bedplassen bij kinderen

Children make great strides in their first years of life, and potty training is part of that. Most children are potty-trained during the day around the age of three. Being toilet trained at night usually takes a little longer.
The majority of children remain dry at night between the age of three and four. In some children, this takes a little longer. It can be very annoying for your child to wet the bed at night. It is also not good for your own sleep to have to change wet beds in the middle of the night. Fortunately, there are several ways to tackle bedwetting.

oorzaken van bedplassen

Bedwetting: what are the causes?

If your child still wets the bed before the age of six, it is not a problem. Quite normal even! Your child is just a little late in becoming potty-trained. If wetting the bed at night still happens regularly, there could be several causes.

Night-time bedwetting rarely has a physical cause. It can, however, be hereditary. Bedwetting in children is more common in boys than in girls. In some cases, children may start wetting the bed again after they have been dry for a while, for example because of dramatic events. Hormones can also affect bedwetting.
If your child regularly wets the bed at night, it means that he or she does not wake up to the stimulus to urinate. It is not known what causes this. However, something can be done about it.

oplossingen bij bedplassen

Solutions to bedwetting

Waking your child and making them pee extra can prevent a wet bed, but unfortunately it is not the solution. Start working with your child and work with a calendar, for example, on which your child can put a sticker each time after a dry night.

For children from 6-7 years old, it is advisable to start practising with a bedwetting alarm; a proven tool against bedwetting. Your child wears special trousers connected to an alarm. When the trousers get wet, the alarm goes off. This is how you train your child to stay dry at night.

bescherming van het beddengoed tegen bedplassen

Bedding protection for bedwetting

It may take some time for night-time urination to pass and for your child to stay dry at night too. To prevent a wet bed, you can use special bedding for this purpose:

  • an absorbent or water-repellent mattress protector
  • a water-repellent duvet

With an absorbent mattress protector, urine soaks into the mattress protector. On the contrary, the water-repellent repels the urine to thus preserve the mattress from unpleasant odours and colours.
The protectors are made of breathable materials and do not crack. The duvet cover does not always stay dry either, so use a water-repellent duvet cover and possibly a special pillowcase.

It will be fine

It takes training and patience to unlearn bed-wetting. Stay positive and don't make a big issue of it with your child and radiate confidence. You too are going to experience those dry nights!