Dr Catherine
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Girl
4-7 years

My son who is 4.5 has shown an interest in not wearing 'night pants', we have tried on a few occasions but he is wet through by morning. If i lift him before i go to bed he sometimes goes and then is not as wet in the morning.... he is a deep sleeper, doesn't wake when wet or is waking but doesn't come and tell us in the night even when we have reassured him that its ok. Not sure what to do? He is a bright boy with no developmental issues but took along time to day train, he can hold for 3-4hours in the day, can resist going to the toliet then other days take himself quite happily. We can still have the odd accident every two weeks but these are getting rarer. I want to encourage dry night because he has asked not to wear a nappy but i am unconfident in my approach due to the day training! any advice appreciated

It really is a personal decision as to whether or not to use DryNites. Many parents (and children) choose to use DryNites to reduce the stress associated with children waking-up in wet sheets as well as the added laundry burden. While there has been some debate about the use of absorbent pants, the general consensus is that DryNites neither speed up nor prolong the bedwetting process. If he is happy to wear them, then I think they are a great option and are very effective means of managing children’s bedwetting. In the short-term make sure he continues to drink water regularly throughout the day, eats lots of fresh fruits and vegetables and limits fizzy drinks – particularly before bedtime. Given his obvious desire and motivation to become dry I would certainly look into introducing a conditioning alarm. Bedwetting or conditioning alarms work by helping your son learn to recognise the need to pass urine and either wake-up and go to the toilet or learn to hold on until morning. They come in two main forms. One is a body alarm with a small sensor that can be worn inside his DryNites. The second type of alarm is a bell and pad alarm that is placed like a mat over the bottom bed sheet of his bed. It may take a few weeks until he begins to respond to the alarm and can take up to 3 months to achieve continence. Ideally you should not try and do this on your own, the more support and guidance you receive from a medical professional the better the outcome.All the best,