Information for parents and carers

What is our support offer?

The first step, “Support for all”, includes 3 modules of pre-recorded health education videos. Once you’ve finished all 3 modules, you can start trying the strategies at home for the next 6 weeks.

If you feel things are not improving, or if you’re finding it hard to put the strategies in place, you can get in touch with us to move on to the next stage on the road map.

The second stage, “Focused support”, allows you to join a group workshop facilitated by an ICAN community nurse. In this session, we look at common challenges and help you troubleshoot and overcome the challenges. After the workshop, we encourage you to keep using the strategies for another 6 weeks. It is important to understand that it can take several weeks before your child may make progress towards achieving daytime dryness.

If you have completed the workshop and still feel you need more help, you can contact us to access specialist support with an ICAN community nurse. At this stage, we work closely with you to create a plan that’s tailored to your child and your family.

All the way through the pathway, our goal is to empower you with the skills, confidence, and tools to support your child to achieve daytime dryness.

What can this support help with?

• For families to feel more confident understanding and managing their child’s continence
• Developing your understanding of how the body produces urine
• Developing your understanding of the common causes of daytime wetting
• Developing your understanding of the importance of fluid intake

What if I need further support

If you and your child have not made progress within 6 weeks and you require additional support, please access the next stage in the pathway by requesting a place on the focussed support group workshop.

Remember

If you suspect your child has constipation with one or more of the following signs or symptoms:

• Dry poo
• Infrequent pooing (Less than 3 times in a week)
• Painful poos
• Regular watery poos
• Very smelly or dark poo
• Straining
• Large poos that block the toilet
• Soiling

Contact your GP for an assessment and commence laxative treatment if required.

Measuring voided volumes

• A child’s average bladder capacity can be worked out using this equation: age + 1 x 30 = average voided volume
• Therefore, the bladder capacity for a 5-year-old is: 5 + 1 x 30 = 180mls
• Urine is produced form the kidneys at around 60mls per hour
• Therefore, a five-year-old should be able to stay dry for 3 hours
• The ability to ‘hold on’ increases with age
• The expected number of voids per day is between 6 and 8

An overview of the 3 levels of support

The journey starts with our Support for all package. This includes pre-recorded online videos to help your understanding of daytime wetting.

They are split into three modules.

Support for all

• Understanding your child’s body
• Understanding your child’s body and behaviour
• Skills for managing your child’s continence at home and across different

Online video and workshops: Providing education around the common causes of daytime wetting, behaviour management advice and healthy bladder and bowels.

Focussed support

If you need further support after accessing our support for all package, we offer small group sessions (online via Microsoft Teams) to help you support your child with daytime wetting including tips and strategies to manage their continence

These sessions are facilitated by one of our ICAN community nurses.

Specialist support

Some families may require further support following our support for all and focussed support packages.

Our specialist support can ensure that those children and families who may need additional support can access the right professional for more tailored support.

Families are required to complete both our support for all and focussed support packages before accessing our specialist support package.

Details on how to access this additional support are available when attending one of our workshops.

• 1 to 1 support with an ICAN community nurse including a continence assessment and personalised management plan

Top tips for daytime wetting

Please try to utilise the tools and strategies learned from this workshop with your child at home. Be consistent with your management plan

• Pelvic floor exercises help to strengthen the muscles to help hold wee in.
• Start checking their bladder volumes (by getting them to wee into a jug and measuring it).
• We recommend sitting on the toilet for a wee every 90 minutes to 2 hours.
• Having a rewards chart where your child gets a sticker for things they can control (like sitting on the toilet), rather than being dry, helps with this.
• These could be things like drinking well, having regular toilet time or helping to clean up after an accident.
• Setting goals for your child can also be helpful, whilst this can be being dry through the day or night, things like drinking well and having regular toilet time are also good goals.
• Drink plenty of clear fluids (diluted squash or water) and avoid too much milk as it can make any co-existing constipation worse. Continue to avoid bladder irritants such as tea, coffee, cola, fizzy drinks, citrus or berry juices.
• Fluids will help to keep the urine well diluted so that it does not irritate the sensitive bladder lining. They also keep the poo soft and are really important in preventing dehydration and constipation.
• Your child should be drinking a minimum of the daily amounts shown below for their age.

Our support offer is made up of three level of support:

1. Support for all: Online video and workshops: Providing education around the common causes of daytime wetting, behaviour management advice and healthy bladder and bowels.
2. Focussed support: Facilitated group workshop with an ICAN nurse.
3. Specialist support: 1 to 1 support with an ICAN community nurse including a continence assessment and personalised management plan.