What I need to know about

My Child’s Bedwetting 

U.S. Department 

of Health and 

Human Services 

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH Information Clearinghouse

National Kidney and Urologic Diseases 

 

What I need to know about 

My Child’s Bedwetting 

U.S. Department 

of Health and

Human Services

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH 

National Kidney and Urologic Diseases 

Information Clearinghouse

Contents

Why does my child wet the bed?............................ 1 

How can I help my child stay dry? ......................... 3 

Should I take my child to see a doctor? ................ 5 

What treatments can help my child 

stay dry? ................................................................... 8

Eating, Diet, and Nutrition .................................. 11

Points to Remember ............................................. 11

Hope through Research........................................ 12

Pronunciation Guide............................................. 13

For More Information .......................................... 14 

Acknowledgments ................................................. 16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why does my child wet the bed? 

In most cases, the exact cause of bedwetting is 

not known. But many possible causes exist. Your 

child’s bladder* might be too small. Or the 

amount of urine produced overnight is too much 

for your child’s bladder to hold. As a result, your 

child’s bladder fills up before the night is over. 

Some children sleep so deeply that they don’t wake 

up when they need to urinate. Others simply take 

longer to learn bladder control. Many children wet 

the bed until they are 5 years old or even older. 

*See page 13 for tips on how to say the words in 

bold type. 

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Bedwetting often runs in families. If both parents 

wet the bed as children, their child is likely to have 

the same problem. If only one parent has a history 

of bedwetting, the child has about a 30 percent 

chance of having the problem. Some children wet 

the bed even if neither parent ever did. 

A child who has been dry for several months or 

even years may start wetting the bed. The cause 

might be emotional stress, such as the loss of a 

loved one, problems at school, a new sibling, or 

even toilet training too early. 

Bedwetting is not your child’s fault. Children 

rarely wet the bed on purpose. You can help your 

child by learning about the different causes and 

treatments for bedwetting. 

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How can I help my child stay dry? 

You can take several steps to help your child stay 

dry. Make sure your child drinks enough fluids 

throughout the day. A child who doesn’t drink 

enough during the day may drink a lot before 

bedtime, causing wetness at night. Talk with your 

child’s doctor about how much your child should 

drink each day. Have your child avoid drinks with 

caffeine, such as colas or tea. Drinks with caffeine 

speed up urine production. Give your child one 

drink with dinner and explain that it will be the 

last drink before going to bed. Make sure your 

child uses the bathroom just before bed. Many 

children will still wet the bed, but these steps may 

be helpful. 

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Children may feel bad about wetting the bed, 

so letting them know they are not to blame is 

important. Bedwetting is not a behavior problem. 

Scolding and punishment will not help your child 

stay dry. Be supportive. Praise your child for dry 

nights. 

Most children grow out of bedwetting. Some 

children just take more time than others. 

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Should I take my child to see a 

doctor?

Children younger than 5 do not need to see a 

doctor for bedwetting. Many children do not 

stay dry at night until age 7. A single episode of 

bedwetting should not cause alarm, even in an 

older child. 

If your child is 7 years old or older and wets the 

bed more than two or three times in a week, a 

doctor may be able to help. If both day and night 

wetting occur after age 5, your child should see a 

doctor before age 7. 

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The doctor will ask questions about your child’s 

health and the wetting problem, conduct a physical 

exam, and ask your child for a urine sample. The 

doctor will look for signs of health problems that 

can cause bedwetting, including the following: 

●	 fever and bacteria in the urine—signs of 

infection 

●	 weight loss—a sign of diabetes, a condition 

where blood glucose, also called blood sugar, is 

too high 

●	 high blood pressure—a sign of a kidney problem 

●	 poor reflexes in the legs or feet—a sign of a 

nerve problem 

●	 a hard mass that can be felt in the stomach 

area—a sign of constipation, a condition 

in which a child has fewer than two bowel 

movements a week and stools can be hard, dry, 

small, and difficult to pass 

●	 swollen tonsils, mouth breathing, or poor 

growth—a sign of sleep apnea, a condition in 

which breathing stops during sleep 

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The doctor may also ask your child about changes 

at home or school that may be causing emotional 

stress. In most cases, the doctor doesn’t find 

any specific cause for bedwetting. If a health 

problem is found, the doctor will talk to you about 

treatment options. If your child is stressed, the 

doctor may be able to give your child strategies for 

dealing with the stress. 

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What treatments can help my child 

stay dry?

Treatments for bedwetting include bladder 

training, moisture alarms, and medicines. Talk with 

the doctor and your child about which ones to try. 

Bladder Training 

Bladder training can help your child hold urine 

longer. Write down what times your child urinates 

during the day. Then figure out the amount of 

time between trips to the bathroom. After a day or 

two, have your child try to wait an extra 15 minutes 

before using the bathroom. For example, if a trip 

to the bathroom usually occurs at 3:30 p.m., have 

your child wait until 3:45 p.m. Slowly make the 

wait time longer and longer. This method helps 

stretch your child’s bladder to hold more urine. Be 

patient. Bladder training can take several weeks or 

even months. 

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Moisture Alarm

A small moisture alarm can be put in your child’s 

bed or underwear. With the first drops of urine, 

the alarm triggers a bell or buzzer that wakes your 

child. Your child can then stop the flow of urine, 

get up, and use the bathroom. Waking also teaches 

your child how a full bladder feels. 

