Bed-wetting – Mum, I wet my bed…

Learn the most common causes and how to deal with them

Has this ever happened to you? Your 3-year old son comes up to you and tells you that he has wet his bed. First of all, please don’t scold your child. It’s not his fault. Don’t make fun of it (the bed-wetting incident) or him either. Why? Let us tell you some of the most common causes of bed-wetting:

To start with there’s no known EXACT cause for bed-wetting. But there are various factors which play a role in its existence. So again, it’s not your child’s fault.
Think of stressful events, particularly those causing emotional stress for your child. Are there any stressful events that have happened recently? A new school or moving to a new home may stress your child and lead to bed-wetting. Address the stressful event by first talking about it with your child.
An imbalance in your child’s antidiuretic hormone (ADH) production. Your child’s pituitary gland may not be producing enough ADH to prevent him from producing too much urine while he sleeps. This can be checked out by your family doctor.
Is your child constipated? If your child is not having daily bowel movements the stools may be putting pressure on the bladder. Make sure your child is getting enough fibre in their diet each day from fresh vegetables and fruit. Water is also important. Make sure they drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Consider a urinary tract infection. Bed-wetting is one of the clues that your child may be suffering from a urinary tract infection. This is especially true when accompanied by other symptoms like frequent urination, change in the colour of urine (pink or red urine), and when your child experiences pain during urination.
Something’s not yet right in your child’s neurological or urinary system. Your child’s ability to control urination isn’t fully developed yet. It’s not too much to ask for you to wait, right? Additionally, your child’s bladder might be smaller than the expected size for his age. As a consequence, it may hold a smaller amount of urine. A paediatric urologist can help you with this.
Did you wet your bed when you were a kid? Parents who bed-wet during their childhood are more likely to have children who also wet their beds. Genetics dear parents.

Practical Tips to Keep Your Child’s Bed Dry at Night

Behaviour therapy. Setting up a bed-wetting alarm is an effective form of treatment. It may be quite expensive, though. A sensor is placed in your child’s underwear. When drops of pee are detected, the alarm starts and wakes up your child. This method is suitable for older children.

Motivational therapy is another simple method you can use to prevent bed-wetting. For longer and more frequent periods of dryness, offer a reward to your child and give positive reinforcement. You can also try to awaken your child in the middle of the night on purpose to encourage him to urinate and empty his bladder. Don’t forget to wake him up gently, okay? You don’t want a screaming kid at 1am!
Education. You can teach your child to condition himself to urinate regularly during the day, particularly before embarking on a trip and upon arrival. This will encourage him to make urination a regular part of his day. Make sure your child avoids caffeine containing drinks at night such as cola, hot chocolate or tea, and always check he’s been to the toilet before going to bed.
Guided Imagery. This can be helpful to teach your child to wake themselves and go to the toilet in the night. A recommended book to help with this is: ‘Dry All Night’ by Alison Mack. This great little book has both a parent and a child education section.
Medication. Desmopressin is the drug choice for lowering the amount of urine produced. But this should be a last resort and before you even think of giving your child this, consult your healthcare practitioner first. Most healthcare practitioners will encourage parents to wait until their child is at least 6 years old as most kids will outgrow their bed-wetting.

Who can be affected by bed-wetting?

Believe it or not, it’s not only young children who can be affected by nocturnal enuresis (medical term for bed-wetting). Bed-wetting can last well into their teen years. Imagine how horrifying that could be for your teenager.

Most children stop bed-wetting on their own without treatment. Night-time bladder control in children starts to develop between the ages of 5 and 7 years old. Boys are twice as likely to wet their bed as girls.

According to statistics, around 16 % of children aged 5 years find it hard to keep their bed dry at night. By the time they’re in their teens, the number goes down dramatically to 1 – 2 %.

At what stage should I be alarmed about my child’s bed-wetting?

It’s essential to know certain instances when you should be alarmed about your child’s bed-wetting.

While bed-wetting is very common and often resolves itself, it can be very distressing to both child and parent so try out our tips above. Most importantly, be positive and encouraging with your child. But if you have no luck with these tips or you are concerned about your child, it's best to talk to your healthcare practitioner.