Most kids will wet the bed from time to time, after all that is why there are plastic mattress pads. But, there may come a time when your child appears to be too old to still be bedwetting.
There is no official cutoff point after which your child should stop wetting the bed, but most experts would say that by the age of six or seven, those days should be pretty much over. If your child continues to wet the bed either occasionally or regularly after that point, then you may want to investigate some of the potential reasons for their bedwetting.
Bedwetting is often a very big problem in some households, and although you may want to get angry or frustrated with your child, the first thing that you should know is that they are obviously not doing it on purpose and that it is an embarrassment to them.
Making them stressed out about their bedwetting is only going to make things worse in the long run. Therefore, patience and understanding are the two most important things you can bring to the problem.
There are actually many different causes for bedwetting and many of them can be rectified if you know what they are. The most common of all the reasons for bedwetting after a certain age is stress.
It may surprise you to find out that your child is dealing from stress in a certain situation, but it is very common. If you put yourself in their shoes, you might be able to remember a time when you are stressed out by childhood events, too.
Stress in a child’s life can evolve the birth of a sibling, a new school year, problems with friends, a divorce, or even the threat of sleeping away from home. These may seem minor to you, but they can be catastrophic in a child’s life and create a certain amount of stress that can result in bedwetting.
From a medical point of view, there are many different reasons why bedwetting can occur, especially in a younger child. In many cases, a child’s bladder has not developed fully enough for their size and therefore cannot hold enough urine to get them through the night. There are also hormonal imbalances such as a lack of antidiuretic hormone which would normally slow down a child’s urinary production during the night.
Some children have insufficient nerves throughout their urinary system, so they are unable to determine when their bladder is completely full. As a result, they may wake up too late, only to realize that they have already urinated. Other issues such as urinary tract infections, sleep apnea, or diabetes can often be the case of chronic bedwetting.
In rare instances, a child may actually have a physical problem in either their nervous system or their urinary tract that can result in them not recognizing the need to urinate or an inability to control it.
If you were a bedwetter as a child, then your child have an increased chance of being a bedwetter as well. Boys are twice as apt to be bedwetters as girls, and those who suffer from ADHD or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder will also be more prone to wet the bed as well.
The most common treatment for bedwetting is simply to wait it out. Eventually, 99 percent of all children will stop wetting the bed by the time they are 8 to 10 years old. Of course, most parents don’t want to wait this long and they would also like to prevent their child from this type of embarrassment. So, there are various home remedies that can help to put an end to this problem sooner.
One of the most recent types of treatments that has been created is what is known as a moisture alarm. These are small devices that are put either into your child’s pajamas or their bedding. They will set off an alarm if there is any moisture.
The result is that your child will wake up and hopefully be able to stop urinating and get to the toilet immediately. This may take several attempts before it actually works, but many parents find this to be a workable solution.
There are also natural and prescription products that can help slow down a child’s urine production during the night, though this can also leave your child dehydrated. These are usually used in extreme cases.
If all else fails, attempt to reduce the stress in a child’s life and make sure they are on a regular sleeping pattern. This is usually enough to stop the bedwetting and to allow them to get a good night’s sleep without worry.
(Last Updated 10 June 2013)
1. Mayo Clinic (Accessed 10 June 2013)
2. NHS Choices (Accessed 10 June 2013)
3. Medline Plus (Accessed 10 June 2013)
4. National Kidney Foundation (Accessed 10 June 2013)