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Nighttime as Quality Time
The Benefits of a Stress-free Routine on Your Bedwetting Child
By Teri Brown
"The shift-snug-snooze routine helps kids feel calm and connected, rather than keyed up and hungry for parental attention – the perfect recipe for sleep," Dr. Huebner says. "At no time during any of this does bedwetting need to be mentioned." Parents need to keep the focus off bedwetting by not talking about it before bed. Reminding a child to stay dry does nothing but make a child anxious; it in no way helps them to actually stay dry.
"Once the focus is removed from dry nights, anxiety around bedwetting goes down significantly," Dr. Huebner says. "Parents and kids can plan for comfort and ease (Pull-Ups®, bed pads, etc.) and let maturation take its course."
"One of my boys was a bedwetter," says Sharon McGuire, a mom from Campbell River, British Columbia. "I know that he was calmer and less stressed at bedtime if we were calm about it. For example, we wouldn't remind him to go the bathroom or to not drink very much water before bed, because of course he already knew these things and he did them without us nagging – because he wanted a dry night."
At night, McGuire would treat the sheet changes very matter-of-factly and kept things as calm and quiet as possible – lights dim, no discussion, just change the bed, tuck him in with a smile and back to sleep. "These behavioral things were no magic cure, for sure, but they took some of the stress away for our son," McGuire says. "And that's what was truly important while he waited to outgrow the bedwetting."
Bedtime should be a special occasion for you and your child. By keeping the focus on quality time as opposed to bedwetting, your child can enjoy the time with you and get a good night's sleep.
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