Enuresis is not the result of laziness or stupidity. Although hard to avoid for busy parents fed up with the practicalities of mountains of washing, this is essentially counter-productive, and may foster dependency. Lifting can cause children to believe that they are not in charge of their own bladders or the process of staying dry. Lifting may actually delay the process of becoming dry by further increasing the 'waking threshold' - making it even more difficult to awaken. Since sleep is vital to life, it is thought that children learn to resist waking up and remain 'semi-asleep' when taken to the toilet.
Some treatments recommend restricting fluid intake immediately prior to bed.
This is not a problem, but any restriction of fluid in children should be treated with care to avoid dehydration. To do so is degrading and can cause serious psychological damage. The principle used with the enuresis alarms is to 're-train' the sufferer to wake up to the sensation of a full bladder. This is one of the safest and most successful of all the treatments available. Another advantage to this method of treatment is that it can be completed entirely at home.