When it comes to parenting, consistency is certainly the key, whether we are talking about managing challenging behaviours or bedwetting. The good news is that neither of you are contributing to your son’s bedwetting. The age at which nighttime continence occurs is quite variable – we know that it typically takes longer for boys than girls, with many specialist believing it to be quite normal for boys to experience nighttime wetting up until the age of 8. Children typically wet the bed because their body produces larger than normal amounts of urine overnight and their bladder is unable to store it until morning. Children who have achieved nighttime continence are either able to wake-up independently in response to a full-bladder or have developed the bladder capacity to store urine until morning. One of the most reliable indicators that a child is moving toward achieving nighttime continence is a reduction in the number of mornings he wakes up wet. So the fact that he is able to make it through the night, even occasionally, is a very encouraging sign. Unlike daytime wetting, your son has very little control over his bladder while asleep, so while rewards can be very motivating during the day, they do little to control children’s wetting at night and may in fact have a negative effect making him feel like he has somehow failed when he does not achieve the desired behaviour. Time and patience are typically the best way to approach children’s bedwetting at this young age. It is perfectly fine for him to use DryNites, these will neither shorten nor prolong the bedwetting process and will certainly reduce the stress associated with waking-up in wet sheets and the extra washing that goes hand in hand with this. All the best!

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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