Enuresis

The books in this section are not about potty training but rather address elimination disorders. Enuresis is an elimination disorder that refers to repeated urination into a bed or clothing after a child is a developmental age of five years old and continence is expected. Importantly, if a child is regularly experiencing bedwetting or daytime accidents, it is imperative that a family speaks with a child’s pediatrician to rule out underlying medical concerns (e.g., urinary tract infections). Although enuresis is relatively common (5-10% of 5-year-olds), children often feel a lot of shame about it. This is particularly true as children get a bit older and have the opportunity to attend sleepovers and sleep-away camps. My primary goal for this section is to find books that destigmatize enuresis and help kids to realize that they’re not the only ones going through it, and secondarily to provide suggestions (e.g., using the bathroom throughout the day) to help children to reduce the frequency of accidents.
Age range: Preschool through 2nd grade.
Evidence-Based Practices: Exposure
Age range: Kindergarten through 4th grade.
Recommended for: Written by a pediatrician, this book is excellent for a child who experiences regular bed-wetting and who is feeling embarrassed or ashamed of this. It very effectively destigmatizes nocturnal enuresis (i.e., nighttime bed-wetting) with its cool kid detective protagonist who shares that he wet the bed until he was 11-years-old, and it provides a few tips for reducing frequency of bed-wetting.