Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Please or to access all these features

Parenting

For free parenting resources please check out the Early Years Alliance's Family Corner.

Overnight dryness - what would you do?

3 replies

AliasGrape · 17/09/2025 13:11

My DD turned 5 recently, she’s a late summer baby.

She toilet trained easily at 2 and a few months, dry in the day from day 1 without me needing to do much really, had a bit of a wobble about pooing in the potty which lasted a couple of weeks but we resolved it.

She remained in pull ups at night and we never had a single time she woke up dry. All the advice said it’s hormonal and to leave it so we did.

A few months back she really didn’t want to wear her pull ups (she calls them night time knicks!) and so we tried without - with protective mats for the bed and lots of spares on hand. It was a disaster, I’d been happy to try on the off chance it was just one overnight wee that we could figure out when it was and address that. But she weed repeatedly through the night, all different times and even if I woke her up periodically to go on the loo (which she did). About 5 days in she was so tired I said shall we just put the night time knicks back on and she said yes and we left it there.

Around 3 weeks back she was starting Year One and announced very definitely she would not be wearing night time knicks anymore as she’s a big girl now. She was really desperate to try and it was clear it was affecting her sense of self so I agreed to try again. First few nights more of the same, but then we seemed to have a breakthrough - I’d wake her for the loo around 11pm, and she’d be dry after that till she got up at 6ish. Felt like we made progress, and that happened for a few days straight but since then it’s just random whether she’s going to be dry, mostly dry or have multiple accidents at night.

She’s desperate not to go back in pull ups and gets really upset if it’s suggested. She’s generally pretty switched on, very concerned with being independent and a big girl so this really bothers her.

But clearly she’s not had that hormonal shift or whatever it is yet.

Would you just persevere since we have made some progress, even if it’s a bit one step forward two steps back?

Or insist she goes back in the pull ups even if it upsets her/ knocks her confidence a bit?

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Cantgetausername87 · 17/09/2025 13:16

There's gotta be a middle ground - they either have the horemone to wake them up or they don't. Unless she wants a shower every morning etc she's much better off in pull ups. I don't know about brands - is there a more grown up version that she'll fit? Explaining that it's normal and nothing to have to talk about with the teacher and her friends.
I just don't think the constant washing and waking is any help to her at the moment x

AliasGrape · 17/09/2025 14:28

She fits the pull ups we have ok so that's not so much the issue. She just doesn't want to wear them full stop. But I agree I think she's better off in them for now.

She's so sensitive about this stuff, and has clearly had a conversation of some sort with her best friend, or otherwise picked up that 'Daisy' and 'Mia' don't wear nighttime knicks so I don't want to either. The fact that we did manage quite a few night dry in a row did make me think perhaps it was worth persevering as she got used to it, but last night was almost back to square one.

OP posts:
Snorlaxo · 17/09/2025 14:30

I would explain the biology and reassure her that it’s a secret between you and her for now.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page