Bedwetting
(from the American Academy of Pediatrics)

Causes of Bed-Wetting
Toilet training a child takes a lot of patience, time and understanding. Most children do not become fully toilet trained until they are between 2 and 4 years of age. Some will be able to stay dry during the day. Others may not be able to stay dry during the night until they are older. Nighttime bed-wetting, called enuresis, is normal and very common among preschoolers. It affects about 40 percent of 3-year-olds.

All of the causes of bed-wetting are not fully understood, but the following are the main reasons a child wets the bed:
-His bladder is not yet developed enough to hold urine for a full night
-He is not yet able to recognize when his bladder is full, wake up and use the toilet

Some parents fear that their child's bed-wetting is due to a disease or other physical problem. Actually, only about 1 percent of bed-wetting cases are related to diseases or defects such as: -Bladder or kidney infections
-Diabetes
-Defects in the child's urinary system

Tips for Managing Bed-Wetting

A small number of children who wet the bed do not respond to any treatment. Fortunately, as each year passes, bed-wetting will decrease as the child's body matures. By the teen years almost all children will have out-grown the problem. Only one in 100 adults is troubled by persistent bed-wetting.

Until your older child outgrows bed-wetting, it is important that you give him support and encouragement.

• Be sensitive to your child's feelings about bed-wetting. For instance, children may not want to spend the night at a friend's house or go to summer camp. They may be embarrassed or scared that their friends will find out they wet the bed.
• Make sure your child understands that bed-wetting is not his fault and that it will get better in time.
• Do not pressure your child to develop nighttime bladder control before her body is ready to do so. As hard as your child might try, the bed-wetting is beyond her control, and she may only get frustrated or depressed because she can not stop it.
• Set a no teasing rule in your family. Do not let family members, especially siblings, tease a child who wets the bed. Explain to them that their brother or sister does not wet the bed on purpose. Do not make an issue of the bed-wetting every time it occurs.
• If your child has enuresis, discussing it with your pediatrician can help you to understand it better. Your pediatrician can also reassure you that your child is normal and that he will eventually outgrow bed-wetting. Until that happens naturally, however, the following steps might help the situation.

More Information:
- American Academy of Pediatrics
- Nemours Foundation

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