Help Your Child Stop Wetting the Bed
by: LucyPeters | Total views: 16 | Word Count: 535 | View PDF | Print View
For children under 7 wetting the bed if very common problem and can be a great embarrassment to the child and of course frustrating to parents. In the past parents have believed that a child that wets the bed has a physical problem such as a bladder weakness or psychological problem such as fear of the dark, however this is not always the case. Most of the time it is just that children are very deep sleepers therefore they do not feel the need to go to the bathroom and that's when they wet the bed.
Most times, children will simply grow out of bedwetting without any sort of help from others. If your child is not improving with bedwetting or you want to speed up the process, there are a few ideas and tips for you:
* Reduce Fluids: To help reduce the times that your child wets the bed make sure that you don't allow them to have any liquids two hours before bed. Before that let them have enough so that they don't become constipated or get dehydrated.
* Use Bathroom: Right before you put your child to bed you usually have them brush their teeth. Well as a part of the routine make sure that they also use the bathroom and empty their bladder. Even when they say they are done, have them try to squeeze out more, if more comes have them do it one more time. This is referred to as double voiding.
* With many children, their bladders are too small to be able to contain urine throughout the length of the night. To help this, try bladder stretching exercises. These exercises are fairly simple. If your child has to use the bathroom, ask him/her to hold it for 10-15 minutes longer and try to increase the time very gradually each week. This can take weeks and sometimes months, so parents, be patient when dealing with bedwetting.
* Visit your family doctor. Sometimes your child can have an underlying cause that leads to bedwetting. While at the doctors, mention what is going on and the doctor will check for problems that contribute to bedwetting. If the doctor does in fact find anything, it will be treated. Medications will most times help bedwetting go away.
* Utilize a bedwetting alarm. The alarm is placed inside of your child's underwear. It has pads that are able to detect moisture. Once moisture is sensed, the alarm makes a noise or vibrates. This wakes up your child and ensures most times that he/she uses the bathroom. Most times the body will become used to waking up at a certain time to empty the bladder.
* If nothing else is working, use medication. Medication dealing with bedwetting is able to slow the body's production of urine. This relaxes the bladder which helps your child sleep at night without wetting the bed. These medications may have side effects, so it is best to use these as a last answer.
* Most importantly, when trying to stop your child from bedwetting, do not scold him/her. If you scold your child, he/she will just feel worse and will feel very ashamed that the problem is his/her fault. It's not. Be supportive and keep trying.
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