Pee in bed: Until when?

More and more parents are taking their children to psychology consultations because they wet the bed. In fact, it is a very common problem: around 15% of 5-year-olds, 5% of 10-year-olds, and 1% of 15-year-olds frequently wet the bed.

Wetting the bed is a phenomenon that can be classified as normal until about 5 years of age since until then, children have not yet developed adequate control of their sphincters. However, from about this age, they should be able to hold their urine, also at night. If this does not occur and there is no organic cause that explains it, then it is a disorder known as enuresis.

Enuresis is an alteration in the control of the sphincters that prevents the child from regulate urination, usually at night. In fact, this disorder is primarily responsible for 80% of children wetting the bed. In most cases, specialists affirm that it is a multi-causal alteration in which hormonal, genetic and social factors intervene.

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Hormonal alterations

One One of the key factors in the development of childhood enuresis are hormonal changes, specifically antidiuretic hormones, which are responsible for regulating urine production. What happens is that the body, during the day, produces less antidiuretic hormones, but at night, the production of these hormones increases to regulate the loss of fluid that occurs in the body when sleeping. However, in children who have bedwetting, nocturnal production of antidiuretic hormones decreases rather than increases. As a result, children wet the bed.

In addition, children with bedwetting often have problems with sleep patterns and waking sensitivity. Therefore, they fail to realize that they have a full bladder and need to go to the bathroom.

Pee in the bed

Genetic inheritance

Another factor that intervenes in childhood enuresis and that plays a determining role in its development is genetic inheritance. In other words, there is a chance that children will inherit the genetic patterns of their parents. In fact, statistics indicate that a child has a 30% chance of suffering from nocturnal enuresis when one of their parents suffered from it during childhood, a risk that rises to 50% when both parents have suffered from the disorder.

Social influence

Family education, relationships with friends and interactions schoolchildren are other factors that can trigger childhood nocturnal enuresis. In fact, it is known that an education that is too rigid or excessively flexible, as well as overprotection and very disorganized life patterns can cause children to wet the bed. Likewise, the experience of traumatic events such as parental divorce, adjusting to a new school, a grieving process, or difficulties in social relationships can also cause childhood bedwetting.

Five tips to stop your child from peeing in the bed

Fortunately, childhood enuresis can be treated with drug therapy and/or behavioral exercises aimed at helping the child learn to control their sphincters. There are also some very simple guidelines that parents can put into practice at home to help their child stop wetting the bed.

  1. Use retention exercises to make the child aware of the sensation of a full bladder and learn to control your sphincters. A very simple exercise is to ask him to resist the urge to urinate for a few minutes or ask him to urinate at intervals.
  2. Do not use diapers at night because this way you prevent that the child may feel wet and wake up.
  3. Make the child responsible for the consequences of his enuresis. It is not about punishing him but you can ask him to help you change the sheets or reach your clothes to wash them.
  4. Avoid drinking too much liquid at night as this will only increase the chances that you will pee in bed.
  5. Never scold, blame or ridicule your child because they wet the bed. Remember that it is an involuntary problem so calling attention to it will only help to add more pressure.