Children Bedwetting: Causes and Solutions

Until age 6 – 8, children bedwetting usually is no cause for alarm as it mostly resolves itself. Understanding bedwetting causes, bedwetting solutions and when to seek medical advice helps you guide your child towards dry nights.

Bed wetting, also called nocturnal enuresis, is a sleep disorder classified as a parasomnia.

It disturbs your child's sleep as he/she often awakes but doctors are almost sure it is not related to how a child sleeps (even if we often think it's because they sleep too deeply).

Girls are usually dry by the age of six, and most boys by the age of seven. About 10% of all children still wet the bed at 7 years old, 5% at 10 years old.^[1] So on any primary school bus there will always be several bedwetting kids ...

As a parent guiding your bed wetting child, your single main task is to avoid that he or she feels ashamed or guilty about it. Bedwetting is a condition that your child cannot help: it's a physical development that just has to happen, and happens later for some than for others. It can become psychological though by stigmatising.

Children bedwetting causes

Scientists use the term primary bedwetting when a child has never been dry at night before. This is the most common case. Secondary bedwetting is when a child starts wetting the bed after having been dry for 6 months or more.

Primary bedwetting causes

Most researchers agree that an important cause of primary bedwetting is a delay in producing the vasopressin hormone in the kidneys. This hormone regulates urine production at night. Children bedwetting usually haven't fully developed this hormone-producing process. But they do develop it one day.

This shows so nicely how most bed wetting is not a behavioural thing, and how it simply resolves itself, in due time. Refer to bedwetting solutions for gentle guidance.

There are also other possible causes, one which may be genetic. That means a child whose parent(s) was dry at night relatively late, has a larger chance to have the same.

1% of children bedwetting, has an underlying medical cause (such as infection or structural issue). It is also one of the sleep apnea signs; in combination with other symptoms like snoring and breathing difficulties, bedwetting can point towards sleep apnea in children.

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Secondary bedwetting causes

Sometimes, a child will suddenly wet the bed again after having been dry for a good while.

This has the typical example of a child wetting the bed again at the birth of a younger sibling, or when starting school: emotional stress is then a common cause. But in some cases, an infection or  a structural physical problem can be responsible.

Children bedwetting solutions

Because the causes of bedwetting are not always clear, there is not a single solution that guarantees results. Check the bedwetting solutions page for an overview of behavioural, bedwetting medication and surgical treatments.

With any solution, it's most important is not to make the child feel ashamed and guilty. It is not a behavioural/psychological problem but it can become one if the child is made to feel bad about it.

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When to seek medical advice?

When should you go and see a doctor when your child is bedwetting? Of course, as a rule of thumb the answer is: when you worry. But it's good to know there is usually no reason to worry, and definitely not too early on.

The general advice is to take a bedwetting girl or boy of 6 years or more to the doctor. He will check whether there is a medical/structural cause and may suggest a treatment to follow.

If you are unsure what to do about your child's bedwetting, you're most welcome to Ask me A Question! here so we can discuss.

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[1] Nocturnal Enuresis on Wikipedia (opens in  new window) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nocturnal_enuresis