedwetters to use diapers. I dont remember any of the disposable products being around. So bedwetters including me mostly peed their pjs and sheets and sleeping bags when I was at summer camp. Today is a lot different story which is good for those who have to deal with the issue. 

[WBxx]

On 8/5/2019 at 2:02 PM, rubbersheetmike said:

My father wouldnt allow diapers after a certain age. He apparently thought it encouraged bedwetting by making it more comfortable. 

Your father’s theory has merit.  I became dry around age nine soon after a doctor convinced mom (along with other measures) to stop using diapers.  Along the same line, when I was dry for what seemed like only a few days she ceremoniously removed the rubber sheet warning if I wet now it would ruin the mattress.  If nothing else, the lack of a rubber sheet put a damper on purposeful wetting.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 8/7/2019 at 1:26 PM, WBxx said:

Your father’s theory has merit.  I became dry around age nine soon after a doctor convinced mom (along with other measures) to stop using diapers.  Along the same line, when I was dry for what seemed like only a few days she ceremoniously removed the rubber sheet warning if I wet now it would ruin the mattress.  If nothing else, the lack of a rubber sheet put a damper on purposeful wetting.

My mother never went as far as to remove the rubber sheet. I guess she figured out that the cost of replacing mattresses was too high for that. Purposeful wetting was my way of keeping the rubber sheet for so long. After I stopped using it I often worried about waking up soaked in the morning even when I got my own place. I still worry about it if Im sleeping someplace unfamiliar especially without mattress protection. Oddly one of my biggest fears of overnight airplane flights was having an accident. Now I dont travel anymore for financial and medical reasons but I used to hate overnight flights for that reason even when I used protection. 

[stevewet]

15 hours ago, rubbersheetmike said:

My mother never went as far as to remove the rubber sheet. I guess she figured out that the cost of replacing mattresses was too high for that. Purposeful wetting was my way of keeping the rubber sheet for so long. After I stopped using it I often worried about waking up soaked in the morning even when I got my own place. I still worry about it if Im sleeping someplace unfamiliar especially without mattress protection. Oddly one of my biggest fears of overnight airplane flights was having an accident. Now I dont travel anymore for financial and medical reasons but I used to hate overnight flights for that reason even when I used protection. 

Dropping off on a plane could be embarrasing so I always wear nappies when flying.

[deewet]

Ever since I had a UTI and wet myself on a plane trying to get into the bathroom, I have learned to travel using protection.  It is far better to worry about a diaper than it is to deal with an accident!  I have adopted this policy for long travel times in a car as well and so far so good.  My wife understands as well, particularly as I am starting to have more and more incidents even while at home.  Chances are I will soon be in diapers on  a regular basis as opposed to when I am out and not near a potty for now.

[iampadded]

On 8/9/2019 at 2:24 AM, stevewet said:

Dropping off on a plane could be embarrasing so I always wear nappies when flying.

I always wear a pull-up while flying.  Have only used it a few times over the years, but just one airplane pants wetting would be horribly embarrassing.  One has to wonder how many people, women in particular, are flying padded.

[stevewet]

On 8/5/2019 at 7:02 PM, rubbersheetmike said:

My father wouldnt allow diapers after a certain age. He apparently thought it encouraged bedwetting by making it more comfortable. 

My mom was restricted by time limitations. She had seven kids to deal with and four were overaged bedwetters so she dealth with it however she could. She worked parttime so sometimes the laundry got washed and sometimes on busy days it just went out on the line to dry. When we got old enough she showed us how to use the washer and dryer. I had to do my own laundry from about 13 onwards. 

Back when I was young I think it was unusual for overaged bedwetters to use diapers. I dont remember any of the disposable products being around. So bedwetters including me mostly peed their pjs and sheets and sleeping bags when I was at summer camp. Today is a lot different story which is good for those who have to deal with the issue. 

The thinking back then was different. I an remember our District Nurse telling my Mother to get him out of nappies as he needs to feel wet and then he will soon stop wetting the bed.

[rubbersheetmike]

On 8/22/2019 at 5:12 AM, stevewet said:

The thinking back then was different. I an remember our District Nurse telling my Mother to get him out of nappies as he needs to feel wet and then he will soon stop wetting the bed.

Those were the days right? My parents were also advised to use various methods of punishment for it which now is considered not appropriate. As my father apologized many years later for what we were put through saying that they did they best they could.