Daytime wetting is when a child who is toilet trained has wetting accidents during the day. Some children who wet in the day, can also wet the bed at night. Children do have accidents from time-to-time but around one in 10 children have a more serious issue and might need some extra help.
Schedule in toilet time
Some children miss the signs of needing a wee because they’re absorbed in an activity. Encourage them to use the toilet after a large drink so they empty their bladder, and avoid it becoming overstretched. Being more mindful when they have a wee will also help them empty the bladder completely. See if they can count to 20 after they have finished their wee, so the bladder has time to truly empty. Buy a footstool and a toilet insert to help your child feel more secure and relaxed while they are sitting on the toilet.
Drink up
Having six to eight glasses of water at regular intervals throughout the day will help to stretch the bladder and train it to hold more urine rather than sipping from a bottle through the day.
Each glass should be between 150 to 200 ml; children aged four to eight should have about one to one-and-half litres a day; nine to 13-year-olds should drink between one-and-a-half and two litres throughout the day. Children should have at least three of those drinks during the school day. Mark their bottles at 200ml intervals so they and their teachers know how much they should have at break times. Ask your teacher for help encouraging your child to have a big drink at break times and lunch.
The aim is that your child learns to hold their urine for 90 minutes or more, rather than going to the toilet more often just to do a little wee. Sometimes the bladder can empty before a child reaches the toilet – this may be due to a ‘twitchy bladder’, or because of constipation.
Easy access clothes
Button-up trousers or shorts can be tricky to undo and children might not pull their tights or trousers down far enough leading to wet patches. Encourage young boys to sit down to wee and remind them to pull their trousers down far enough. Dress younger children in clothing with pull-apart fasteners.
Bowel care
If your child is constipated, the bowel can press against the bladder which can cause it to release urine before your child can get to the toilet. Visit our constipation page for more information.
Keep a diary
Keep a fluid diary to check when your child has a drink, as well as how much, and when, they have a wee and a poo. Keep the diary for three days and see if a picture emerges of whether the child has a small urine output, if they empty their bladder lots of times in a day, and if there are any troubles with them holding their bladder.
Keep a note of their poos for a week to see what kind of poo they are doing and how often they are going.
Families who might need further support
Some children and young people need further support to help them learn how to stay dry. It is every child’s right to have the opportunity to be toilet trained and stay clean and dry. The earlier you start the process, the better. It’s important to remember as a parent that the journey of toilet training for your child may be a long one. Small steps towards success need to be acknowledged and celebrated. Kent School Health offers one-to-one support based on your child’s unique needs.
Children with conditions such as cerebral palsy, Downs syndrome, a learning disability, or a neurodivergence such as autism or sensory issues may continue to have daytime wetting at a later age than other children. Visit our special educational needs page for more information on the support available for you and your child.
Useful resources
- Eric and Bladder and Bowel UK have some resources available to support families with daytime wetting and other continence issues.