Few questions cause parents more anxiety than this one. The short answer is that it depends on your child's age, on the stage of treatment you're in, and on the situation at hand. The longer answer is worth understanding, because the wrong choice can quietly undermine progress that's otherwise within reach.
For younger children (ages 4-5)
Diapers and pull-ups are perfectly reasonable for children still completing daytime toilet training. The body's mechanism for staying dry at night develops gradually, and at this age it's unusual for bedwetting to require intervention. Comfort matters more than learning.
For children in active bedwetting treatment
This is where most parents go wrong. During treatment with a bedwetting alarm, pull-ups are counter-productive. The whole point of the alarm is to teach the brain to recognise the moment of urination during sleep, and the alarm only fires when moisture reaches the sensor. A pull-up absorbs the moisture before it can reach the sensor, blocking the learning process. The child stays comfortable in the short term but doesn't make progress.
If you've committed to treatment, commit fully. Use a plastic mattress cover, change the bedding when accidents happen, and let the alarm do its job. The first two weeks are the hardest. After that, the dry nights start to appear.
For sleepovers, camp and travel
This is the one situation where I make an exception. When the child sleeps away from home, the social cost of an accident is high and the child has every right to feel safe. For those nights only, pull-ups are an appropriate insurance policy. They don't replace treatment; they manage the social risk during a brief interruption to it.
For older children NOT in treatment
If a child of seven, eight, or older is still wetting and the family has chosen to wait it out, pull-ups can quietly become a long-term habit. The message a child receives is "we don't expect you to be able to handle this", and over time that costs them self-esteem and motivation. Even when treatment isn't an option right now, I encourage families to avoid pull-ups as a daily solution, and instead use a plastic mattress cover plus daily changes of sheets.
If you're unsure where your child fits, or if bedwetting is starting to affect their daily life, treatment is usually the better path than another year of pull-ups. Read more in our FAQ or see our treatment plans.