Reasonable Goals for Child Bedwetting

Significance

• You're not alone if your school-age child's sheets are wet when he wakes up in the morning. An accident that occurs only when your child is asleep is called nocturnal or nighttime enuresis -- the medical term for bed-wetting. Approximately one in five 7-year-olds and one in twenty 10-year-olds still have nighttime accidents, according to HealthyChildren.org. Boys are more prone to bed-wetting than girls. In fact two-thirds of children with nighttime enuresis are boys. A small bladder, increased nighttime urine production, deep sleep and constipation may all contribute to bed-wetting, explains Dr. Howard Bennett, a clinical professor of pediatrics at George Washington University Medical Center in a 2007 article published in "Healthy Children Magazine."

Bathroom Visits

• Make sure your child makes one last trip to the bathroom before bed. Waking you child in the middle of the night and taking him to the bathroom may help prevent accidents. A child who is taken to the bathroom a couple of times during the night may stop wetting the bed after around six weeks. Also encourage your child to go to the bathroom should he wake up on his own; use night lights to help guide the way.

Bed-Wetting Alarm

• Talk to your child's doctor if home remedies aren't keeping your child dry at night. Your pediatrician may suggest a bed-wetting alarm that awakens your child the moment he begins to urinate so he can get up and complete his urination in the toilet. A bed-wetting alarm is a bladder-conditioning method that works in about 50 percent of kids who use it, notes HealthyChildren.org. Theoretically a child̵7;s brain learns to pay attention to full bladder signals when exposed to the alarm. After 12 weeks of use he may get up on his own to go urinate or hold it until morning.

Bladder Control Exercises

• Ask your child to practice holding her urine for longer periods each day to help stretch the bladder so it's able to retain more urine. Bladder training is generally intended for kids with small bladders. When your child tells you that he has to urinate ask him to hold it for five minute. Tack on a couple of minutes each time he has to go. Being able to hold it for 45 minutes is the ultimate goal. Bladder training is not a quick fix. It's a slow process that can take several weeks or months, explains The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive Kidney Diseases.

Medications

• Children age 7 and over may be prescribed medications if other methods to cure bed-wetting have failed. One type of medicine -- an anticholinergic drug such as oxybutynin, brand name Ditropan or hyoscyamine sold as Levsin -- allows the bladder hold more urine. Another medication -- desmopressin acetate or DDAVP -- signals the kidneys to make less urine. Although both drug types work immediately, bed-wetting usually resumes once your child stops taking the medications, notes MayoClinic.com. Flushing of the cheeks and dry mouth are possible side effects of bed-wetting medications.

Considerations

• A handful of children may continue to wet the bed regardless of what type of treatment is used. Offering emotional support can help your child get through the frustrating and embarrassing bed-wetting period. Fortunately, the vast majority of kids outgrow nighttime enuresis by adolescence, reports HealthyChildren.org. Your child's doctor may check a urine sample if he suspects that a urinary tract infection is causing or contributing to bed-wetting. UTI's can be treated with antibiotics.