Am going to re-try to night train my 6yo. Any advice??

[bargainhuntingbetty]

I have been periodically trying to night train my 6 yo (since she was about 2.5) but with no luck. She is going into P2 in August and I would love for her to be night trained.

My other dd was late in being night trained but she refused to wear nappies past the age of 3 so I basically just changed the beds untill she stopped wetting.

Does anyone have any advice for me?? How long do I give it???

Have you asked the school nurse for some advice? You can get in touch with them through the school, you don't have to say why ou want to talk to her.

We are on summer hols now so I wont be able to get them until after thhe hols but I wish I had thought about that earlier. Why didnt I????

If you call your local health centre they should be able to guide you in her/his direction. They are really good at helping with this.

You've been trying to help her for such a long time, it doesn't normally take this long for a child to have a dry night. Have you tried taking her to the toilet before you go to bed?

I was told that this encourages them to weee in their sleep and they never really learn. I will contact the health centre and see if they can help.

Thanks

There are 3 main reasons whu children are late to be dry:

1. Lack of vasopressin (the hormone that calms your kidneys down at night and makes them produce less wee). If she wees large volumes of weak, low-odour urine often early in the night then she may have low vasopressin and benefit from Desmopressin, the synthetic form that can be given in tablet form as a melt that dissolves under the tongue. Your GP can prescribe this.

1. Lack of arousability. If she doesn't wake with a full bladder, or wake when she has wet, she may not have a strong bladder-brain link. To strengthen the link you need to go without pull-ups so the child feels wet and uncomfortable (pull-ups just keep them too dry and comfy!). An alarm can be helpful but should really be used after assessment by an enuresis service.

1. Bladder instability. This is often seen in children that also have problems with daytime wetting, and may be unable to hold much urine. They wee 50 times a day and can't hold it very well. If this applies you ought to see a GP for referral for bladder scans etc. Medication such as oxybutynin can help.

All the above need to be assessed, and underpinning it should be bladder training - a child with a strong, toned bladder is less likely to wet at night as the bladder can hold a greater volume without emptying. Bladder training involves drinking loads (at least 6-8 decent sized drinks a day of about 250mls each time) and drinking more in the main part of the day, tapering off towards evening. Regular toileting ie every 2-3 hours helps to strengthen the bladder by giving it a workout, and preventing it becoming overstretched and twitchy.

You can ask your GP for a referral to a local children's continence service but many have a minimum age (ours is 7) - also have a look at the ERIC website.

Thanks for that Sidge. I am currently trying her with no pull ups on in the hope that her brain will realise when she is wet.

Thanks again