Parenting A School Aged Child That Wets The Bed
There are times when parenting can be frustrating, especially when the child is going through a phase which is inconvenient, and can be a concern to the parents. Most of the time the child will grow out of a particular behaviour, but going through the process as they overcome the problem can be worrying. One particular instance that can be frustrating and a concern for parents is when a child wets the bed during the night.
Wetting the bed is quite common with young children particularly infants. However when the child gets to school-age and older and bed wetting is still happening then it becomes frustrating for the parents and embarrassing for the child.
Bed wetting is a difficult subject to deal with because of its delicate nature. If a parent deals with bed wetting with punishment,teasing or nagging it will have a negative impact. The best way to deal with the problem of bed wetting is not to make the child feel bad about it, but rather comfort and reassure them that this is a problem that can easily be overcome. Here are some preventative measures you can take to help your child go through the night without wetting the bed.
Make it part of your child’s night time routine to go to the toilet just before they get into bed. Make sure that the child can easily get to the toilet if they wake up during the night needing to empty the bladder. Perhaps having a night light or leaving the doors open can easily facilitate this.
Protect the bed with a plastic sheet so that it doesn’t get wet with urine, and become smelly. By protecting the mattress with rubber sheets, it becomes easier to change the bed and avoid wet sheets and mattresses.
Start reducing drinks a couple of hours before the child’s bedtime so that they have less fluid in the body during the night.
When a child does wet the bed think more of the child than your personal inconvenience of having to change the bedding. It is important for the child to develop confidence and a sense of self belief that they can overcome bed wetting and that you believe that they will be able to achieve this.
Children do what gets rewarded. Praise your child when they do go through the night without wetting the bed. When you focus on the positive rather than the negative it helps the child understand and want to earn more praise.
As parents try not to show your anxiety if your child has this bedwetting problem. Most of the time it is just a phase that the child will grow out of in time, and has no serious implications.
Filed under Family and Parenting