Bedwetting Explained
If your child is wetting the bed, you might be surprised to hear that there are thousands of mums and dads (and kids!) feeling just like you.
'Almost as prevalent as asthma in children'
Childhood bedwetting is more common than you might think. Nearly 10% of all 4–15 year-olds wet the bed at some point - between 500,000 and 800,000 in the UK - with most cases occuring in children under 8. It's normally just a developmental stage, and worth bearing in mind that night-time dryness is usually the last part of toilet training to be mastered.
'en-you-WHAT-sis?'
Also known as enuresis (pronounced 'en-you-ree-sis'), bedwetting is "the involuntary discharge of urine after the age at which bladder control should have been established". It's only considered to be a problem after the age of 5 as, until then, a child is not really expected to stay dry at night.
'70% of children stop wetting the bed by the time they are 7'
But the stress and embarrassment surrounding bedwetting can make it seem worse than it really is. Some parents feel pressure to overcome ‘the problem' when, in fact, it's more effective to be patient and supportive and let your child become dry in their own time. You'll be reassured to know that 98% of children stop wetting the bed by the time they're 15 years old .
Two types of bedwetting
The most common type is primary enuresis, a medical term used for a child who has never experienced being dry at night. It's usually linked to physical maturity, as the child has not yet learnt to recognise the feeling of a full bladder while asleep. Secondary enuresis is when a child begins to wet the bed after a lengthy period of being dry. This can be triggered by emotional reasons like starting school or family problems although sometimes there is no explanation at all.
'More common in boys than girls'
While there's no particular 'type' of child who might be more prone to wetting the bed, boys are affected more than girls. Experts are not exactly sure why, but some studies have suggested that girls tend to develop bladder control before boys. Boys make up 60% of cases, which is why DryNites® specifically design different Pyjama Pants for boys and girls.
