Bed Wetting

Enuresis is the medical name for bed wetting. It is a common problem among children. It happens more often with boys than girls, and there is most often no medical cause. 

Bed wetting is almost always just a delay in the mature communication between the brain and the bladder. Pediatricians don’t consider bed wetting a problem until children are at least six years old.

Home Remedies for Bed Wetting:

The Truth about Bed Wetting Myths:

Limiting the amount of liquid the child consumes late at night helps control the volume of urine, but will not stop the bed wetting. Bed wetters are not lazy, and bed wetting is not something the children can control. 

Bed wetting is not a psychological illness. If your child has a history of being dry, and then beginning to wet the bed, it could be an emotional sign of loss, anxiety, or something as simple as moving to a new house. 

Consultation with a doctor to rule out urinary tract infections or signs of abuse or sexual abuse, is a wise move, otherwise, there is no reason to suspect your child has psychological disorders just because they wet the bed.

Bed-wetting Facts:

Three out of four children, who are bed wetters, have a genetic, or family, history of bed wetting. Very sound sleepers just don’t wake up when their body signals the need to urinate. 

Most of us have hormones that tell our bodies to produce less urine as we sleep. Some bed wetters have insufficient amounts of those hormones.

How to Help:

Simple, common sense behaviors work the best. There are alarms that go off when the child begins to wet, and medications that often help, but just using common sense is often the best tool to prevent bed wetting. 

Watch the amount of liquid consumed from about two hours before their bed time. Now, this is not to say your child cannot have a drink when thirsty, just limit it to water only. Giving children tasty drinks makes them want to drink more.  Water is fine before bedtime. 

Keep a diary of when your child tends to wet, the times of night, when he drinks more.  Make sure your child goes to bed before he is totally exhausted, so it is more likely he will wake up when he needs to urinate. 

Form a “Pee Patrol” set your alarm, and take turns waking the child to go to the bathroom. Once the routine of waking to go at a certain time is established, the child will likely begin to wake at those particular times on his own. 

If the bed-wetting behavior gets to be too much, or you suspect a medical condition, by all means, check with your pediatrician, try the medications or the bed-wetting alarm. 

The most important thing is not making your child feel embarrassed or ashamed of wetting the bed. Let him know that it is not his fault, and try not to make a fuss. Time and patience will take care of this problem.