When will his bedwetting stop?

One of the most common questions I get from patients in my clinic is: When will my child stop wetting the bed? Parents are usually frustrated and beat themselves up for not knowing how to correct the situation. In reality, children don't stop wetting the bed at a specific age. In fact, it's possible for your child to stop wetting the bed suddenly, or it may happen gradually over a period of a few months with the occasional nighttime accident. Although many children stop wetting the bed around age 5, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry states that bedwetting remains a problem for about 15% of children. Bedwetting can affect anyone, but it is more common in boys than girls. Furthermore, according to the Mayo Clinic, if both parents wet the bed when they were young, the risk of their child experiencing the same problem rises to 80%. Many factors contribute to bedwetting. Most often, it results from the incomplete development of the bladder and the neurological connections between the bladder and the brain that allow its control. It is not uncommon for children who sleep very soundly to be unable to recognize or sense that their bladder is full at night, and therefore do not wake up to go to the bathroom. In addition, your child's bladder may not be large enough to hold all the urine they produce during the night. Chronic constipation should also be considered, which can also cause bedwetting by pushing on the bladder and reducing its size. Therefore, it is important to treat constipation if your child has this problem. If there is pain during urination and increased frequency of nighttime or daytime incidents, it is important to make an appointment with your pediatrician to conduct tests that will detect problems such as a urinary tract infection. Remember that stress can make bedwetting worse. That's why it's important to connect emotionally at night to reduce the stress of bedwetting. Consider the following: Create a nighttime routine that reassures your child and shows them that you are there to support and encourage them. Make sure your child knows that their bedwetting is not their fault and that it will eventually go away. Be patient and reduce evening stress by providing your child with disposable pads with unique protection zones where needed.