Education & Early Years

About us

ERIC, The Children’s Bowel & Bladder Charity is the UK’s leading charity supporting all children and teenagers with a bowel or bladder problem.

Why ERIC you may wonder?!

Well, our official title since ERIC was set up back in the 1980s is: Education And Resources For Improving Childhood Continence.

In 2016, we decided to simplify things by adding 'The Children's Bowel & Bladder Charity' after our name.

We are also well known as the wee and poo experts!

Vision

For all children and young people to live a healthy and happy life regardless of any bladder or bowel issue they may face.

Mission

To get everyone talking openly about good bladder and bowel health; to empower children and carers with support, information and resources; to contribute to research and policy development and to deliver the best education and advice to all those working with families.

For over thirty years, we have been providing information and emotional support to families about these common but often misunderstood conditions.

1 in 12 children in the U.K. are affected by a bowel or bladder condition including constipation, soiling and wetting accidents and bedwetting. The impact on their life, and their family's, can be devastating.

The embarrassment and shame surrounding these continence problems, means that many young people and their families suffer in silence with no-one to turn to.

The actions we take and decisions we make at ERIC aim to reduce the impact of bowel and bladder issues on children’s and teenagers lives in the UK by:

• Improving the social environment for children, young people and families in relation to bowel and bladder issues

• Enabling children, young people and families to make informed choices about bladder and bowel issues.

• Increasing early intervention into (or early prevention of) childhood bowel and bladder issues

• Providing equality of access to information and services for all

The impact of getting the right support and information to deal with a continence difficulty can be dramatic: children can start living a normal life, they can take part in social activities, they feel happier and more confident, and the strain on family life is lifted.