It is not uncommon for children your son’s age to still be wetting the bed on a regular basis; bedwetting is far more common among boys than girls, as boys bodies tend to take a little longer to mature. In saying this it is always a good idea to have your son checked by his GP just to rule out any underlying medical cause. Pull-Ups are specifically designed for helping children through the toilet training process and therefore offer lower levels of absorbency than DryNites. Given the issues you are experiencing with leakage I would graduate into DryNites, he is likely to prefer these as they are designed to appeal to older children, looking more like an underpant. In the meantime we need to think about how best to manage his bedwetting so that it has minimal impact on his self-confidence and self-esteem. Sleepovers can be tricky for children who wet the bed – it is often a good idea to hold them at your house first as children tend to feel more confident and self-assured in a familiar environment. Help him to devise ways he can disguise his DryNites, that way his friends never need to know. Keep reassuring him that this is perfectly normal and that there is probably at least one or two other children in his class whom also wet the bed at night. You could certainly look into introducing more formal treatment measures. A conditioning alarm would be the best way to go, however it is important that you first have him checked by your GP as the more guidance you receive the better the outcome. The success of the alarm is very dependent on how motivated your son is to become dry. Alarms can take up to 6 months to work so patience is the key. Even after children become dry it not unusual for them to experience one or two relapses. When this occurs you just need to reintroduce the alarm, following the same procedures as before.

Regards,
Dr Cathrine

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