Children are more likely to wet the bed if their parents struggled to stay dry at night as toddlers. Besides biological factors such as bladder size, genetics explain why some children are prone to wetting, formally known as enuresis, which affects 5 million to 7 million children ages 6 and older, according to the National Kidney Foundation.
Cleveland Clinic’s Pediatric Voiding Dysfunction Clinic treats children ages 5 to 18 to “be the boss of their bodies” A sensor clipped on underwear detects the first drops of urine and activates an alarm buzzer that wakes up the child so he or she can get up and go to the bathroom.
It is effective for the 70 percent to 80 percent of children who use it for at least six weeks, says Gerard Banez, Ph.D., di-rector of the Cleveland Clinic’s Behavioral Pediatrics Treatment Service.
“Kids feel a sense of mastery and accomplishment,” Banez says, noting the Clinic treats four children per month and will expand the program to accommodate increasing demand.