We have a six year old son that has yet to stay dry all night. We’ve tried limiting fluids before bed, having him go potty twice before bed, waking him up to go potty before we go to bed…he still wakes up soaked. We stuck with that routine for two weeks with no improvement, and just decided to go back to Pull-ups and give him more time. We don’t make him feel bad about it at all, and he clearly has no control over it.
Some kids sleep too deeply to wake up when they have to go. Other kids’ bodies need to mature a bit, so their brains signal the body to produce less urine when sleeping. I think our son has both of those problems. We’d wake him 2 times at night to use the bathroom, and in the morning he’d still wake up sopping wet and mad at us because he didn’t remember getting up to go potty. We were all tired, not sleeping well, and frustrated, so decided it would be best to wait and try again when he’s a bit older.
When we do try again, we are going to try this. It is quite a bit less expensive than other bedwetting alarms, can be used with a pull-up, and has consistently good reviews. The cost will be worth it, considering what we spend on those stupid pull-ups, not to mention the extra loads of laundry from the nights he overwhelms the pull-up and wakes up with wet sheets. Seriously, I have no idea how such a small person can produce so much pee.
Your nephew just needs time and understanding, most likely. The pediatrician should be consulted just to rule out any kind of physical problem, like a UTI.