Stop Your Child's Bedwetting

It's quite literally one of the hardest problems families face.

When one of your children is a bedwetter, it can be a very sensitive topic. You want your child to know it's just a part of growing up and that there's nothing wrong with them.

Bedwetting is common in children, and can affect adolescents too. It affects twice as many boys as girls, and can cause embarrassment and stress for children and their families.
Causes of child bedwetting
Some experts believe that the ability to control the bladder may take longer to develop in some children. It is rare for bedwetting to be caused by a medical problem. There is often a family history of bedwetting.

Some of the causes of bed-wetting include the following:

* Genetic factors (it tends to run in families)
* Difficulties waking up from sleep
* Stress
* Slower than normal development of the central nervous system (which reduces the child's ability to stop the bladder from emptying at night)
* Hormonal factors (not enough antidiuretic hormone is produced, which is the hormone that slows urine production at night)
* Urinary tract infections
* Abnormalities in the urethral valves in boys or in the ureter in girls or boys
* Abnormalities in the spinal cord
* A small bladder

Bed-wetting is not a mental or behavior problem. It doesn't happen because the child is too lazy to get out of bed to go to the bathroom.


How can I help my child cope with wetting the bed?
Bed-wetting can lead to behavior problems because of the guilt and embarrassment a child feels. It's true that your child should take responsibility for bed-wetting (this could mean having your child help with the laundry). But your child shouldn't be made to feel guilty about something he or she cannot control. It's important for your child to know that bed-wetting isn't his or her "fault." Punishing your child for wetting the bed will not solve the problem.