What is typical toileting behavior?
Urinary accidents are common during the nursery and preschool years, as most children are toilet trained by about 3 years of age. Young children may have accidents during the school day, especially when they are toilet training and younger than 5 years of age. They are still learning to understand the signals that their bodies are giving them and may wait too long to head to the bathroom.
When should I be concerned about a student’s difficulties in bladder control?
Even children that are successfully toilet trained have occasional “accidents” for some time after training. Accidents may also occur in response to stressful events in school, but these should be episodic and not persist for a long period of time.
Teachers should be concerned if a student regularly urinates in their clothing during the day past 5 years of age, or returns to having daytime accidents after they have successfully been toilet trained, even if they are younger than age 5. The child’s urination may be involuntary or intentional.
What can help a student with difficulties in bladder control?
When a student is struggling with daytime enuresis, it is important for teachers to discuss what is happening with the student’s caregivers and the school nurse. Teachers should not attempt to address a student’s enuresis on their own. Teachers may also consider doing a few things to help a student with enuresis:
- Monitor liquid consumption. Teachers can monitor the student’s liquid consumption during the day to reduce the chances of accidents.
- Schedule potty breaks. When dealing with younger students, teachers can schedule regular potty breaks for the whole class during the day.
- Use reminders. For older students, teachers can create a subtle reminder to use the bathroom during class, such as using a subtle nonverbal reminder or asking the student to perform an errand.
- Be supportive and warm. When an episode occurs, it is important that teachers are supportive and warm, and avoid giving punishments or being critical. Communicate to the child that accidents happen.
- Communicate concerns to caregivers. Communicating with the student’s caregivers to ensure consistent strategies to prevent enuresis and praise after dry days is important. Also, suggesting the student's caregivers to talk to their child's doctor may be necessary.
- Speak with a school's staff. Keep clean clothes somewhere in the school and help the child to change clothes or speak with the school nurse if there is one available in your school.
The public system provides services through the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) and Centers of Multidisciplinary Assessment, Counseling, and Support (KEDASY).
Where to find more information
Specific, detailed, and clinical information on Enuresis can be found at [clinical short guide at the program website].
If you want to know more about the closest available services for educational and public health systems for children and adolescent assistance across the country, go to our Services Mapping webpage here.
You can also find more information by pointing your phone camera at the QR code below or by clicking here.
