Hi Hilary, the time between achieving daytime continence and nighttime control is different for every child. While some achieve this in a matter of weeks, others take months or years. One of the best indicators that your son is moving toward achieving nighttime continence is an increase in the number of mornings he wakes up dry. There are a number of reasons why children continue to wet at night. Some do so because their body produces larger than normal amounts of urine overnight and their bladder is unable to store it until morning. This usually continues until the amount of urine produced decreases or children learn to wake-up in response to a full bladder. Others do so because they are unable to wake in response to the signals that their bladder sends to their brain telling them to wake-up and go to the toilet. Nighttime wetting occurs when children are asleep so the same methods that we use to encourage daytime continence no longer apply. Most children do outgrow bedwetting on their own by the time they turn 6 years.

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

Ask Dr Cathrine a question