South Tyneside and Sunderland’s Children’s Bladder and Bowel Team helps children and young people aged 0 to 19 who have problems with their bladder or bowel.
If you are worried that your child may have a continence issue, please speak to your GP, school nurse or health visitor first. They will give advice and start the first checks. This includes a Level 1 assessment, where parents or carers complete:
- a 3‑day fluid chart and
- a 2‑week bowel chart.
If there is no improvement after 12 weeks, the health professional, or the parent/carer, can make a self‑referral to the Children’s Bladder and Bowel Service for Level 2 support.
What conditions do we treat?
What is constipation?
Constipation is when a child has trouble doing a poo. It can look like:
- Large or hard stools that may block the toilet
- Small, hard “rabbit‑dropping” stools
- Pain or upset when doing a poo
- Straining to poo
- Tummy pain that gets better after a poo
- Fewer than three poos a week
- Leaking watery poo into underwear
- Feeling like the poo is not finished
- Avoiding the toilet
- A small amount of blood from a hard poo (a tiny tear)
- A sore bottom or bad smell
- Dribbling urine
- Tiptoeing, rocking, or clenching the buttocks
- “Dance‑like” movements
- No urge to poo
Note: Some breastfed babies older than 6 weeks may poo less often, and this can be normal.
Toileting Routine
A good toilet routine can help:
- Try to sit your child on the toilet 30 minutes after meals, when the bowel is most active.
- Keep them on the toilet for 10–15 minutes only.
- Make sure their feet are supported on a stool.
- Boys should sit down to wee, as this helps relax the right muscles.
- Use praise or simple rewards for sitting on the toilet, not for doing the poo itself.
- Have quiet activities ready in the bathroom if your child needs a distraction.
Nocturnal enuresis means a child wets the bed while they are asleep and cannot control it.
If you are worried about your child wetting the bed, please speak to a health professional for a level 1 assessment. They can check how your child’s bladder and bowel are working.
Daytime wetting is when a child has damp patches in their pants or a full wee accident during the day.
Daytime wetting is very common. About one in seven children aged four and one in 20 children aged nine, have this problem. You and your family are not alone.
If you are worried about your child, please talk to a health professional. They can give your child a level 1 check of both the bladder and bowel.
