Dr Catherine
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Girl
2-4 years

Dear B.P., the time between achieving daytime continence and nighttime control is different for every child. While some achieve this in a matter of weeks, others take months or years. One of the best indicators that your daughter is moving toward achieving nighttime continence is an increase in the number of mornings she wakes up dry. There are a number of reasons why children continue to wet at night. Some do so because their body produces larger than normal amounts of urine overnight and their bladder is unable to store it until morning. This usually continues until the amount of urine produced decreases or children learn to wake-up in response to a full bladder. Others do so because they are unable to wake in response to the signals that their bladder sends to their brain telling them to wake-up and go to the toilet. Nighttime wetting occurs when children are asleep so the same methods that we use to encourage daytime continence, like having a wetness liner, no longer apply. The choice to move from nappies to DryNites is really more to do with your child's preference with many 3 and 4 year olds wanting to wear something that looks more like an underpant than a nappy. Please be reassured most children do outgrow bedwetting on their own by the time they turn 6 years. I do apologise for the delay in responding, unfortunately I have been unwell and unable to respond to questions during this time. Kind Regards, Dr Cathrine