Enuresis

You said that you were concerned that your child wets his pants during the day and/or the bed at night. You also said that this has happened 2 times a week or more for at least the past 3 months. Your child is at least 5 years old.

Your child's wetting may be causing some of the following problems:

• You and your child are having trouble getting along because of the wetting.
• Your child feels bad about him/herself when s/he wets the bed or his/her pants.
• Your child is being teased by other children when s/he wets.

Your child may have a wetting disorder called Enuresis. About 3% of school aged children have this problem. Between the ages of 5 and 8 is the most common time for these problems to start.

Here are some facts about bedwetting:

• About 15% of children wet the bed after the age of 3.
• More boys than girls wet their beds.
• It runs in families.
• It usually stops by the teenage years.

Children over age 5 who wet as often as your child have a pretty big problem with wetting. Your child's doctor will tell you some ways to help your child wet less often.

Adapted in part from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) and the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (1994) .

AACAP Facts for Families. Available: http://www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/bedwet.htm (May 13, 2004)