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Dr Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett is an experienced Child Development expert. As a mother of three young children, understanding children’s development and promoting positive approaches to parenting has become both a passion and a full-time career. You have the opportunity to ask your questions now.
47 Answers found for 'common bedwetting questions'
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My son is 4.5 - he is completely toilet trained during the day but is nowhere near dry at night. While I am not overly concerned about this fact, knowing that a lot of children are not dry at night at this age, what is frustrating me is that although he
Children’s overnight urine output can be quite variable – parents of children who seem to pass a lot of urine overnight sometimes find it easier to...
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hi, i have 13 year old twins who wet the bed for a big part of ten years (their father is an adult bed wetter). Their eight year old brother still sometimes wets the bed. I also have a 4 1/2 year old daughter and 3 month old from a new relationship. The 4
Given the strong genetic link it is not unusual for a number of children in the same family to experience bedwetting. If both parents were bedwett...
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Ask a question now...
Hi Theresa, while bedwetting can be incredibly concerning for parents and grandparents alike, it is often reassuring to know that this is perfectly...
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Hi there, my daughter is 4 next month & has been toilet trained during the day since she was 2 years 4 months old. Our next big step is night time training, she is a heavy deep sleeper & wears a pull up to bed at night, which is quite wet in the morning,
Hi S.B. – helping children to achieve nighttime continence works a little differently to daytime training. Nighttime wetting typically happens whe...
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Why do I wee the bed every night?
Hi Foebe, There are a number of possible reasons why you continue to wet at night. Some children who wet the bed do so because their nervous system...
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My son was staying dry at night with the odd accident here or there up to 4 weeks ago. We then came home from a holiday and he has started wetting the bed almost every night? i make sure he goes to the toliet before bed as usual so what could the proble
Sometimes a change in environment can contribute to children’s bedwetting. It is also quite common for children to experience an increase in bedwe...
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Hi, my son is nearly 4 years of age and wets the bed every night , when we have spoken to him about it, he says that being wet in bed doesn't bother him, he will sleep with wet pants, how can I get him to over come him to wake up to go to the toilet at ni
Firstly, let me reassure you that what your son is experiencing is perfectly normal for someone his age. There are a number of possible reasons why...
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my son is eight years old . he still wets the bed. i had a troubled marriage and now i am separated from my husband. i loose my temper very often and shout at my son for the slighest thing though i love him so much from the time he is 2 years old.please t
Hi D. K. – parenting can be both incredibly challenging and equally rewarding. As parents, we can become frustrated or angry with our children esp...
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Ask a question now...
Hi Sue – Parents of children who wet the bed often comment on the fact that their child sleeps through unaware of the fact that they have wet. Thi...
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Hi Doctor: Our (almost) 4 year old son has started wetting his bed on most night of the week for the last few weeks. He is totally dry during the day and until this started a few weeks ago, he had only wet his bed a handful of times in the previous year
Hi David – while I’m not aware of any research directly linking testosterone with bedwetting in boys, there may be an indirect link in that increas...
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My son is 3 and a half years old, he is toilet trained during the day but he is still wetting the bed. Is there any tips you can give to help get him night trained?
The time between being daytime trained and achieving nighttime continence is quite variable. Unlike toilet training, which is conscious and delibe...
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hi, my son his 4 years old and his been trained during the day since he was 2 but nothing seems to work at nights. we tried training him for 2 weeks during the night and that was waking him up at 11pm and the 5:30 am and still he would manage to wet the b
Hi Christine, as frustrating as this behaviour may be please be reassured that it is perfectly normal and has very little to do with anything you o...
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Ask a question now...transition from nappy at bedtime to no nappy at all??
Hi Hilary, the time between achieving daytime continence and nighttime control is different for every child. While some achieve this in a matter o...
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I have just started toilet training my 2 yr old son and he is nearly fully toilet trained, except for night time, but it seems since starting it he wets through his nappy/dry nite, why do u think this it? its every night and im not sure what to do...
Hi Olivia, it is perfectly normal for your 2-year-old son to still be wetting the bed at night with many children continuing to do so right up to s...
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My Son Is 10 Years old. And he is still wetting the bed. What should i do ?
If you have not done so already the first thing you need to do is schedule an appointment with your GP for a full medical assessment. Bedwetting m...
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My son is 6 yrs old he is being wearing dry nights and most of the time he is dry I just recently took of the Dry nigths and let him sleepy in his pjs and he is weting the bad every night what sholud I do?
