Bedwetting Must Knows

Author: Shannon Miller

Bedwetting is an issue that many parents deal with. 

Why does bedwetting happen in the first place and what can we, as parents, do to help?

Bedwetting is caused by:

• The small size of the child’s bladder
• Too much urine may be produced overnight for the bladder to hold
• Sleeping too deeply
• Infection or nerve disease
• It may run in the family – if both parents were bedwetters, the child is likely to have the same issue
• Emotional stress like losing a loved one, problems at school, new sibling, training too early

As you can see, none of these reasons pertain to behavioral issues.  This is because bedwetting is a physical problem, not a behavioral one.  So, punishing your child for wetting the bed will not get you anywhere.

Check out some effective ways of dealing with bedwetting…

• No drinks before bedtime
• Limit the intake of drinks that speed up urine production – caffeinated drinks like colas or teas
• 1 drink with dinner – tell your child: “This will be your last drink before bed.”
• Use bathroom before bed

If your child is feeling bad about wetting the bed, be supportive and praise him/her for nights that your child stays dry.  Most children grow out of bedwetting – many wet the bed until they are 5 years old.  Be patient – those Spiderman sheets have lots of dry nights ahead of them!

Source: “What I need to know about My Child’s Bedwetting.”  National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse.