5 year old still wanting to wear Nappies at night

[MonChoufleur123]

5 Yr old DS was potty trained pretty easily at about two and a half. For some reason - and I'm kicking myself now - we let him carry on wearing nappies at night. He's now 5 and won't sleep without them. We limit drinks after tea time to an inch of milk in a cup bit he regularly does so much wee at night it leaks. Over half term we've tried to wean him off nappies and he's done a few nights sleeping on those throw away absorbent sheets. But he's such a heavy sleeper he doesn't wake up when he's weeing, he just wakes up at 6am with the sheet soaked. I don't know where all this wee is coming from!! Tonight he's insisted on having a nappy back on. Does this mean he's just not ready? Or what are we doing wrong? Should we persist? Thanks in advance.

Mine's the same (although 4.5), watching with interest 👀

Go back to nappies. To be dry at night, he needs a specific hormone to start being produced. It’s not there yet.

My six year old still wears pull-ups at night. She hasn’t had a single dry night since birth and does not wake when she needs to go. I long for the day it stops, but am trying the Eric suggestions of things like making her drink in the day to try and increase bladder capacity.

Sounds like he’s not ready yet.

DD1 who is a very heavy sleeper didn’t come out night time nappies until 6. DD2 was just turned 2. We just went with it.

Sorry, also just watching for advice

Check the ERIC website - hormones are involved but it can be trained!

Dd1, potty trained at 3, dry day and night from the start. Dd2, dry during the day almost straight away just before 3 but is still in a night pull up and she’ll be 6 next month.

I’m waiting for summer where she can just sleep in a light sheet and going to try without nappies and just a mattress protector underneath her sheet as I can’t cope with washing a duvet every time she wees. Wearing the pull up doesn’t bother her at the minute and she’s not asked to be without them yet. I’m hoping she will start not needing them soon but we’ve never had a dry one yet come the morning.

Go back to nappies at night. There’s a specific hormone shift that allows them to wake at night, in heavy sleepers it can be quite late. My light sleeper ds was dry at night from 2 or 3, heavy sleeping dd was nearly 7 before she was dry at night, I think 7 is the upper end of normal range for night dry.

DC1 was potty trained in the day at 18 months (yea really) but not at night until almost 5. We didn’t push it at all. She eventually revealed that she was choosing to use the nappies as she couldn’t be bothered going to the loo so goodness knows when she’d have been ready if we had encouraged her! But no harm done. And everything I read suggested that it’s a hormone thing so can’t be rushed.

Nearly all of my LO’s reception class were still in pull ups at night, I don’t think this is unusual for 5 years old. I know several year 2 kids still in pull ups too. If he’s not ready, he’s not ready.

My ds was coming up for 8 when he came out of his night time pull ups. He'd get into a deep sleep and wake up soaking. He just wasn't ready. There's been no problem since.

DS1 was potty trained at 26 month but still in night nappies until he was 7, whereas DD did both at the same time. Either is normal!

Night time dryness is not the same as day time dryness.

As other posters have said there needs to be a specific hormone development. This is typically much later in boys.
Put him back in pull ups overnight until they are dry in the morning for at least 2 weeks then go to pants under PJs and a waterproof sheet.

Just wait it out. As far as I know, you can't train nighttime dryness. Just keep putting him in overnight pull-ups until they're consistently dry in the morning.

Don't kick yourself, you didn't 'let' him wear nappies at night. He still needs them. I'd say this is really normal, to be dry in the day first. My son is almost 6 and still in nappies at night. I'm waiting it out. I'll worry at 7.

My DS1 was 6 when he was dry at night. DS2 was dry day and night at 3.5. Every child's different. Don't worry about it.

I really wish that health visitors would tell parents that it is within the 'normal range' for children to be wet at night until at least 7/8 years.

You can do things to help but some children, when older, may be prescribed medication or you can use an alarm

Things that help -

At least 7 drinks a day
Cut out blackcurrant and caffeinated drinks
Double wee at bedtime - before and after brushing teeth
No drink an hour (or two) before bed

Another one here to say my eldest (now a fully toilet trainee 14 year old) took till he was about 7 before he was out of pull ups.

His younger brother was night and day dry at the same time and way before him!

*trained

He's not ready. Ds was day trained at 2yo but didn't stop wearing pull ups until he was 7yo. I never worried about it - he just didn't wake up when he needed a wee 🤷‍♀️. There's no way I'd leave him to wet himself/the bed. Just put a pull up on him and leave him to it. It's physiological, they'll get there by themselves.

Wow so many responses, thank you. This is really reassuring. I'll just keep on with the pull ups. Thank you everyone x

I'd recommend trying an alarm that wakes them when they wee. My 5 year old has been exactly the same, soaked every morning and in pull ups despite being toilet trained since 2. From Christmas we've tried an alarm and it's been great. No more pull ups and most nights no accidents.

This is the one we have used:

Wet Stop 3 Bedwetting Alarm (BLUE) 6 Alarms & Vibration, Enuresis Alarm, Incontinence, Potty Training amzn.eu/d/h92FpLv