FIRST YEARS

Got a bedwetter? Try this

Tips and advice for parents

LYNN U. NICHOLS

You’ve got your toddler or early preschooler potty trained during the day, but they still wet the bed at night. Or, your young child can hold it while at home, but they wet when you travel or during a sleepover. Staying dry at night is the last milestone of toilet training, and it can take a good year or two to master. Even if your child is approaching school age, don’t worry. According to studies, about 40 percent of 3-year-olds wet the bed and about 15 percent of 5- to 7-yearolds still wet the bed. Your child will get there eventually.

It helps to know that bedwetting is not a sign of anything. Your child is just fine. It’s not a sign that they are being rebellious or that they are developing slowly—that’s old way of thinking.

More than likely, your child is simply a deep sleeper—the most common reason for wetting. Bladder control is complex, and involves a coordinated effort from muscles, nerves, the brain and spinal cord. When asleep, it becomes even more challenging. Children with deep sleep patterns may also walk or talk in their sleep, or have night terrors.

Bedwetting can also be caused by a small, spastic bladder. Even bladder size runs in families! Kids simply don’t wet the bed on purpose. When kids have small bladders that contract rapidly when they get full, “holding it” is not an option. Occasionally, bedwetting is caused by another physical factor, such as a urinary tract infection, muscle control problem or an abnormal urinary system.

Bedwetting is genetically dominant, like having brown eyes. More often than not, you’ll remember you or your spouse having bedwetting episodes, or a sibling who did. In fact, bedwetting is so genetic that if one parent wet the bed as a child, there’s a 45 percent chance their child will. If both did, odds jump to 75 percent.

It’s also helpful to know that more boys wet than girls—at a rate of 2 to 1. Sometimes, kids wet after a very stressful change in their lives, like divorce, moving or newly-developed, intense fears.

The good news is that there are things you can do besides buying a plastic mattress pad and extra sheets. Try these tips to help your little wetter get on track:

• Reduce fluids in the evenings and stop liquids a full hour before bedtime. If she demands a drink at night, make it a few sips. • Make sure your bedtime routine includes using the potty right before tucking in. • It’s okay for your child to wear a pull-up to bed to avoid frequent sheet changes. • For sleepovers, stash a pull-up in the sleeping bag. Bring pull-ups along when traveling.

Some parents try waking up their child at regular intervals to use the bathroom then stretching out those intervals until their child makes it through the night dry. If this seems too disruptive, you might wake up your child on the nights you are up, anyway.

Another option is waking your child up to use the bathroom before you go to bed, giving them a second opportunity to empty their bladder.

Even if he wets three nights in a row, resist any judging comments. Remember, he’s not wetting on purpose and the older he is the more personal shame he probably feels about it. It’s okay to have him help strip the bed or carry the sheets to the wash in a positive way.

• If you were a wetter, share stories to ease her embarrassment and let her know it’s normal for your family. • Make sure your child knows it’s okay to get up during the night to use the bathroom. Encourage comfort in doing this by lighting their path to the bathroom with night lights. • Most importantly, be patient and go easy on your child. You might think that he will never outgrow bedwetting, but hang in there, he will!

Changing wet sheets isn’t fun but know that you won’t be doing it forever.