Approximately 15 percent of children wet the bed at age 5. That number decreases with age occurring in only 1-2 percent of children age 14 and older. Boys are twice as likely as girls to wet the bed. It happens more frequently in children with developmental delays and emotional and behavioral difficulties.
Generally, bed-wetting before age 7 isn't a concern. At this age, your child may still be developing nighttime bladder control. If bed-wetting continues, treat the problem with patience and understanding. Lifestyle changes, bladder training, moisture alarms and sometimes medication may help reduce bed-wetting.
Relapses could be a sign of stress
If your child has been dry at night for some time and suddenly starts wetting the bed again, this could be a sign of stress. Children commonly wet the bed during times of emotional upheaval, such as divorce, death or the addition of a new baby to the family.
Experts estimate that 15 to 20 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 7 wet their beds at least occasionally. The numbers drop steadily as children age, down to about 2 percent at age 16. “About 15 percent of children who wet the bed will become dry every year,” says Kirk.
Bedwetting is not considered abnormal until after five years of age. That being said, there isn't a specific age when you should become overly concerned about the issue. The rule of thumb is that you should seek treatment when your child starts to worry about wetting the bed or you start to worry about the issue.
Bedwetting can frequently occur in children with ADHD. The medical term for bedwetting is enuresis. Research has found that around 28–32% of people with ADHD may also have enuresis. Another study found that around 40% of children with ADHD may also have enuresis.
If you're still awake an hour or two after your child's bedtime, think about waking them for a quick bathroom visit. (Or if your child is older, they might be able to set this habit for themselves.) It won't stop bedwetting, but it can reduce the amount of pee that might end up in bed.
Psychological or emotional problems: Emotional stress caused by traumatic events or disruptions in your normal routine can cause bedwetting. For example, moving to a new home, enrolling in a new school, the death of a loved one or sexual abuse may cause bedwetting episodes.
Make sure your child is eating a healthy, fiber-rich diet and drinking lots of fluids. This can help prevent constipation, a common cause of daytime wetting accidents. Help your child relax and not rush while urinating. Breathing deeply or putting their feet on a stool while sitting on the toilet can help.
When a potty-trained child suddenly starts having accidents at home or wetting themselves at school, there may be physical causes such as constipation, or there may be behavioral or developmental reasons.
Parents often also use pull-ups (larger-size diapers), trying to control the behavior and the mess. Pull-ups can be effective in reducing the mess of bedwetting, but in general, will prolong the problem.
A simple treatment for bedwetting is waking children for the toilet – myth. There are still many people, including health care professionals who think that waking children to go to the toilet is the right approach to stop bedwetting. While this does work for some, it does not address the underlying problems.
Tips for Nighttime Potty Training Success
Limit drinks one hour before your child's bedtime. Help them use the potty a half-hour before they go to bed—and again right before bedtime. Wake up your child to use the potty before you go to sleep. Tell them to go to the bathroom any time they wake up during the night.
And although stress can indirectly affect a child's bedwetting, most experts believe it isn't the reason a child starts wetting the bed. There's just “no major association between anxiety, stress, and bedwetting,” says Anthony Atala, MD, chair of urology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Nocturnal enuresis or bedwetting is the involuntary release of urine during sleep. Bedwetting can be a symptom of bladder control problems like incontinence or overactive bladder or more severe structural issues, like an enlarged prostate or bladder cancer.
Punishing your child: children aren't to blame for bedwetting, so there is no point in punishing them. It will only make your child feel worse. Embarrassing your child: be as sensitive as possible when discussing bedwetting with your child.
Foods that are high in folate, fibre, vitamin B12 and Omega3 fatty acids are all recommended to help control or reduce bedwetting. Recommended food includes: Vegetables, legumes and beans. Fresh fish and seafood.
While there is no definitive answer to whether or not autism causes bedwetting, it is clear that the two are often linked. It's important for parents of children with autism to be aware of this connection and to seek support if their child is experiencing bedwetting beyond the age of five.
Bedwetting is a type of parasomnia, or a sleep disorder causing undesired activities or behaviors during sleep. Also called enuresis, bedwetting is common in young children while their brains and bladders mature. Most kids can control their bladder during sleep by ages 5 to 7.
Neurologic disease (problems with the brain or nerves).
Sometimes a spinal cord problem that develops with growth or that is present early in childhood can cause bedwetting. If your child has other symptoms like numbness, tingling, or pain in the legs, a spinal issue may be considered.
Kids should urinate five or six times per day, she says — about every two to three hours. Chronic holders may also have more issues with daytime wetting (enuresis). About 15% of 5-year-olds struggle with it, says Cesa.
Causes of urinary incontinence
Sometimes urinary incontinence happens because children's bladders, genitals, urinary tracts or urethras haven't developed properly, which means they don't work properly. Some children have overactive bladders, which means their bladders don't store urine the way they're supposed to.
While deep sleeping is not the cause of bedwetting, children who sleep very soundly do find it particularly difficult to respond and wake-up to a full bladder and are therefore more likely to wet the bed.