How do I get my 5 year old out of nappies at night?

I completely relate to all of this. I was just going to write a post about this, as my daughter is 4 and a half and still wears pull ups at night.
She sleeps so soundly and I don't think she's even aware that she wets her pull up in the night. She knows that she needs to come off them but having a wet nappy doesn't seem to bother her at all, not like it did my eldest daughter.
I think i'm going to go cold turkey soon and just hope that eventually she will realise that she needs to get up and go to the loo herself. Fingers crossed it works X

I have a 5 and a half year old daughter who sleeps solidly and unless we lift her at about 11pm she would wet the bed but have had to put her in pants because her 3 year old is dry through the night. Anyone with any help I would appreciate it!!!

I have been told it is to do with a gland and is nothing to worry about.  My little boy will be six this year and is still wetting at night.  I think its a shame some mums are suggesting to stop their children having a drink and waking them at night!! to solve this.  My little boy has been dry since 2 in the day but not at night so I found out why and spoke to the health people.  You shouldn't stop them drinking or wake them the gland will do what it needs to when the time is right. and if the gland doesnt kick in the doctors can give them a pill to make it.  So all the drink stopping and getting up will not do anything!

Hi all,

my son is nearly 4 1/2 and shows no signs of being dry at night. He is a very deep sleeper and is completely unaware he is wet, even if the nappy leaks all over the bed! He still has the odd accident in the day too, leaving it 'til the last minute because he's 'busy', then not getting there in time! It is so difficult when you hear all of your friend's children are dry at night, but I just try to think that it is not the end of the world, he isn't bothered, and it is impossible to 'force' a child to be dry! It stresses you and them out! I was a nanny for 18 years before I had my son, and every child I looked after did it in THEIR TIME. Parents would ask me to 'make their child dry at night', and they would lift them to the toilet before they went to bed, but every morning I was greeted by a massive pile of wet sheets to launder!

I think it does help to be aware that there is a hormone called Anti diuretic hormone (puts the kidneys to sleep) that needs to be produced before the child CAN be dry at night.

Most importantly - try not to stress, or to compare your child to others. It's hard, believe me I know, but it'll make life happier for everyone!

My youngest daughter has just turned 6, and I have been trying to get her dry at night for the last 2 years - my eldest daughter was dry at night before she was 3. I have tried most of the above suggestions, and currently I let her go to bed nappy-less but put a pull up on her when I go up (around 10.30) so she at least goes to bed like her big sister.

It has taken me this long to realise that she really has no idea she's wetting at night... it doesn't wake her at all, whereas with my eldest she woke me at 2am with a wet bed for a couple of weeks until she learnt to sleep through dry.

I think there must be something in the hormonal argument as we have tried lifting, limiting drinks and offering treats - however a dry night does seem to more luck than anything else. It's just hard when we go to friends etc and she has to put a pull up on as she's old enough to get embarrassed by it.

However, thanks to the lady who admitted to wetting the bed until she was 11, it goes to show it's something that does affect lots of people, it just doesn't get discussed in public much!

I have experience of both sides, having wet the bed into my early teens and now having a 7 year old dd who is still not dry at night.  It's good to see that people no longer believe in punishment for accidents, as my aunt did with my cousin some years ago, but the various methods suggesting rewards or bribery for being dry I remember as being just as insulting.  They revolve around the concept that a child is choosing to wet the bed.  Kids wet the bed for many reasons, it is worth checking for psychologiccal reasons (things like bullying at school can cause wetting) but many, like me will just grow out of it. In the meantime patience is the key. I use drynites (the huggies pullups) for my dd, I would have loved them when I was a kid. It may be embarrasing to be the girl who wears a pullup to bed but it's better than my experiences of being either the girl who wakes up in cold wet sheets or the girl who doesn't get to go to sleepovers (just help them to pick the right friends for sleepovers).

my 5 year old is still in nappies at night and WILL NOT DRINK, am at wits end! I am told he is not dry because he is not drinking enough during the day and not having full bladders to empty etc etc,  but you try forcing a child to drink when they dont want to, very hard.  Just have to try and get fluids into his foods.  Amazingly he is not dehydrated and has never been constipated!  LOL!  One day i might be able to laugh about all this.....