Does Your Child Bedwet? Find 6 Ways To End This Now

Ireyimika Oyegbami

Bedwetting, also known as urinary incontinence is the unintentional passage of urine while one sleeps. Bedwetting in children is divided into two; primary and secondary. It is said to be primary bedwetting when the child has never been dry for a significant length of time since babyhood while secondary bedwetting is when a child who had stopped bedwetting for a significant length of time; up to half a year, suddenly resumes bedwetting.

While secondary bedwetting could be a sign of an underlying medical or emotional problem hence, laboratory testing might be revelatory, there is no medical test that can pinpoint the cause of primary bedwetting. Studies show that boys tend to wet the bed more frequently than girls.

What can be done to help to see the end of your child’s bedwetting?

1. Support Is Key…

• Parents should be supportive and assuring rather than punishing and blaming the child. You should realise that a child who bedwets up till age 6 is not abnormal but after observing up till age 7 it is all right to seek treatment.
• Parents should try and light up the passageway to the bathroom if the child is scared of the dark and also endeavour to keep obstacles out of the way of the sleepy child who gets up to urinate at night.
• In addition, parents should enforce a “no teasing” rule. The bedwetting child should not be teased neither by parents nor siblings; in addition, neighbours and school friends do not need to be told that 8 year old Patrick bedwets while 5 year old baby sister Catherine does not.

2. Tough Love….

• Parents should include the child in the task of cleaning the soiled beddings and encourage him to get up and change into dry pyjamas when he wets the bed so as not to catch a cold or rash.
• Parents should also help the child understand that he has the responsibility of being dry at night so he has to get up even when his parents forget to wake him up to go.

3. Reward System….

Both adults and children love to be rewarded for good deeds so set up a reward system for nights when your child does not wet his bed. This will be a good motivator to get up and night to use the bathroom.

At the end of a week, count the number of dry nights your baby had and give him a small gift for each night, remember to keep mum on the nights when he wet the bed. You would be happy to see him gradually reduce his bedwetting nights.

4. Lifting….

Parents should make their child urinate before going to bed and 2 hours after he has been in bed, they should go lift him up and take him to the bathroom. When either mummy or daddy gets up to go next, say 3 hours after, they should wake him up again gradually, the child would be able to get up himself.

5. Fluid Restriction: Restricting the amount of water your child drinks in the evenings may or may not prevent bedwetting however, the quantity of urine on the bed would be reduced.

6. Share Success Stories…

Tell your child how you eventually stopped bedwetting and let him know that he also will overcome the bedwetting challenge soon.