What It Is
Bedwetting means passing urine in sleep, at an age when a child would normally be dry. It is very common. About one child in seven is still wet at five, one in twenty at ten, and a small number of teenagers. Most grow out of it on their own — roughly one in seven stops each year without any treatment.
It is never the child's fault. It is not laziness, and it is not caused by emotional problems, though stress can make it worse. Scolding a child for it does harm and slows things down.
Why It Happens
- It runs in families. If one parent wet the bed, the child often does too. If both did, more so.
- Not enough of the night-time hormone. Many children do not yet make enough of the hormone that slows urine production at night.
- A bladder that holds less: It fills up before morning.
- Deep sleep: The child does not wake to the signal.
- Constipation: A full bowel presses on the bladder. This one is very common and easily missed.
Two Kinds
Never dry: The child has never had a long run of dry nights. This is the usual kind, and it is a matter of development.
Dry, then wet again: The child was dry for six months or more and has started again. This one needs looking into. Causes include a urine infection, diabetes, stress, or a bladder problem.
Was dry for six months and has started again. Is wet in the daytime too. Has pain or burning passing urine. Is very thirsty and passing a lot. Keeps getting urine infections. Or is over seven and has never had a dry month.
What Helps
- Start simple, ages 5 to 7. Reassure the child. Never blame. Cut drinks for the two hours before bed. Toilet just before sleep. A star chart for dry nights helps more than parents expect.
- Treat constipation. More fibre and more water. In children who are constipated, this alone often fixes the bedwetting.
- An alarm, from about age 7. A sensor sounds the moment wetting starts. Over weeks the child learns to wake first. This is the most effective long-term option, but it needs three months and a family willing to stick with it.
- Desmopressin. A tablet at night that cuts how much urine is made. Useful for a sleepover or a school trip. It controls the problem rather than curing it.
- Bladder training: For daytime urgency, timed toilet visits slowly build up how much the bladder holds.
What Not to Do
- Do not punish, shame or tease. It creates anxiety, and anxiety makes wetting worse.
- Do not lift the child to the toilet at night. It breaks their sleep and teaches the bladder nothing.
- Do not cut down drinks during the day. Children need to drink normally; only the evening matters.
Bring two weeks of dry and wet nights, and a note on how often they open their bowels. That is most of the assessment done.
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Full guide: children's urology →
