Dry Nights

PERSONALISED BOOKS TO SUPPORT CHILDREN THROUGH THEIR MOST IMPORTANT MILESTONES

Tips for working towards dry nights.

The age that children become dry at night varies. For some, it follows on quite quickly after they have mastered potty training during the day. For others, it may take longer. There are lots of things you can do to gradually work towards dry nights:

  • Help your child get into the habit of using the potty or toilet at bedtime.
  • Make sure sure they are drinking plenty during the daytime. Drinks like water or weak squash are best. Avoid fizzy drinks and drinks with caffeine in them as these can irritate the lining of the bladder. If the bladder lining is irritated this can make the bladder twitchy.
  • Work on a good bedtime drinking routine. Stop drinks one hour before bedtime, every night, and no more after that till morning.
  • Prepare your child for sleep. Unwind with a book or listen to music with the lights turned low. No screens – so no TV, iPad, computer games in the hour before sleep, or the brain will get the wrong message!
  • Avoid lifting – in other words waking your child to take them to the toilet – if you want to work on stopping bedwetting. It might keep the bed dry, but it encourages your child to wee during sleep as they don’t really wake up.
  • Reward your child each step along the way e.g. for getting their drinking right, doing a bedtime wee, using the toilet at night.
  • If bedwetting continues to be a problem beyond the age of 5, speak to a GP or nurse and they can assess the reason for the bedwetting and advise on treatment.

For more information on bedwetting visit ERIC, The Children’s Bowel and Bladder
Charity

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