Wetting beds can be very embarrassing for your child. It can damage your child’s morale. However, it is very normal. More than 5 million children, around the glove, between the age 5 and 6 years, experience bedwetting.  About 5% of the kids between the age of 8 and 11 years also wet their bed. Mostly it runs in families. Eventually children tend to outgrow this habit. As a parent, you can ensure certain steps to make sure that your child keeps the bed dry.

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11 Tips To Prevent Bedwetting

Stop Blaming Him/her

The first step is to banish the process of blaming. Shaming your child is not going to help. It will eventually add to the problem. If you make it into a big deal then he/she will get more nervous about it. It will add to the pressure. Therefore you should try and comfort him/her. This is the most important part. Tell him/her that it is normal. Also assure your child that you can overcome this thing, together.

Inform your Pediatrician

Talk to your pediatrician about the problem. Not all bedwetting problems have similar reasons. Your child’s pediatrician can track down the problem and provide accurate solutions to it. Some of the reasons can just be emotional or behavioral. However, some of the causes are medical and more dangerous. Like for instance, there are chances that your child might have diabetes or urinary tract infection. Do remember that the reason is not always physical. Sometime there is a delay in the nighttime bladder control, for the child.

Encourage Before Sleep Bathroom Visits

 Visiting the bathroom before going to bed is always a good habit. Once the bladder is being emptied, there is less chance that he/she will be wet the bed during night. This habit is not a direct cure for bedwetting; however, it surely a way to keep your beds dry, at night. The last bathroom visit is very crucial. Just like brushing the teeth, this habit can also be inculcated amongst children.

Less Intake of Fluid Before Bed

Some children have a habit of having bedtime snacks. Now, if the snack consists of milk or other fluids, then it is more likely that his/her bladder will remain full. For that reason, it will be wise to change the nature of the snack. Or a better option is to stop the habit of bedtime snack altogether and make him/her have a whole heart dinner. More intakes of water or fluids before going to bed will mean that there are more chances of urinating during the night.

Get Rid of Diapers

The earlier you get rid of diapers, the easier it is to stop bedwetting. Diapers allow the habit of urinating whilst sleeping. Children get used to the moist feeling offered by the diapers. This makes it impossible for them to grow a habit of going to the bathroom during night. They develop a mindset that it is alright to pee in the bed. Discourage that habit at the earliest.

Make him/her take Midnight Bathroom Tips

We know that it sounds challenging. Waking up at the middle of the night, and then waking your child up for a bathroom visit sounds exhausting. But till your child has not learnt to empty his/her bladder, before going to sleep, this is the best possible alternative. This might irritate your child as it would disrupt his/her sleep. But it will also send him/her the message that it is not alright to pee in the bed. The knowledge that you need to wake-up and go to the bathroom to take a wee, will make them more aware gradually.

Create Incentives Chart

Giving positive incentives often works. Appraising your child on the days when he/she did not wet the bed will encourage him/her to repeat the same behavior. You need to make your little one understand that it is not okay to bed wet and keeping a dry bed is something you desire. So instead of shaming them on the occasions of wetting the bed, encourage them when they don’t. You can make a grid chart or you can use a normal calendar where you can put a ‘happy face’ or a sticker, on the days when he/she will not wet the bed. This will work subconsciously and your child will be encouraged to earn more ‘happy faces’ or ‘stars’. In this way you can use positive motivation to discourage bedwetting.

Check for Constipation

Constipation is one of the major causes of bladder related problem. If your grown-up kid is wetting the bed, then check whether he/she is suffering from constipation. The rectum is located just behind the bladder. So, when the rectum is filled with hardened poop, it puts more pressure on the bladder. This causes instability of the bladder. This then causes nightmares or even daytime bad dreams for your child. Bedwetting is a direct result of constipation. If you observe that your child’s bowel movement is not regular or he/she is facing problem with hardened bowel movement, then the chances of bedwetting increases. Feed your child with fiber rich foods. Plenty of fruits, vegetables, and fluid will help him/her to fight off this problem. Good food and fluid will help your child to ease constipation.

Medications:

Sometimes when the condition becomes serious, you can try some medications. However, medications have certain side effects. A medicine called desmopressin helps in reducing urine. But it has serious bad effects. This kind of medication can cause headaches and nausea for your child. It also causes facial flushing. However, depending on this kind of medication is not a wise idea. Because the moment you stop the medication, the bedwetting will start. That is why you should discuss well with your pediatrician before starting this medication.

Set a Moisture Alarm

A moisture alarm will wake your child up, the second he/she wets the bed. Sounds cruel, but this method is very effective in conditioning your child’s brain. It will help you teach your child to control his/her bladder in a better way. This method is 75% effective. It tends to work and the children become ready to keep their beds dry. Moisture alarm comes in different forms. You can purchase them online.

Make them Change the Bed sheet

If your child wets the bed at night, make them change the bed sheet in the morning. In this way he/she will learn to take responsibility, of their own misdoing. He/she will become more aware of the actions and the reactions. But do not make it sound like a punishment or an imposition. Just delegate the responsibility gradually so that he/she learns to accept the consequences. 

Considerations:

Remember that your child will not stop bedwetting overnight. It is a gradual process. So have patience and work together with your child. If the problem is psychological then you must talk to your child. Talk to a pediatrician or psychologist to get over the problem.