it is not unusual for children to be wetting the bed at age 5 with about 15% of children still doing so by the time they start school. Children develop at different rates and for some bedwetting is just a normal stage of development. One of the main reasons children wet the bed while asleep at night is because they are unable to recognize messages sent by the bladder to the sleep arousal centres of the brain. This is why she fails to wake and continues to sleep through even after she has wet. For many children the best cure is time – as their nervous system matures they become better able to detect messages sent to the brain or their bladder capacity increases and they are able to hold on until morning. At this early stage you really need to think more about how you are going to manage her bedwetting. I would continue to use absorbent pants otherwise you will need to be changing her sheets every night – this will mean broken sleep for both you and your daughter. Given her age I would recommend trying DryNites rather than nappies which are typically perceived by children as something only babies wear. Make sure she understands that this is not something she has a lot of control over and is something lots of kids her age experience. You can encourage healthy bladder habits by making sure she is drinking enough water during the day and that she fully empties her bladder each time she goes to the toilet as well as just before bedtime. If she continues to wet the bed on a regular basis once she starts school you can always make an appointment with your GP to discuss different treatment options and to rule out any underlying medical cause.

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