Daytime wetting in children and acquisition of bladder control

Daytime wetting is a common problem in early childhood. This article explains how the infant's bladder develops and how children are able to develop bladder control. The need for more structured toilet training at an earlier age than is standard today is proposed to prevent children having difficulty attaining and maintaining bladder control, which may be associated with delays in becoming continent and the development of daytime wetting. The article discusses common daytime wetting problems and describes how they can be assessed using a structured, standardised approach to history taking. Management using bladder retraining in the form of modified urotherapy is outlined, which aims to retrain the bladder without the need for surgery or pharmaceutical treatment.