Bed-wetting Strategies

When you are changing the sheets at three in the morning while your spouse has your young child in the bathtub, there is little consolation to hear how common bedwetting is.  However, it is a very common issue with a great number of children and even some young adults.  There is hope though; there are ways to make nighttime wetting a thing of the past.

1.  Consider Your Child’s Age

If your child is only three or even four, they just may not by physically ready for nighttime potty training.  If your child is day-trained but wetting the bed at night just give it another six months or so in pull-ups.  If it simply a matter of not quite being ready, she will start staying dry on her own overnight.  Then it is a simple matter of eliminating the pull-ups.

2.  Restricting Liquids

This is a tried and true method of nighttime training.  You ensure the last liquid he gets, is with his dinner.  This gives a couple of hours for it to get through his system and then you have him go potty before bed.  It is very difficult to wet the bed with an empty bladder.  This is a great system to use in the cool months but it is not recommended to restrict liquids in warm weather.

3.  Wake the Child Up

If your child tends to wet her bed around the same time every night, try waking her up an hour before that, it may mean setting your alarm.  The trick here is in not allowing her to wake right up and be up all night.  Leave the lights dim and use a wipe to wash her hands rather than letting her wash them herself and then quickly put her back to bed.

4.  Try Some Creative Visualization

A school of thought believes that the bedwetting issue can be solved with mind over matter; that the brain not the bladder is the major issue.  The basic idea is to use imagery and repetition to help break the bed wetting cycle.  “Dry All Night” is the name of a book that utilizes these concepts and that many parents swear has helped cure chronic bed-wetters.

 5.  Visit your Paediatrician

It may be that your child’s issue is a medical problem.  It could be an allergy, urinary tract infection or a reflex bladder.  Your doctor can help you rule out any of these and he may also have some suggestions based on your particular child’s medical history.

Most children outgrow bedwetting eventually and in the meantime, there are a number of products available to keep them dry at night.  Underjams and Goodnites are discrete and look like underwear and will keep your child’s sheets dry while not causing him any shame or embarrassment.   The best advice though is to relax about it all.  Stressed parents create stressed children and stressed children will never be able to stop wetting their beds.