Treating your child's bed-wetting?

Treatment for bed-wetting may also be helpful if bed-wetting is affecting a child's self-esteem, performance in school, or relationships with peers.

Your decision on whether to treat your child's bed-wetting will depend on several issues, including your child's age, his or her history of bladder control, and the impact that bed-wetting is having on your lives.

Your child will probably stop wetting the bed on his or her own. Gaining bladder control is a normal developmental process that takes longer in some children.

In children younger than 5 or 6 who have never gained consistent nighttime bladder control, medical treatment for bed-wetting is generally not needed. Home treatment may help you manage the wetting until the child stops on his or her own.

If your child has begun wetting again after having been dry for at least 3 months, the wetting may be related to a treatable medical condition, such as a urinary tract infection.

If your child has never gained bladder control and is older than 5 or 6, the decision to begin treatment is based on the effects the wetting has on you and your child.

Bed-wetting is common in young children. It occurs in about 15% to 20% of 5-year-olds and gradually decreases to about 7% of 7-year-olds, 5% of 10-year-olds, and 2% to 3% of 12- to 14-year-olds. 1 Because children grow and develop at different rates, bed-wetting will usually stop over time without treatment. Bed-wetting is rarely related to a medical problem.

Treatment for bed-wetting is not a cure. The goal is to reduce the number of times the child wets the bed and to manage the wetting until it goes away on its own. If bed-wetting is related to emotional stress, the child will usually regain bladder control when the stress is relieved or dealt with.