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Parents have been quietly leaking information to me about their child’s nighttime bedwetting. This week, let me see if I can provide some information on the topic of bedwetting that will soak in, or should I say sink in, and make you more comfortable with the problem should it be occurring in your child.

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Who does this affect?

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First of all, nighttime bedwetting is quite common. It can run in families and affects almost 20 percent of 6-year-olds with that number decreasing by 15 percent per year as connections between the brain and bladder develop, until adolescence where even 1 percent of all teenagers who are otherwise healthy will still wet their beds. It is so common, particularly when it only occurs at night, that you need not even worry about it before the age of 6.

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Why does it happen?

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Bedwetting is not a problem that results from bad parenting or poor toilet training. While occasionally it may be due to an infection or a family stressor such as divorce or a school problem, often no specific reason is identified other than that your child is a deep sleeper, their bladders are smaller than normal, or they make extra amounts of urine when they are asleep.

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What’s the best way to address the problem?

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If your child is older than 6 and still having accidents, punishments or restriction of fluid at night are not going to solve the problem. Limiting intake after dinner of drinks with caffeine and foods with lots of salt or sugar will reduce the need to urinate once your child goes to sleep. Having your child go to the bathroom regularly during the day and just before bed can also help. If your child has this problem, talk to their health care professional, who can help by evaluating your child carefully to exclude an underlying problem such as a urinary tract infection which causes increased urination. They can also give you some behavioral strategies, such as teaching your child to self-awaken using an alarm clock or wetness alarm. Waking your child once during the night to urinate can also reduce the number of accidents. If necessary, there are a few medications that might also work on a short-term basis but may not cure the problem as much as time will.

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Lewis First, MD, is Chief of Pediatrics at The University of Vermont Children’s Hospital and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Vermont’s Larner College of Medicine. You can also catch “First with Kids” weekly on WOKO 98.9FM and NBC5.