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Medicine

Medicine is available to treat bedwetting. The 

medicine used most often slows down how fast 

the body makes urine. Though medicine for 

bedwetting works well, wetting often returns when 

the child stops taking the medicine. If this occurs, 

keeping the child on medicine for a longer time 

may help. 

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Eating, Diet, and Nutrition 

Eating, diet, and nutrition have not been shown 

to play a role in causing or preventing bedwetting 

in children, though making sure your child drinks 

enough throughout the day and avoiding caffeine 

intake may be helpful. 

Points to Remember 

●	 In most cases, the exact cause of bedwetting is 

not known. But many possible causes exist. 

●	 Many children wet the bed until they are 5 years 

old or even older. 

●	 Scolding and punishment will not help your child 

stay dry. 

●	 Children younger than 5 do not need to see a 

doctor for bedwetting. If your child is 7 years old 

or older and wets the bed more than two or three 

times in a week, a doctor may be able to help. If 

both day and night wetting occur after age 5, your 

child should see a doctor before age 7. 

●	 Treatments for bedwetting include bladder 

training, moisture alarms, and medicine. Talk 

with the doctor and your child about which ones 

to try. 

●	 Most children grow out of bedwetting naturally. 

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Hope through Research 

The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive 

and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conducts and 

supports research to help people with urologic 

diseases, including children. The NIDDK’s 

Division of Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic 

Diseases maintains the Pediatric Urology Program, 

which supports research into the early development 

of the urinary tract. 

Participants in clinical trials can play a more 

active role in their own health care, gain access to 

new research treatments before they are widely 

available, and help others by contributing to 

medical research. For information about current 

studies, visit www.ClinicalTrials.gov.

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Pronunciation Guide 

bladder (BLAD-ur)

caffeine (KAF-een)

constipation (KON-stih-PAY-shuhn)

diabetes (DY-uh-BEE-teez)

sleep apnea (sleep) (AP-nee-uh)

urinate (YOOR-ih-nayt)

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For More Information

American Academy of Pediatrics 

National Headquarters

141 Northwest Point Boulevard 

Elk Grove Village, IL 60007–1098 

Phone: 1–800–433–9016 or 847–434–4000 

Fax: 847–434–8000 

Internet: www.aap.org

American Urological Association Foundation 

1000 Corporate Boulevard 

Linthicum, MD 21090 

Phone: 1–800–828–7866 or 410–689–3700 

Fax: 410–689–3998 

Email: auafoundation@auafoundation.org 

Internet: www.UrologyHealth.org 

National Association for Continence 

P.O. Box 1019 

Charleston, SC 29402–1019 

Phone: 1–800–BLADDER (1–800–252–3337) 

 or 843–377–0900 

Fax: 843–377–0905 

Email: memberservices@nafc.org 

Internet: www.nafc.org
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

National Kidney Foundation 

30 East 33rd Street 

New York, NY 10016 

Phone: 1–800–622–9010 or 212–889–2210 

Fax: 212–689–9261 

Internet: www.kidney.org 

The Simon Foundation for Continence 

P.O. Box 815 

Wilmette, IL 60091 

Phone: 1–800–23–SIMON (1–800–237–4666) 

or 847–864–3913 

Fax: 847–864–9758 

Internet: www.simonfoundation.org 

Society of Urologic Nurses and Associates 

East Holly Avenue, Box 56 

Pitman, NJ 08071–0056 

Phone: 1–888–TAP–SUNA (1–888–827–7862) 

or 856–256–2335 

Fax: 856–589–7463 

Email: suna@ajj.com 

Internet: www.suna.org 

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Acknowledgments 

Publications produced by the Clearinghouse are 

carefully reviewed by both NIDDK scientists 

and outside experts. The National Kidney and 

Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse 

would like to thank the following individuals for 

assisting with the scientific and editorial review of 

the original version of this publication: 

Stuart Bauer, M.D.

Harvard University, Boston

Stephen Koff, M.D.

The Ohio State University, Columbus

Thank you also to Shirl Lyn Woods of the Johns 

Hopkins Hospital for facilitating field-testing of the 

original version of this publication. 

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Diseases Information Clearinghouse 

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Phone: 1–800–891–5390 

TTY: 1–866–569–1162 

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Email: nkudic@info.niddk.nih.gov 

Internet: www.urologic.niddk.nih.gov 

The National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information 

Clearinghouse (NKUDIC) is a service of the National Institute 

of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). The 

NIDDK is part of the National Institutes of Health of the U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services. Established in 

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of the kidneys and urologic system to people with kidney and 

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This publication is not copyrighted. The Clearinghouse 

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This publication is available at www.urologic.niddk.nih.gov.

This publication may contain information about medications. 

When prepared, this publication included the most current 

information available. For updates or for questions about any 

medications, contact the U.S. Food and Drug Administration 

toll-free at 1–888–INFO–FDA (1–888–463–6332) or visit 

www.fda.gov. Consult your health care provider for more 

information. 
 

U.S. DEpArTMENT OF HEALTH 

AND HUMAN SErvICES 

National Institutes of Health 

NIH Publication No. 12–5631 

June 2012 

The NIDDK prints on recycled paper with bio based ink.