Wake Up! Stop Your Kids from Wetting Beds!

So, your child still wets beds huh?

Yes, every kid goes through the wonderful stage of bed wetting. You and I were bed-wetters in our day too, though we might not want to admit it. This is normal for young children. But, is your child beyond this age? Is he still wetting his bed?

Pretty soon, this problem will turn from minor inconvenience to major source of embarrassment for your child.

Bedwetting usually does not require treatment since most kids outgrow it in their late childhood. However, there are some treatments available to those who need help in outgrowing bedwetting (or enuresis, or sleepwetting. Take your pick of terms). Also, there are instances when the problem is actually caused by underlying physical ailments.

First of all, you will have to ascertain whether the problem is not physiological, or as we would say, truly an illness. It wouldn’t hurt to consult your pediatrician for a thorough assessment of your child’s health and make sure there's not a medical reason why your child cannot stop bed wetting.

The doctor will ask you about your child’s daily bathroom habits. He will most probably take a sample of his urine for urinalysis. The results of this test will help him determine whether your child suffers from any problems with his or her bladder or urinary tract.

If your doctor suggests that your child needs treatment, you will be informed on two kinds of treatment available: behavior therapy and medicine. Behavior therapy teaches your child to avoid bed wetting. There are varied methods available that could help your child.

Among these methods is the use of a bed wetting alarm system that goes off when the child begins to urinate. This teaches the child to respond to a full bladder at night and to seek the toilet to urinate.

One could also implement a rewards system for nights when your child does not wet his bed. This would give your child inspiration to overcome his bed wetting tendencies.

You could also ask your child to change the bed sheets when he or she wets. This would reinforce the thought that your child should avoid bed wetting.

Also, there is what is called bladder training. This is a set of exercise that aims to help your child control his bladder and urination more efficiently.

Your doctor might decide to give your child medicine if your child is over 7 years of age. This is only if behavior therapy hasn't worked. Medicines, however, aren't a cure-all for bed wetting. They only serve to make bed-wetting less likely. For example, one kind of medicine helps the bladder hold more urine, while the other helps the kidneys produce less urine. These medicines may have side effects.

Bed-wetting can cause problems with your child’s behavior due to the guilt and embarrassment the child feels every time he or she bed-wets. Although you may have to let your child change the sheets or help with the laundry every time he or she bed-wets, it is very important that you reassure your child that bed-wetting isn’t his or her fault.

Punishing your child for such will only cause other problems that may be harder to deal with. Teaching your child proper bathroom habits is a cooperative endeavor and does not need the aspect of guilt to be successful.

Helping your child stop bed wetting takes time and effort. But doing so is worth it. Imagine the loads of laundry you could save by accomplishing such! But most importantly of all, the concern you show in accompanying your child through his journey through childhood is the stuff of memories.