Urinary incontinence in children

[Agnes]

Urinary incontinence is defined as the involuntary release of urine occurring two or more times per month after toilet training. Incontinence may be present

During the day (daytime or diurnal incontinence)
At night (nighttime incontinence, enuresis, or bed-wetting)
Both (combined incontinence)

The duration of the process of toilet training, or the age at which children achieve urinary continence, varies greatly. However, more than 90% of children achieve daytime urinary continence by age 5. Nighttime continence may take longer to achieve.
Bed-wetting or nighttime incontinence affects about 30% of children at age 4, 10% at age 7, 3% at age 12, and 1% at age 18. About 0.5% of adults continue to have nighttime incontinence. Doctors take these time lines into account when diagnosing urinary incontinence. Because the duration of the process of toilet training varies, young children are usually not considered to have daytime incontinence if they are under age 5 or 6 or nighttime incontinence if they are under age 7.
Daytime incontinence is more common among girls. Bed-wetting is more common among boys and among children who have a family history of nighttime incontinence. Both daytime and nighttime incontinence are symptoms—not diagnoses—and doctors should look for an underlying cause.