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Beat the Bedwetting Blues
3 Steps to a Positive Atmosphere
By Christy R. Stevenson
Don't let the bedwetting incidents dominate your topics of conversation. "This should not be a huge issue in the life of the family," says Sutherland. Find opportunities to praise your child for his or her other accomplishments. Only discuss the issue when your child feels ready to talk about it and wants to talk with you about it. By bringing up the topic too often or at ill-planned times, your child will feel that his bedwetting problem is even bigger than it really is.
Of course, always make sure that these conversations are private so that you avoid embarrassing your child even further. Talk to siblings and other family members, as well, to make sure that they understand the problem and that they never tease your child about bedwetting.
Actions speak louder than words, so do not act too quickly or too drastically when dealing with your child's bedwetting problem. How can you convince your child that bedwetting is not a big deal when you are calling every doctor and child psychiatrist in the state?
Take it one step at a time and start simple. If your child seems to only wet the bed occasionally, try to determine if any stress factors could be to blame. A change in routine, whether it is simple (like getting a new school teacher) or complex (like parents' divorce), can be a cause for bedwetting.
Most experts agree that stress is a real possible factor in bedwetting. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, "[Bedwetting] may follow changes or events which make the child feel insecure: moving to a new environment, losing a family member or loved one or especially the arrival of a new baby or child in the home." Take steps to alleviate your child's stress and see if the bedwetting problem subsides.
Want to see more?
- Talking About Bedwetting With Children
- Wet But Dry: How Absorbent Underwear May Help Your Bedwetting Child
- Childhood Baby Blues: The Effects of a New Baby on Bedwetting
- The Effects of Divorce on Children: A Potential Cause for Bedwetting
- Of Bladders and Bedwetting: A Simple Explanation of the Urinary System
- Summer Camp or Bust: Your Bedwetting Child Can Do It!
- Talk about it!