When do children usually stop wetting the bed?

What the evidence says

Bedwetting means a child pees during sleep without waking up or realizing it. The Canadian Paediatric Society says most children, though not all, stop wetting the bed between ages 5 and 6.

It takes time for the body to learn how to stay dry all night. Many kids use the toilet well during the day long before their bladder and brain fully connect at night. This is completely normal and not a sign of a medical or emotional problem.

Here are the numbers doctors use as a rough guide. At age 5, about 15% of children still wet the bed. By age 10, that number drops to about 5%. Without any treatment, only about 2% of kids still wet the bed by age 15.

Bedwetting often runs in families. If one parent wet the bed as a child, their child has a 25% chance of doing the same. If both parents did, the chance rises to about 65%. This is not caused by bad parenting, laziness, or the child trying to get attention.

Most kids simply outgrow it on their own. But if bedwetting is upsetting your child, especially around ages 8 to 10 when sleepovers become common, or if a child who was dry for six months or more suddenly starts wetting again, it is worth talking to your doctor.