When bedwetting goes on for a number of years it is perfectly normal for parents to feel helpless and overwhelmed. Children typically wet the bed at night because they are unable to wake in response to a full bladder (many parents have commented how deeply their child seems to sleep), they produce more urine at night than their bladder can store, or there is a family history of bedwetting. A small or ‘unstable’ bladder is also common – which may explain why she wets a number of times during the night. Let me reassure you that in the majority of these cases children do eventually stop – it just takes their bodies a little longer to mature and get on top of what needs to be done! It is rare for individuals to continue wetting the bed into adulthood. Given her age you could always try her with a bedwetting alarm – these have very good success rate – you will need to initially help her to respond to the alarm particularly if she is hard to wake. Make an appointment to discuss this with your GP or get a referral to see a continence advisor before giving this a go. I think it’s wonderful that she has been able to identify ways to help her manage her bedwetting and still attend social activities (perhaps she would like to share her tips with others on the website?). When we look at the effects of bedwetting on children’s social and emotional wellbeing we find that it is how the bedwetting is managed that seems to have the greatest impact. In instances where children feel ashamed or embarrassed their bedwetting has a more negative impact on their self-esteem. Obviously she is a very secure and well adjusted child, which must have a great deal to do with how you have supported and managed her bedwetting.

Ask Dr Cathrine a question