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Communicating About Bedwetting
How to Talk With Your Child
By Lisamarie Sanders
Each night, millions of kids wet the bed. Each morning, many of them wake up feeling alone and embarrassed. The rest roll up their sheets, toss them in the laundry and get on with their days.
How can you help your child become one of those who accepts the problem, handles it and moves on? The best way is through open, honest communication.
The first step toward open communication is understanding and acknowledging that bedwetting, also called enuresis, is not a willful behavior on the child's part. Renee Mercer, MSN, certified pediatric nurse practitioner at Enuresis Associates in Maryland, stresses that wetting is not something a child can control. If he could, he would. "No child would rather wake up wet than dry," she says.
When you first discuss the condition with your child, be sure to remain calm and upbeat. Explain that some people have a hard time learning to ride a bike, some have trouble swimming and others have difficulty staying dry at night. Emphasize that it doesn't mean there's something wrong with him; it's just a fact of life.
Also share with your child that he is not alone. Nearly seven million American children wet the bed. Movie stars, musicians and even sports stars may have experienced enuresis as children.
Even closer-to-home heroes have experienced the condition. Recent statistics demonstrate that about 85 percent of children with enuresis have a relative who had it. About half of them have a parent or sibling with the condition. Arrange a time when your child can talk to an adult who has lived through the problem. If you don't know anyone, ask your doctor or call an enuresis clinic to find someone in your area.
Want to see more?
- Good Mornings: Bedwetting and Your Child
- Wet, but Dry
- Bedwetting and Special Needs Kids
- The Effects of Divorce on Children: A Potential Cause for Bedwetting
- Absorbent Undergarments and Special Needs Children
- Words That Heal: Incontinence Solutions for Special Needs Kids
- Childhood Baby Blues: The Effects of a New Baby on Bedwetting
