Bedwetting can feel overwhelming - but it can be solved.

Bedwetting can feel exhausting and confusing - but whether your child is in primary school or a teenager, understanding what’s happening is the first step towards dry nights.

Bedwetting - also known as nocturnal enuresis - is more common than many families realise. Latest statistics show that around 750,000 children here in the UK and over one million in the US, continue to struggle with this problem over the age of six years old.

The true figure is probably much higher as bedwetting continues to be the secret problem that no-one likes to talk about. There are probably at least a couple of other children in your child’s class at school but you just don’t know about them.

Most children will become dry as they grow, but for some it continues into later childhood, through the teens and a small percentage will continue having this problem in their adult life.

This doesn’t mean the problem is permanent - but the longer the pattern continues, the more established it can become. I believe it’s possible to be trained out of a bedwetting habit - because, a habit is what it has become. With the right support, methods and guidance, most children can learn to stay dry much sooner than simply waiting for it to resolve on its own.

We all know that waiting for your child to simply ‘grow out it’ can sometimes mean years of disrupted sleep, worry and embarrassment - for both children and parents. So, why wait?

Why do children wet the bed?

Bedwetting happens when a child or teenager empties their bladder during sleep without waking.

It is not due to laziness.
It is not a behavioural refusal.
And it is not a reflection of parenting success or failure.

It is usually the result of a combination of:

✔ Bladder development and signalling
✔ Sleep patterns
✔ Nervous system communication
✔ Emotional stress
✔ Learned night-time habits

Primary and Secondary Nocturnal Enuresis

Primary Enuresis
This is what we call the type of bedwetting when someone has never had a long period of dry nights. Most children fall into this category - they simply haven’t got dry at night yet and it’s an ongoing problem for them.

Secondary Enuresis
This is when bedwetting comes on unexpectedly after a long period of dryness or in someone who doesn’t usually have this problem. So something else has caused it - the bedwetting is secondary.

When Should You Contact Your GP?

Most bedwetting problems in children don’t require medical intervention, but I always recommend a chat with your GP or paediatrician as a good starting point. And if bedwetting is present for any of the following reasons, then it is good to make an appointment for a check-up.

• Bedwetting that starts suddenly
• There are daytime accidents
• There is pain or burning when passing urine
• There are signs of constipation
• There are general health concerns

Often, medical tests come back normal - which simply means that a behavioural approach becomes the most effective next step.

Why Alarms and Medications Don’t Always Work

It is possible to try to tackle the problem using a bedwetting alarm and many families begin here. A sensor will be attached to pyjamas and as soon as wetness is detected, an alarm will sound. Many children find these can be inconvenient to use, they cause anxiety with sudden waking and will often wake siblings in the middle of the night too.

In some cases, for slightly older children doctors may prescribe medication such as Desmopressin which reduces night-time urine production. This can be helpful for short-term situations such as a sleepover or a school trip, but there can be unpleasant side effects too. Most families prefer to find a more natural solution - one that helps children develop long-term bladder control.

These methods don’t always work because they:

• Don’t retrain the brain and bladder to communicate (interoception)

• Don’t encourage new neural pathways to develop

• Don’t address the emotional stress around bedwetting

• Don’t change subconscious night-time sleeping patterns

The ‘Stop Bedwetting in 7 Days’ Method

Over the past twenty years I have helped thousands of families resolve bedwetting using a structured behaviour-change approach that helps the brain and bladder learn to communicate more effectively during sleep.

Rather than relying solely on alarms or medication, this method focuses on helping children retrain their mind and body so that night-time bladder signals can be recognised and responded to naturally.

This approach is explained in my book Stop Bedwetting in 7 Days, which guides families step-by-step through the process of helping a child become dry at night. It’s been a best-seller for over 15 years and is recommended by doctors, clinics and hospitals all around the world.

I’ve also created online programmes for both children aged 5-12 years and teenagers and young adults, to make solving this problem so much easier.

Thousands of families have used this approach to help their children become dry at night so we know that this works.