Personal stories about scheduling a doctor visit to discuss a child's bed-wetting

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Personal stories about scheduling a doctor visit to discuss a child's bed-wetting

These stories are based on information gathered from health professionals and consumers. They may be helpful as you make important health decisions.

Jorge, age 36: My two daughters stopped wetting the bed when they were 4 or 5, but my son, who's 7, still does it about twice a week. Neither my wife nor I wet the bed as children, so we don't really have any experience with it, and it's just a little concerning to us. We've arranged to talk to our pediatrician about it just to set our minds at ease.

Lynn, age 29: I wet the bed until I was at least 10 or 11, so I wasn't too surprised when my own daughter continued doing it even after she was 7 years old. My husband was a little more concerned, but I told him that it's perfectly normal for some kids and that she's very healthy. My own parents were not so laid back, and I remember having all sorts of scary tests and being at the doctor's office all the time—and there was nothing wrong with me. I don't want to put my daughter through that because I really don't think there is any need.

Marga, age 38: No one in my family or my husband's family ever wet the bed, so we don't have any experience in dealing with it. Frankly, we are a little concerned about our 8-year-old, who regularly wets several times a week. It doesn't seem to bother him much, so we are going to talk to the doctor first and see if she thinks there is anything to worry about. We don't want to draw attention to it if there's no need to, but we need some advice.

Tyrell, age 45: One good thing about being the youngest in the family is that you get to learn from all your siblings as they raise their kids. I started to get worried when my son was still wetting the bed at age 9, but my sisters told me that their sons all did the same thing and that it really was pretty normal. That eased my mind a lot. I was all set to take him to the doctor for a full workup, but they assured me that it probably would just go away on its own.

John, age 40: We have tried a lot of home methods to manage our daughter's bed-wetting, but it still happens. She seems to be very upset by it and says she feels like a "baby." We try to reassure her that she isn't the only one and that she is perfectly normal, but it doesn't seem to help. We decided that because she is so concerned, we will talk with our doctor about it and see if there is anything we can do to help ease her mind.

Credits

Last updated:	November 14, 2006
Author:	Debby Golonka, MPH
Reviewed By:	Michael J. Sexton, MD - Pediatrics, Peter Anderson, MD, FRCS(C) - Pediatric Urology
Editors:	Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman