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Expert Q&A
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| By John Dorsey, M.D. Pediatrician | ||
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I have a teenager who is still wetting the bed. She hides it from me, but I know it is happening. How should I approach her about this and what can I do?
If your daughter is a teenager and still wetting the bed, you need to look at family history first. If both parents wet the bed, research indicates that there is an 80 percent chance that their children will be bedwetters too. There is a genetic link. Another physical possibility is that she has a smaller than usual bladder capacity. Ask her doctor to measure bladder capacity. If that checks out normal, the other thing that comes to mind is the possibility of a sleep center problem. Sometimes when a person goes from deep sleep to superficial sleep, it causes bedwetting. If it happens the same time each night, when changing sleep cycles, you may want to follow up with a sleep specialist. If you approach her, it is so important that you do it in a non-confrontational way. Don't make her feel guilty and reassure her she has nothing to hide from you and you want to help her. Parents who come at their children with an angry or even critical attitude can make matters worse. For example, the kids, feeling bad about the bedwetting itself, feel like the problem might make their parents not love them."
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