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Bedwetting Facts

What Causes It?

No child wants to wet the bed - they're not doing it because they're lazy or naughty. It doesn't mean that they have emotional, learning or behavioural problems. So why does it happen? It's most likely to be one of these common causes:

Runs in the family

You might be surprised to know that bedwetting often runs in the family. If one parent wet the bed as a child, there is around a 40% chance that their child will too. If both parents wet the bed, the odds can rise to around 70%.

Messages between the bladder and the brain

Sometimes, the brain doesn't respond to the signal that a child's bladder is full. Their brain should wake them up to go to the toilet and empty their bladder but the connection has not yet been made. But don't worry, it will in time.

Bladders Holding Less

Some children at this stage have a smaller than average bladder capacity ( the amount the bladder can hold before getting the sensation of fullness). This can result in frequent trips to the toilet during the day as well as a problem at night. You can help your child increase their bladder capacity by encouraging good levels of drinking during the day ( for children 4-8 years the 2010 Guidelines by NICE, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence, recommend 1,000 - 1,400 mls of fluids a day; about 8 glasses).

Constipation

It is known that when a child is constipated this can trigger bedwetting episodes. This is because the constipated bowel literally “leans” on the bladder and causes the bladder to empty before it is full. So it is best to sort out the constipation first.

Urine Infection

If your child has pain on passing urine, or is passing urine much more frequently than usual, do discuss this with your doctor. Urine infections can cause bedwetting to happen.

Not enough hormones

When we go to sleep our pituitary gland secretes an antidiuretic hormone (ADH) that slows down the production of urine by the kidneys so we don't have to wake up to urinate. Some children are simply at a stage where they produce too little of this hormone and so wet the bed.

Difficult to rouse once asleep

All children who bedwet have difficulty “waking up” and “holding on” to the sensation of a full bladder. Or as one doctor explains to children: "Part of your brain should stay awake while you're sleeping to tell you to go to the loo during the night. At the moment, that's not happening with you". Doctors sometimes recommend sleep conditioning (for example an alarm which goes off when it detects moisture) as a way of overcoming this.

'It's nobody's fault...'

Any one of these reasons could explain why your child wets the bed. It's nobody's fault. These things are out of your child's control but with support, encouragement, patience and if necessary, enuresis treatment , dry nights will not be far away.

Bedwetting Resource Parenting Tips