Staying dry at night is a major milestone in a child’s physical and social development. Bedwetting is children is very common, but it can be embarrassing for your child and frustrating for you.

Bedwetting should not be considered abnormal until a child has reached 5 or 6 years of age. It is important to understand bedwetting is not done on purpose or because the child is lazy. Bedwetting many times is an inherited problem. If both parents wet the bed when they were children, there is an almost 80 percent chance that the child also will wet the bed.

Sometimes children who wet the bed have smaller bladder capacities than others, or their bodies do not produce enough of the hormone that decreases the amount of urine made at night. Controlling the bladder while asleep is complex and the timeline for physical development of this process varies from one child to the next.

If a child begins to wet the bed after having been completely dry for at least six months or more, a medical problem such as a bladder infection, diabetes or kidney disease should be ruled out. Sometimes an emotional issue is responsible, such as a school stress, or a problem with peers or family.

Parents can take their children to a pediatrician to rule out any medical problems that may be causing bedwetting. If there are no medical problems, there are many things that parents can do to help their child achieve dry nights:
•    Stay positive, and help your child keep a positive attitude. Tell your child to visualize getting up to go to the bathroom and having dry nights.
•    Limit foods and beverages that contain caffeine, especially after dinner.  Caffeine causes the body to make more urine.
•    Have your child use the toilet just before he or she goes to sleep.
•    Put a nightlight in the bathroom.
•    If your child wets the bed, have him or her take off wet sheets and put them in the laundry. Explain that this is not a punishment. It helps him or her take charge of the situation.

Where to go for help
If the bedwetting continues or you are concerned, talk to your child’s doctor or seek help from professionals with the Voiding Improvement Program at Children’s Hospital. This program provides comprehensive evaluation, diagnosis and treatment for children and teens with daytime and nighttime wetting or other voiding problems. Health care professionals can help improve self-esteem by educating families, children and teens about their condition and helping them choose and implement a plan that fits their needs.

FAST FACT:  Bedwetting affects 15 to 20 percent of 6-year-olds, 5 percent of 10-year-olds and 1 to 2 percent of teenagers and adults. There are many ways that you can help your child overcome this problem. The most important way is to offer love and support, so your child can have dry nights and sweet dreams. Remember, punishment does not help bedwetting.

Patti Ring, RN, is a certified pediatric nurse practitioner with the Voiding Improvement Program at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.



 

As summer vacation draws to an end, it’s important to help children re-establish a healthy back-to-school sleep schedule.

Children need more sleep than adults. Children ages 5 to 12 require 10 to 11 hours of sleep each night, while teens should have at least nine hours.

Chronic sleep deprivation has many serious consequences, including poor school performance. Lack of sleep also can be linked to behavioral, developmental and mood problems in children. Drowsy teens who get behind the wheel of a car can suffer even more dire consequences.

Despite these facts, the National Sleep Foundation has found that only 20 percent of adolescents get enough sleep.

Parents can help children adjust their sleep patterns for the upcoming school year by following these guidelines:

• At least two to three weeks before school starts, set a bedtime and wake-up time. Children with bedtimes before 10 p.m. are much more likely to get enough sleep than children with later bedtimes. If necessary, the schedule can be adjusted at a gradual pace (about 15 minutes every two days) to ease the transition.
•  In the last days of summer, wake your children early. Emphasize activity and bright light in the morning. For example, send them outside to play, rather than allowing them to watch TV. 
• Be consistent with your children’s sleep schedules, even if they don’t have school the next day.
• Establish a relaxing evening routine. Avoid exercise or stimulating activities in the last few hours before bedtime.
• Create a sleep environment that is cool, dark, quiet and comfortable.
• Limit caffeine, especially after lunchtime.
• Avoid having a TV or computer in the bedroom. 
• Make sleep a priority and set a good example.

 Back to school means early to bed

FAST FACT: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that drowsy driving causes at least 100,000 police-reported crashes and kills more than 1,550 Americans each year.

Nan Norins, MD, is a pediatric sleep specialist at Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin and an assistant professor of Pediatrics (Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine) at the Medical College of Wisconsin. The Sleep Center at Children’s Hospital offers a full range of diagnostic and treatment services, including the state’s only pediatric sleep laboratory accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Sleep – we all need it, especially our children. Two-thirds of children age 10 and younger have sleep problems. Lack of sleep has been linked to poor school performance in adolescents and irritability and overall fussiness in infants and toddlers. Here are tips to help your child sleep:

Infants (newborn to 18 months)
Sleep needed: 10 to 18 hours of sleep a day (including naps).
• Develop daytime nap and bedtime schedules and stick to them.
• Create an enjoyable bedtime routine that you do every night with your child.
• Establish a safe sleep environment. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends infants be placed on their backs in a crib without soft objects and bedding such as pillows, quilts and stuffed animals.
• Put infants to bed drowsy, but not yet asleep, to encourage them to fall asleep on their own.

Toddlers and preschoolers (19 months to 4 years)
• Sleep needed: 11 to 14 hours a day (including naps).
• Develop a bedtime routine such as having a snack or reading a story. Make sure the routine ends with your child in his or her own bed.
• Create a bedroom environment that is the same every night - cool, dark, quiet and comfortable.
• If your child is afraid, suggest a blanket or stuffed animal for company.
• If your child wakes in the middle of the night, try to redirect him or her back to bed with minimal interactions.

School-aged children (5 to 12 years)
Sleep needed: 9 to 11 hours a night.
• Talk to your school-aged child about healthy sleep habits and why they are important.
• Enforce consistent sleep schedules and bedtime routines, even on weekends.
• Make your child’s bedroom the best environment for sleep – dark, cool and quiet.
• Avoid having a TV or computer in your child’s bedroom.
• Balance your child’s schedule. Never let activities take the place of sleep.
• Teach your child to eat healthy and exercise regularly. Overweight children are at risk for sleep apnea, a serious sleep disorder.

Be a good role model and make sleep a priority for the whole family. Talk to your child’s doctor if you have concerns. Most sleep problems are treatable.

Children’s Hospital has the only pediatric sleep laboratory in the state that is accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Children with sleep disorders can be evaluated in the pediatric sleep disorders clinic.  A pediatric sleep laboratory is available for children who need additional testing. If your child has a sleep problem, talk to his or her doctor or call (414) 266-2790.

By Nan Norins, MD, pediatric sleep specialist in the Sleep Center at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

FAST FACT: Sleep is the primary activity of the brain during early development. Throughout childhood and adolescence, sleep accounts for 40 percent of a child's average day. March 3-9 is National Sleep Awareness Week.