Does your son urinate during the night while he’s sleeping?

The medical term for this condition is primary nocturnal enuresis. It isn’t a disease or a condition. While it’s very frustrating for both parent and child, it’s actually normal and rather common for children under 5 to wet the bed. There are several things you can do to help prevent bedwetting and to deal with any feelings.

If your son is over 5, you should speak with your child’s doctor. My boys have trouble with this, so I write from experience. I know how frustrating it can be for everyone.

Did you know that of an estimated 5-7 million children in the US who wet their bed, it’s more common for boys? It is not done on purpose, caused by laziness or done to annoy the parents.

If your child is older than 5 and wetting his bed, it’s important not to ignore it as it can have a negative affect on his social and emotional development. As a child gets older, bedwetting usually goes away on its own. About 10% of children wet their bed at age 7 and about 3% still wet the bed by age 12. Sometimes, a child seems t be trained at night and then after about six months or so of dry nights, starts wetting the bed again, This is termed secondary nocturnal enuresis. This is usually a sign that your child is experiencing stress or some sort; stress at school or of a new baby or a move to a new house. Regardless, this is a reason to see your child’s doctor. Under normal circumstances, your brain wakes up if you need to go to the bathroom, but for some kids, this doesn’t happen.  Bedwetting is not something your son chooses to do. He can’t control this and needs your help and patience to improve the situation. There are several reasons why bedwetting might happen:

• Some children make too much urine at night. There’s a hormone that slows down how much urine is produced at night, if your son doesn’t release enough of this hormone, then his bladder will get to full.
• Children who have nervous systems that are still developing, will have a harder time recognizing a full bladder when asleep.
• Some children’s bladder have not developed as quickly as the rest of his body, therefore the child will have a smaller bladder capacity until it catches up.
• Some children sleep in such a deep sleep that the brain is unable to stay alert to wake your child when the bladder is full at night.
• Family history plays a significant role. If both parents wet the bed as children, there’s a 70-80% chance your child will. If one parent wet the bed, your child has a 40% chance of wetting the bed.
• Stressful changes in a child’s life can trigger bedwetting.
• Sleep apnea, urinary tract or bladder infection, constipation or physical problems in the urinary system are less common causes to bedwetting.

What can you do?

• Be supportive and show understanding.
• Talk to your child. If either parents or other siblings have had the same problem, let your child know. It’s not their fault.
• Recognize success!
• Do not scold, embarrass, punish, do not let your child be teased by other family members, do not let him feel guilty…this can be emotionally harmful.
• Try not to make it a big deal. Show him how to change his pj’s and his sheets or teach him to put a towel over the wet spot and go back to sleep. In the morning he can remove the sheets. My son is responsible for bring the dirty sheets to the laundry room, but I don’t expect him to re-make the bed, as putting the fitted sheet on is hard for me, let alone my 5 or 8 year old child.
• Limit fluids 1 – 2 hours before bedtime. This includes snacks that contain liquids such as fruit, ice cream or cereal with milk. Make sure your son drinks enough throughout the day, but 80% of his fluid intake should occur before 5pm.
• Use disposable and absorbent underpants. They will help your child sleep without worrying and you won’t need to change the sheets every night.
• You may want to consider trying a moisture alarm. It’s a sensor that you can buy to place on his underwear that detects when your child begins to wet himself. The alarm is loud and will (or should) wake him to go to the bathroom.
• Watch your son’s diet. Avoid caffeine (energy drinks, choclate) and carbonated drinks. These are said to irritate your child’s bladder.
• Make sure he uses the bathroom right before bed. We make sure to go 2 times, his seems to work well. Once when we get our pj’s on, and one last time before we say goodnight.
• Finally, make sure he’s well rested. Some children, when overtired are more likely to wet the bed. In some cases, 30 minutes more of sleep per night might actually prevent bedwetting.

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