Sleeping Too Deeply

The primary cause of bedwetting is when the child sleeps too soundly to realize that her bladder is full.  When the bladder can’t hold any more urine, it releases it whether the child is awake or not.  In many cases, this is the sole cause of bedwetting.

Some parents have had success by waking their children up after they’ve slept for about two hours and sending them to the bathroom.  If your child doesn’t need to go after that short of a time, you could wait another hour or two.  Setting an alarm for your child will keep you from having to get up in the middle of the night.

Another solution to this problem is putting a bedwetting alarm on your child.  Bedwetting alarms have sensors that go in the child’s underpants to detect urine when it first starts coming out.  An alarm then sounds or vibrates to wake the child so she can go to the bathroom.  Once she or he has used the alarm for several weeks or months, your child may learn to wake up without it when their bladder is full.

Before you invest in an alarm, you could try not giving your child anything to drink for two hours before bedtime.  You can also make sure that she empties her bladder completely right before going to bed.  These precautions may be sufficient to prevent the bladder from becoming too full at night.

Bladder Too Small

Some children’s bladders are too small to hold urine through the night.  This can be often be solved with bladder stretching exercises.  To do these, your child will need to hold her urine for about 15 minutes longer than usual.  Each week, increase this time by 5 or 10 minutes.  This will stretch the bladder so that it can hold more urine, and it may put a stop to her bedwetting.

Food Sensitivities

Some foods can cause reactions in some children that result in bedwetting.  The most common food causes are caffeine, citrus fruits, certain food dyes, and carbonated beverages.  Eliminating these things from your child’s diet is worth trying.  If it doesn’t work, consider other causes.

Constipation

In some cases, constipation can cause bedwetting.  When the rectum is full, it leaves less room for the bladder to expand, causing a need to urinate more frequently.  This can result in bedwetting.

You can try extra fiber and liquids to help prevent constipation, but constipation that is severe enough to cause frequent bedwetting will likely need to be treated by a doctor.  Once it is cleared up, bedwetting may cease.

Other Medical Problems

There are some medical problems that can cause bedwetting.  If a child who has never had a problem with bedwetting suddenly starts, it is a good idea to take her in for a check-up.

Problems that could potentially cause bedwetting include diabetes, sleep disorders, neurological disorders, urinary tract infections, and anatomical abnormalities.  Occasionally, emotional problems can also contribute to bedwetting.  All of these things require treatment by a professional.