“Mummy, I’ve wet the bed”

There must be hardly a parent in the land who hasn’t inwardly groaned when awoken by a small child saying his bed is wet. Some toddlers make the transition from nappies to staying dry at night with barely an accident for others it takes a lot longer, with parents becoming increasingly anxious and worried. Usually the reason for bedwetting - nocturnal enuresis - is a delay in the maturing of the part of the cortex that allows control of urination. Until this physical development occurs a child will be unable to stay dry at night.
    
What parents can do    
To decrease the chance of bedwetting, some parents limit their child’s fluid intake in the evening, or “lift” the child from bed and take him to the toilet before they themselves go to bed. However effective this may be in the short term, it doesn’t teach the child bladder control.

Some people have found that getting their small child to “hang on” during the day when they need to pee - instead of going the minute they feel the need - helps with control, as they learn that they can cope with a full bladder.

The most important thing with bedwetting it to make sure that child doesn’t feel inadequate. It’s unwise to keep an older child in nappies at night as nappies are associated with night-time peeing and also may make the child feel more ashamed and embarrassed, something a parent should be careful not to encourage. If a child is still wetting the bed by the age of six or seven it is worth seeing your GP who may test for a kidney infection although this is rarely the cause.
     
One effective preventative measure a doctor may advise is the use of an enuretic alarm. This is a safe wire mesh which is placed under the sheet and is connected to a buzzer which wakes the child when the sheet first becomes damp.
    
If a child suddenly starts wetting the bed after being completely dry for months or even years, it is likely that he has been deeply upset or is worried about something and needs to talk about his feelings. Any problems maybe associated with school or family tensions or break-up. 

If bedwetting is a nightly occurrence:  

• Try to remain calm and don’t punish the child.
• Invest in a fitted, waterproof mattress cover.
• Use half sheets which are quicker to change and are smaller to wash.
•  Keep everything you need (including disinfectant to wipe down the mattress cover and a cloth to dry it) at hand so you can change the bed with a minimum of fuss.
• Don’t scold the child - rarely will a child wet the bed on purpose and usually feel ashamed they have done so. Similarly don’t tease him about it - especially in front of other people.
  

Some facts:

• Bedwetting tends to run in families.
• Approximately 25 per cent of all five year olds wet the bed.
• Some 13 per cent of 12 to 15 year olds also suffer.
• Boys are more likely to have problems staying dry than girls.
• It has been estimated that the knock-on costs of a child wetting the bed every night can amount to well over £1,000 per annum.
• For further information contact ERIC (Enuresis Resources for Improving Childhood Continence) and also for a range of alarms and mattress covers.