Child

Bedwetting

Last Updated Oct 5, 2008 08:31 PM

Bedwetting
It takes time for a child to grasp the connection between the urge to urinate and urinating itself. Once the child understands that urinating is under their control, toilet training can advance in leaps and bounds. However, bedwetting remains a problem for many children. Instead of waking up to go to the toilet, a bedwetting child sleeps on while the muscles of their bladder relax. It seems that the brain doesn't receive the urge to urinate from the bladder.

One in five preschoolers and around ten per cent of all children under the age of ten years still wet the bed. There may be as many as 100,000 bedwetting Australians at any given time, including a small proportion of teenagers and adults.

Your child might feel shame and distress
Bedwetting isn't a disease, a psychological problem or a response to allergies. It isn't caused by laziness or naughtiness either, so punishing a bedwetting child doesn't do any good at all. Bedwetting is part of a natural process of physical and emotional development. Some children develop control a little later than others. It is important to be patient and sympathetic, since your child can suffer distress and embarrassment about bedwetting. They might refuse to go to slumber parties, school camps or other social events.

Be supportive
Some suggestions on helping your child to stay dry at night include:

Be patient, calm and relaxed.
Never punish them, yell or show disgust or disappointment.
Use a mattress protector.
Get them to help you to remake the bed whenever they wet to foster a sense of responsibility.
Praise them when they wake up with a dry bed.
Don't restrict their fluids.
Don't wake a sleeping child to take them to the toilet yourself.
Don't embarrass your child by talking about their bedwetting to other people.
The pad and bell method
One way to help your child become aware of urinating during sleep is to use a pad and bell. With this simple system, a bell rings and wakes the child once the pad is wet. Over a period of a few weeks, the child gains greater bladder control until they are consistently waking up to go to the toilet. It is best to use this under the guidance and supervision of a doctor. There is also a special nasal spray that your doctor can prescribe that has been shown to be effective in helping children with bedwetting.

Relapses could be a sign of stress
If your child has been dry at night for some time and suddenly starts wetting the bed again, this could be a sign of stress. Children commonly wet the bed during times of emotional upheaval, such as divorce, death or the addition of a new baby to the family. This needs a different approach. Encourage your child to talk about their worries and try as a family to address their concerns.

Sometimes children who have been dry relapse for no apparent reason, and no source of stress can be identified. They may wet on an occasional night, or for a period of time, and then stop. If it persists, treatment may need to be started again.

Where to get help
Your doctor
Your paediatrician
Local community health centre
Things to remember
Bedwetting is common in young children and is part of their physical and emotional development.
The child isn't deliberately wetting the bed, so don't punish them.
A relapse of bedwetting is often a sign of stress in children.

See also Child 377 1 - 5