Dr Catherine
< Back to Expert Answers
Girl
4-7 years

Hi Jillian, the fact that your daughter continues to wet every night means it is unlikely that her bladder has developed to a point where it is ready to hold the amount of urine her body produces overnight. In saying this - there are certainly some things you can try in order to help her to become dry. Encourage her to drink water regularly throughout the day - tapering off in the evening. Avoid foods high in sugar or caffeine as this will stimulate the kidneys into producing more urine than normal. Avoid waking her if possible as this will not give her body opportunity to learn to respond on its own to a full bladder - children continue to wet at night until their kidneys start to produce less urine overnight or they learn to wake-up in response to a full bladder. If her bedwetting is really beginning to bother her then I would recommend making an appointment with a continence specialist who can discuss more formal treatment options, such as the conditioning alarm. Many doctors prefer to hold off until children are around 7 years of age before introducing treatment - however from a self-esteem perspective I always encourage parents to seek treatment earlier if bedwetting becomes a cause for concern. All the best! Regards, Dr Cathrine