PARENTHOOD

by David W. Proefrock, PhD

Your 7 year-old son still wets the bed. Sometimes he wets three or four times a week and other times just once or twice. Up until now, you haven’t said anything negative about it to him, but you are concerned that he is just too old to be wetting the bed. You’ve already tried not letting him have anything to drink before he goes to bed, but with only limited benefit. What do you do?

A. Report the bedwetting to his pediatrician. See if there might be a medical reason he is still wetting the bed.

B. Make him take some of the responsibility for changing and washing the sheets.

C. Begin taking away privileges when he wets the bed and giving a small reward for dry nights.

D. Be understanding and supportive of him. Don’t punish, scold, or belittle him.

If you answered:

A. This is the best idea. Seven is much too old to be wetting the bed this regularly. However, before taking other actions, make sure there is not a physical reason.

B. This can be a good response for bedwetting, but at his age he should be checked medically first.

C. Again, this can be a reasonable response, but he should be checked medically first.

D. Being supportive and understanding is essential, but at this age it is not enough. Have him checked by the pediatrician first.

A child this old wetting the bed with this frequency could very well be a medical issue instead of a behavioral or emotional one. It should be explored before trying other things.

Dr. Proefrock is a retired local clinical and forensic child psychologist.