First up, do you know what a ‘diuretic’ is? According to the dictionary, a diuretic means ‘causing increased passing of urine’. 

Certain foods and drinks are diuretics, which means they can cause the body to produce more urine. As for children, some are more sensitive to diuretics than others.

A major diuretic is caffeine. Now this doesn’t mean just coffee. Caffeine is also found in tea, cola, energy drinks and chocolate drinks like drinking chocolate and milo. Sugary or carbonated drinks may also irritate sensitive bladders. Even fruit juices increase urine output.

As for foods, acidic fruits such as oranges, grapefruit, lemons or pineapple can be bladder irritants. Tomatoes are also acidic, and this can also include and tomato-based foods like spaghetti bolognese, chilli and tomato sauce. Although spicy foods and citrus fruits can possibly irritate the bladder, medical research hasn’t demonstrated a link between eating citrus fruits and children’s bedwetting, except possibly in rare instances of food allergy to citrus in some bedwetters. 

Now, your child is not going to like this one. Chocolate is another possible bladder irritant unfortunately. So are dairy products, like milk, yoghurt, cheese, sour cream and ice-cream because they’re all high in calcium.

I’m not saying to ban these foods and drinks from your child’s diet. Instead, perhaps give them to your child earlier in the day, so the effects have worn off before their bedtime. It’s just as important to be mindful of what food and drinks your child is consuming, as some of them could possibly be causing havoc for them during the night.