Children's Wetting Clinic

Bladder Control Problems & Bedwetting in Children

Children may have a bladder control problem—also called urinary incontinence, if they leak urine and are past the age of toilet training. A child may not stay dry during the day, called daytime wetting; or through the night, called bedwetting.

After the age 4, when most children stay dry during the day, daytime wetting can be very upsetting and embarrassing. By ages 5 or 6, children might have a bedwetting problem if the bed is wet 3 times a week consistently over a few months.

Bladder control problems are common in children. About 1 in 10 children has experiences difficulty with daytime wetting at age of 5. Night time wetting is more common than daytime wetting.

Wetting is almost never due to laziness, a strong will, emotional problems, or poor toilet training. Parents and caregivers should always approach this problem with understanding and patience.

What are the types of urinary control problems in children?

Children usually have one of two main bladder control problems:

Daytime wetting, also called diurnal enuresis
Bedwetting, also called nocturnal enuresis

Some children may have trouble controlling their bladders during both the day and night.

Daytime Wetting or Diurnal Enuresis

For babies and young children, wetting is a natural part of their development. As they mature, they gradually gain control over their bladder. Issues that may arise during this process and result in daytime wetting including:

Holding urine too long - Children might forget to go to the toilet because they are concentrating on other tasks. As a result, they may end up leaking urine before reaching a toilet.

Constipation - Considerable amounts of faeces in the bowel means the bladder cannot fill to a normal size. Therefore, it holds less urine and leads to more toilet runs, poor bladder emptying and an increased risk of accidents and urinary infections.

Bladder instability - The bladder is a complex organ. It relies on specific muscles, nerves, and a sphincter that usually function seamlessly in most children. Any malfunction in these parts, such as overactivity, underactivity or discoordination, can lead to incontinence and wetting.

Bedwetting or Nocturnal Enuresis

Nocturnal Enuresis is the medical term for what is commonly known as bedwetting. It is quite common during childhood (10% in 7 year old children) and is twice as common in boys. There is often a family history of bedwetting.

Children who wet the bed fall into two groups: those who have never been dry at night, and children who started wetting the bed again after staying dry for 6 months.

The universal criteria for the diagnosis of bedwetting, is a child who consistently wet their bed at least twice a week for at least three months.

In our Children Wetting Clinic, we perform all the necessary tests to determine the cause and the most appropriate care pathway to dryness for your child.

Bedwetting Affects a Person’s Mental Health

It’s common for children to feel ashamed about bedwetting and embarrassed to discuss it. The negative perception surrounding bedwetting often contributes to emotions such as low self-esteem and insecurity especially in older children and teenagers. A healthcare professional specialised in treating this condition can assist you and your child in managing this issue to help your child feel more comfortable with themselves and wake up dry.

Our consultant with over 20 years of experience in paediatric urology will take the time to thoroughly evaluate your child in a relaxing, compassionate environment to identify the cause of the wetting. Several conditions can contribute to daytime wetting and/or bedwetting. We will arrange any necessary tests to identify the underlying cause and make a diagnosis. Using the insights gained from this evaluation, we will create a personalised care plan tailored to your child's specific needs.

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