How children can cope with bed wetting
Finally, your toddler’s been toilet trained and is now completely free from diapers or so you thought. However this is not the true for many children. Many parents experience the frustration of finding wet beds in the morning with their kids’ bed wetting. If you are one of those parents who don’t know how to handle this, here are some helpful tips and ideas for you.
Your primary step should be to check with your child’s pediatrician to ensure that the bed wetting is not due to some medical conditions such as small bladder, urinary tract infection or diabetes. It is imperative that your child gets a thorough physical examination especially if they are seven years old and older and are still bed wetting. If your child’s bed wetting is not due to any medical problems, there are lot of things that can help you and your child cope and solve this problem.
- Use plastic sheets or waterproof mattress cover for your child’s bed.
- You can opt for nighttime diapers that come available in larger sizes for older children. These diapers serve both as a blessing and a curse. You may not need to get up every night to check your child and change bed, but diapers can also give your child the go-ahead on bed wetting.
- Set a routine bedtime for your child. Over tired kids falls deeply asleep and have harder time waking up to go to the bathroom.
- Encourage your child to consume more liquids and water throughout the day to train his or her bladder to hold more liquid. Avoid giving caffeinated to children as these are natural diuretics.
- Provide a clear and well lighted path to the bathroom. Put nightlights to light the way.
- Lessen the stress that your child may be experiencing especially if bed wetting has come on suddenly. This could be adding more stress on his or her problem. Talk to them about recent changes in school or at home and ensure them that there is nothing to be overly stressed out about.
- Let your child help you out clean up their accidents by letting them take the sheets and blankets to the laundry room. This does not mean that you are punishing them; this is just a simple reminder that they must take responsibility for their accidents and actions.
- And finally, take your child to the bathroom before going to bed each night. This may not easily stop the bed wetting episodes but this will help in training your child’s bladder discharge on the toilet at night and not on the bed.
You must also keep in mind that no child wets the bed purposely. Bed wetting is often an unpleasant and humiliating experience for them. So never criticize or punish them for wetting the bed. What’s best for you to do is practice positive reinforcement. Save those praises for a dry night.
With a little understanding and some patience, your child’s bed wetting will come less and less. But in rare cases, some children bed wets until their teens. You can try bed wetting alarm that goes off when moisture is detected or have your doctor prescribe some medications to help them with this problem.