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Dr Catherine
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Boy
2-4 years

How do I transition my son from night nappies. Very wet in the morning, do I wake him during the night ?

Unlike toilet training, which is conscious and deliberate, nighttime bladder control is more dependent on maturation of children’s nervous systems and bladder so it is much more challenging to train a child a night. Training at night usually involves the use of a conditioning alarm (also commonly referred to as a bedwetting alarm), this works 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. With respect to the waking/lifting, this is typically seen as a practical approach to managing children’s bedwetting in the short-term only but does little to help them to become dry on their own. Lifting at night means children do not get the chance to get used to the signals that the bladder sends to the brain telling them to wake-up and empty their bladder nor does the bladder have the opportunity to stretch and develop. One of the best indicators that a child is moving toward achieving nighttime continence is an increase in the number of mornings where he wakes-up dry. Until then it is perfectly fine for you to continue using DryNites at night to help manage his nighttime wetting. All the best! Kind Regards, Dr Cathrine