It is very common for children as they move toward achieving permanent nighttime continence to oscillate between periods of dryness and times when ...
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I have a 7yr old boy. He wears drynights and often overflows. For now he would prefer not to take any action, just see if he grows out of it. Fine with me but I was told we should seek help once he reached 7 is it ok if we don't seek help?
In order for your son to become dry at night he either needs to learn to wake in response to a full-bladder or his bladder needs to develop to a po...
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Our daughter has just turned five. She still wears a nappy at night. We have tried a lot of incentives. She is a good and heavy sleeper so perhaps that is the problem? Should we be concerned or will it right itself eventually?
Hi Heather - often when it comes to bedwetting no matter how hard we try children will continue to wet at night. In general we find children will s...
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hello, i have 2 sons, 9 and 8 years old. both of them wear dry nites as they wet every night. what can i do or should i be worried? thankyou
Bedwetting can be incredibly worrying especially when children continue to wet at night beyond the age most people think it should stop. The reass...
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Hi. My son just turned 5, he stopped wearing nappies during the day when he was 3 but he has always used nappies at night until now. And the nappy would be really heavy in the morning. He's not just wetting the bed, he just basically releases everything.
Hi Charlene, the time it takes between achieving daytime control and nighttime continence is quite variable. Some children achieve this in a matte...
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I need some tips on how my daughter can have sleepovers without being wet.
Hi Holly - Understandably one of the most common concerns for teenagers who wet the bed is attending social events like sleepovers or school-camps....
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Ask a question now...Recently we tried going cold turkey on night nappies having been told she was probably just lazy and would wake if had no nappy. however in 3weeks we have had 3 dry nights. Where do we go from here?
Hi Amanda – unfortunately there are a lot of myths out there about bedwetting, the most common being that children wet the bed because they are laz...
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My son is 4 1/2 and wears drynights to bed but sometimes (about 1-4 times a week)even wets through them. He doesn't have a lot to drink after dinner what else can I do to reduce and stop him wetting at night. I have never had a dry night with him - he a
Hi Jo, children’s nighttime urine output is quite variable. Leakage can result from improper fit, which can occur if your sons DryNites are too sm...
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Ask a question now...Hi my son is 7 years old and wets the bed often. We have not gone down the GP path yet but I will after reading your advise, my question is do you believe that holding on is a problem, my son holds on regularly and I am not sure if h
Hi Rebecca – it was once common practice to encourage children who wet the bed at night to try and hold on to their ‘wees’ during the day, as thi...
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My son is 3 and a half he still wears nappies to bed as he wet 3 times in one nite when he wore undies and never woke up. He has also only just stopped wetting at his afternoon sleep. Is it to early to think there is a problem.
Hi R. M., please be reassured it is perfectly normal for your son to still be wetting the bed at night with many children (especially boys) conti...
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My daughter is 3.5 and dry in the day for the past year. For six months we have done a 10pm toilet stop Which has worked well, but in the last month she is now wetting at random times in the night. Should we stop the 10pm toilet stop or am I just expe
Hi Nicky – given your daughters age it is not particularly surprising that she is still wetting at night, this is completely normal and age-appropr...
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what's a good age to start t.t at night? My daughter is 3.5 years old.
Hi J.F., unlike daytime urinary control, which is conscious and deliberate, nighttime bladder control is more dependent on maturation of children’s...
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My daughter has just turned 4. She has the daytime t/t all sorted and i'm happy with that. However, night time is a totally different story...
Hi S – I completely understand your frustration and sympathise! Sometimes parents feel a little better about the situation when they understand th...
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Four and 1/2 year old girl has been night trained for over a year. The last four nights she has wet the bed.
It can be incredibly upsetting for children when they start wetting the bed again after being dry for an extended period. Firstly, you need to r...
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Bedwetting - 6 year old daughter. 2-3 times per night.
Hi Michelle - Happy New Year to you too! It can be incredibly frustrating for parents when you feel you have done all the right things and your chi...
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I have two boys aged 8 & 6 that wake up every morning with wet Drynites and most of the time my 8 year old has a wet bed aswell.
Bedwetting does run in families so it is not unusual to find a number of children in the one family experiencing nighttime wetting. When genetics ...
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Nappies still heavy overnight
Hi Lisa, firstly, let me reassure you it is perfectly normal for a boy of 5 to be wetting the bed at night. While most children who wet the bed ha...
