16 - 22nd June 2025 - World Continence Awareness Week!

World Continence Week (WCW) is a health campaign run by the World Federation for Incontinence and Pelvic Problems (WFIPP) to raise awareness of incontinence related issues.

• 3-12% of children have daytime wetting or daytime incontinence. Most children have gained bladder control by the age of 4.
• 1-3% have faecal incontinence or soiling. Soiling is when the bowels are emptied in places other than the toilet. Even after a child is toilet trained, there may be occasional accidents with soiling (poo) in your child’s underwear.
• About 1 in 5 children experience bed wetting or nocturnal enuresis. Bed wetting is the involuntary passing of urine (wee) that occurs at night during the main sleep cycle.
• These are all medical conditions and although there is a tendency for them to improve with age, not all do. Sometimes just waiting for this to happen is not advisable as there can be long term effects on bladder, bowel, and kidney function. There may also be emotional, social, and psychological consequences which may impact on the child’s quality of life.

Signs of a healthy bladder:

• Empties 4-6 times a day
• Can hold up to 400-600ml of urine
• May wake you up once at night to pass urine
• Tells you when it is full but gives you enough time to find a toilet
• Empties completely each time you pass urine
• Does not leak urine
• Additionally, did you know that over 5 million Australians (1 in 4 people) aged 15 and over also experience bladder and bowel incontinence. Information and assistance can be found at The Continence Foundation of Australia https://www.continence.org.au/ or phone the Helpline on 1800 33 00 66.

Helpful links:

• World Continence Week 2025 - WFIPP.org
• https://www.continence.org.au/who-it-affects/children
• https://raisingchildren.net.au/guides - A-Z reference help - click on i for incontinence - urine
• https://www.health.tas.gov.au/health-topics/child-and-youth-health/child-health-and-parenting-service-chaps/bedwetting-wetaway-program - or Phone 1300 064 544 - available for children 5 - 18 years of age and who are still wetting the bed
• https://www.continence.org.au/one-step-at-a-time - for toilet training children with special needs

If you would like any further information or any assistance, please contact me through the school admin team or email at louise.hawkins@decyp.tas.gov.au