The camp brochure is on the counter. Your child is excited, talking about the activities, the friends they’ll make, the independence.
And you’re quietly holding a worry they might not even know you have: what if they’re not dry at night by the time camp starts?
If your child is dealing with bedwetting before sleepaway camp, you’re not alone. This blog is written specifically for you.
We’ll cover what your options actually are, what works and what doesn’t, and how realistic it is to make meaningful progress before camp season begins.
Why sleepaway camp feels different from other situations
Sleepovers at a friend’s house are one thing. But sleepaway camp is several nights, or even weeks, in a cabin with peers, with no parent nearby to help navigate a difficult morning.
For a child who isn’t dry yet at night, camp can feel less like an adventure and more like a minefield.
What will happen if I’m not dry? Will my cabinmates find out? Will the counselors tell everyone? Will I ruin the whole thing?
These worries are real and worth taking seriously. Not by keeping your child home, but by finding a real solution before the summer begins.
A mom’s story: dry in time for camp
One parent wrote to us about her 9-year-old daughter, the youngest of four children, who desperately wanted to attend sleepaway camp that summer.
Her older siblings had all trained at night eventually, but for this daughter, nothing had worked. After starting the Keeping the Bed Dry® program, the progress was gradual but steady.
Within the first month, her daughter was dry about 50% of nights, a huge step forward from where they started. The second month brought more improvement, with maybe one or two nights that weren’t dry per week.
Six months after starting the program, her daughter had been completely dry for two full months. Her mom wrote: “We feel confident to send her off for a month to sleep away camp.”
That confidence, for both the child and the parent, is exactly what’s possible when bedwetting is treated as a skill to be learned rather than a condition to be managed.
And a son’s story: camp was the goal
Another family wrote to us about their son, who had been dry at night by age 5 but began struggling after a serious illness and hospitalization. At 9, he announced he wanted to go to sleep-away camp.
His mom, a pediatrician herself, had tried everything: waking him at midnight, alarms, DDAVP maxed out at the full dose, and a urology referral. Nothing had worked.
Then she found the program. From the very first night he watched the video, he was dry.
Three weeks later, he’d had just one night that wasn’t dry. He stripped his own bed, announced “I’ll get it right tomorrow night,” and went back to sleep without tears. No shame. No falling apart.
She wrote: “This experience has boosted my son’s confidence in ways that I did not anticipate. He is proud of himself, and feels empowered and capable and grown-up. He wakes up strutting in his boxers in the morning, instead of hiding in the corner, peeling off a wet pull-up.”
What are the options when camp is coming up?
When parents realize that bedwetting before sleepaway camp is a real issue, the first instinct is often to reach for a quick fix. Here’s an honest look at what’s available.
Medication (desmopressin / DDAVP)
Desmopressin reduces overnight urine production and can be used for short-term situations like camp or sleepovers. For some children, it works well as a bridge.
The key limitation is that it manages the symptom without building the skill. Bedwetting typically returns when the medication stops. It’s also worth noting that some children, like the boy in the story above, don’t respond to it at all.
Always discuss medication options with your child’s physician.
Pull-ups or protective underwear
Some families consider discreet protective options for camp, and in some situations this can reduce anxiety. But for older children, the prospect of a cabinmate discovering protection is its own source of dread.
This can be a short-term bridge, but it’s rarely a satisfying solution for a child old enough to feel self-conscious about it.
Talking to the camp
Many sleepaway camps are more experienced with bedwetting than families expect. A discreet conversation with a camp director or head counselor before camp starts can help arrange quiet support for your child.
This doesn’t solve the problem, but it can reduce the catastrophic thinking that makes children most anxious, specifically the fear that everyone will find out.
Medical hypnosis: the approach that builds the skill
If there’s enough time before camp, ideally at least 6 to 8 weeks, Keeping the Bed Dry® offers a real solution: teaching the brain-bladder connection so the child’s own body handles the signal during sleep.
This is the approach that allowed both families above to say they felt confident sending their child to camp. Not cautiously hoping it would be okay, but genuinely confident.
How much time do you need?
This is the question most parents ask first, and it’s a fair one.
The honest answer is that every child is different. Some children see improvement within the first week. In the clinical study of Keeping the Bed Dry®, the median number of dry nights per month doubled within three months, and all children who completed the program showed improvement.
Earlier is better. Not because it takes a long time, but because:
- Your child has more time to practice and build confidence before camp
- You both arrive at camp with less anxiety and more trust in the skill
- Progress before camp reinforces that the approach is working, which motivates children further
If camp is months away, this is a great time to start. If it’s weeks away, starting now still gives your child the best possible chance, and medication can serve as a bridge if needed.
What to say to your child
How you frame this conversation with your child matters enormously. Here are a few things that help:
- Lead with the goal, not the problem. “You want to go to camp and have an amazing time. Let’s make sure you’re completely ready.”
- Reframe it as a skill. “Your brain and bladder just haven’t learned to talk to each other at night yet. We’re going to teach them.”
- Make them the hero. This is something they’re going to do for themselves. That’s powerful for children, especially at an age where independence matters.
- Keep camp on the table. Don’t make camp contingent on being dry. That adds pressure that can backfire. Focus on building the skill, and camp stays the goal.
Camp should be an adventure, not an anxiety
Bedwetting before sleepaway camp doesn’t have to be the thing that holds your child back.
With the right approach, started at the right time, children can arrive at camp with confidence instead of dread. They can focus on the activities, the friendships, the memories.
They can be the kid strutting around in the morning, proud of themselves.
That’s what’s possible. And it starts now.
Ready to help your child get ready for camp? Start Keeping the Bed Dry® today and give your child the confidence to go all-in on this summer.
Want to talk through your child’s timeline with Dr. Lazarus? Schedule a consultation and we’ll help you make a plan.
About Dr. Jeffrey Lazarus, MD, FAAP
Dr. Jeffrey Lazarus is a board-certified pediatrician who combines over 25 years of medical experience with expertise in medical hypnosis and cognitive behavioral therapy. He is one of only 8 pediatricians in the United States certified as an Approved Consultant by The American Society of Clinical Hypnosis.
After completing his pediatric residency at Stanford University Medical Center, Dr. Lazarus specialized in using medical hypnosis to address conditions that traditional medicine doesn’t treat effectively. He created Keeping the Bed Dry®, an at-home video program that teaches children’s brains and bladders to communicate effectively—proven successful in independent research published in Clinical Pediatrics and recommended as a first-line treatment by the Journal of Pediatric Urology.
Dr. Lazarus practices in Menlo Park, California, and works with families nationwide via telemedicine.