5 year old bed wetting - please help!

[MountainSun]

This isn’t my first rodeo but I don’t know what to do with this child as one of the others were like this. Poor thing!

5, but nearly 6 year old girl. Been dry in the day since just turned 3 but nappies in the night.

We decided recently to stop having nappies at night. She’s very independent and doesn’t like them and well, she’s nearly 6!

It went ok at first. The odd accident but mainly dry. But now it’s two accidents a night most nights and I just don’t know what to do! She doesn’t want to go back to nappies but this is exhausting. And costing a lot in clothes washing tbh as it’s two bed washes a night.

Current routine: no drinks after 6, wee before bed, lift for a wee at 11pm ish. I didn’t put her to bed last night as I was working so not sure how strictly this was followed. But she was already wet at 10.30pm, then got up freshly wet 6am.

I hope someone has some useful tips, or can tell me that I’m doing it all wrong because I need this sorted! Thanks

Nearly 6, don't stress, it's all about hormones you can't make them arrive any faster just like you can't make teeth grow faster. If she doesn't want to wear nappies try pyjamas pants or bed mats but don't panic and don't stress or shame.

Put her in pull ups. We produce a hormone which wakes us up at night when we need a wee. Some children start producing it later than others. It's not a learned behaviour.

This is controlled by a hormone that she clearly isn't producing yet. Age 8-9 is when to worry at the earliest. If she refuses nappies, try pull-ups or it will be an expensive lot of washing for the next few years(!)

I think it's quite normal for 6. My DN bed wet until 8. The doctors gave them an alarm type thing but they just ripped it off. They can't help it. It's just one of them things that they will eventually grow out of. Pull ups and wake ups is all you can do atm.

its often thrown about on here that you shouldn’t worry til 8 or 9 but ERIC (the incontinence charity) are actually advising seeking medical support at age 5 now. It’s worth asking your GP or school nurse service for a referral to a hospital paediatrician.

Have a look at Eric Its full of useful information and links to help.

Fwiw my youngest was consistently in pyjama pants til age 6 and intermittently with good and bad periods for another year. He grew out of it completely by himself but there are options to help and the website can point you in the right direction.

That's a very recent change. It used to be 7 or even 8!

You can contact the school nursing service. My child was prescribed desmopressin by the GP in the end which did the trick here.

Hi, I went through this. Had the referrals, hospital
appts etc. In the end, the only thing that sorted it was time.
Hes 10 now and I’d say he’s been reliably dry at night for about 2 years.
In the meantime, what saved my sanity was buying a couple of washable bed mats. He slept directly on top of them so it was quick just to remove it, put a new one on, get him toileted (to make sure bladder definitely empty) and changed and everyone back to sleep. He could sort himself out by the end if he woke up wet. They wash and dry easily.
I felt for him, he really tried and it was such a drag for him to be taken to the loo once or twice a night but it just wasn’t working for him.
I wouldn’t put back in pull ups tho, I think they do need to learn to recognise the signals.

By the way, I do agree with the pp above that it is hormone related but I think that the hormone makes you produce less wee at night not wake you up. Some people will always need a wee at night and I think that is where it helps if they learn to recognise the signals.