BEDWETTING

Bedwetting is quite common in school-age children: they can’t control it, and most grow out of it. In the meantime, there are things you can do to help your child feel better about this issue.

FACTS

• Bedwetting is sometimes called nocturnal (night-time) enuresis. Childhood bedwetting is common in many families.
• Most children stop daytime wetting by about three years of age, and stop wetting at night by the time they’re five. Most preschoolers still wet their bed from time to time though.
• A lot of children grow out of wetting the bed by the time they start school, but some primary school-aged children still wet the bed.

CAUSES

The cause is likely due to one or a combination of the following:

• bedwetting runs in families
• The waking-up response to having a full bladder is not fully developed; your child does not have conscious control over bedwetting
• Your child's bladder cannot hold the amount of urine that they produce overnight
• Your child's bladder may be twitchy or overactive - this may cause wet pants or urgency (rushing off to the toilet) in the daytime
• Fluid restricting in the evening and at night does not stop bedwetting
• Constipation can lead to bedwetting
• Bedwetting is rarely due to urine infection, disease or child abuse
• Neurological problems: Abnormalities in the nervous system, or injury or disease of the nervous system, can upset the delicate neurological balance that controls urination.
• Emotional problems: A stressful home life, as in a home where the parents are in conflict, sometimes causes children to wet the bed. Major changes, such as starting school, a new baby, or moving to a new home, are other stresses that can also cause bedwetting. Children who are being physically or sexually abused sometimes begin bedwetting.