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My daughter wets the bed about 4 times per week, sometimes less sometimes every night. There is no distinct pattern. I am now trying to limit her water intake at dinner time (2 hours before her bedtime) and am feeling guilty for doing this.
Bedwetting runs in families, which means that children who have parents who wet the bed, are much more likely to wet the bed themselves. The upsid...
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My GP has advised I do nothing about my 8 year old sons bedwetting for several years yet, saying its not uncommon. Will he naturally become dry at night?
Hi C. R. – bedwetting is often one of those things that no-one likes to talk about, with many parents feeling embarrassed and therefore suffer in s...
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my daughter is 4 1/2 years old, she has barely ever wet the bed since wearing her knickers to bed (1 year or so)....but in the last 2 weeks she is wetting the bed nearly every night, i have been waking her before i go to bed and during the night if i get
Hi Jessica, it sounds like your daughter is experiencing secondary bedwetting, which occurs when a child has had proper control over their bladde...
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My son is 6 1/2 years old. He has never been dry at night. He has worn dry nites ever since he outgrew nappies. He never wakes to go to the toilet. Often he is waking because the dry nites are so full they leak and he and the bed are wet. He seems to prod
Hi Louise – it really sounds like you are doing everything right. Rather than limiting dirnks you could try getting him to drink water more frequen...
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My son is 5 and was consistantly dry every night up until about 2 months ago and now every night, he wets the bed. Nothing in his life has changed, other than it being winter. Could that be a factor and how do I help him with this and is this common?
Hi Katie, it is not unusual for children to waiver between periods of being dry then retrurning to wetting again as they move toward achieving perm...
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Ask a question now...Our 4 year son was doing really well with not wetting the bed now even if we get him up 2 or 3 times a night he is has relapsed and not doing so well, mostly in the morning before he wakes up he wets his pants, but not his bed. Can yo
Hi Toni, it is not unusual for children to waiver between periods of being dry then returning to wetting as they move toward achieving permanent ...
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my 5 year old is still not trained at night. He often soaks through his nappy. is there anything else I can use to stop him waking up wet?
Hi C.S., please be reassured it is perfectly normal for your son to still be wetting the bed at night with many children (especially boys) continui...
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5 year old who wets the bed heavily every night and doesn't wake at all ??? He is a super heavy sleeper and takes about 2 hours to fall asleep. Help??
Firstly, let me reassure you that this is quite normal behaviour with around 1 in 10 5-year-olds still wetting the bed at night. It is not unusual...
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At what age approximately is a good time to start letting your child wear undies to bed?
Hi M.R., Usually the best indicator that children are moving toward achieving nighttime continence is an increase in the number of mornings where t...
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My son is fully trained during the day and only wears a nappy to bed, which is wet in the morning! at what age should the nappy go??
Hi Sara, It is perfectly normal for a 3-year-old boy to be still wetting at night with around 1 in 5 children still wetting the bed when they start...
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My son is 6 and still wears nappies to bed as he is wet every night however his 3 younger siblings are all dry.
Hi K.B., it can be particularly tricky for children struggling with bedwetting when they have younger siblings who have already achieved nighttim...
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my grandson is neally 5 his younger brother 3 and is out of nappies, but he still wets at night he goes to the toilet through the day, is it because he is to lazy to get up through the night. my daughter is pulling her hair out. what should we do.
It is perfectly normal for your grandson to still be wetting the bed at night with at least 1 in 10 5-year-olds continuing to wet the bed on a regu...
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My son will be five in January and for the past few months we have been talking to him about not wearing Drynites to bed anymore. For the past two weeks we have taken him out of the pullups, but he still wets the bed once, sometimes twice during the nigh
Hi Leanne, Bedwetting can be incredibly challenging to manage, particularly when it occurs on a regular basis. There are a number of reasons as to ...
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Is it 'normal' for a four and a half year old to still be wetting the bed? My daughter seems to be too 'tired' to actually wake herself up to go but if I wake her and take her to the toilet she will go. Thank you. :-)
Hi D.V., I would not be overly concerned about your daughter at this point; bedwetting among 4-year-olds is fairly common and considered to be deve...
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My daughter has been toilet trained during the day for over a year now, but has never been able to not wet her bed or nappy of a night time. What would you recommend we try to get this part of the toilet training process happening?
Hi Jane, please be reassured it is perfectly normal for your daughter to still be wetting the bed at night with many children continuing to do so u...