Dr Catherine
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Girl
4-7 years

My daughter is 5.5 yrs old, she has been day trained since before she was 2. But we still can’t get the night time. She wakes up absolutely saturated every morning. All she wants to do is be a big girl and give up the dry nights pull ups, How do I help her achieve this.

By far the most effective means of treating children’s bedwetting is the conditioning or bedwetting alarm. The alarm is designed to wake-up the child when he or she begins to wet. The conditioning approach is based on the theory that by repetitively waking a child at the time of urination the child becomes conditioned into recognising that urination is about to occur, and consequently learns to inhibit their voiding reflex. This method requires a great deal of commitment on behalf of the family, as parents need to take initial responsibility in ensuring their child wakes in response to the alarm. Treatment can take up to 6 months, with about 1/3 of children experiencing relapse. If this occurs you need to reintroduce the alarm, with most children being treated in a much shorter period of time. The major cause of failure is poor compliance on the part of the child and the parents; so do not try and begin treatment until you have consulted with a continence advisor. All the best! Kind Regards, Dr Cathrine