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Home › Articles › Bedwetting › Straight Talk About Bedwetting

Straight Talk About Bedwetting

Speaking to Siblings of Special Needs Kids

By Lisa Marie Metzler

Pages:  1  2  3  

Mary and John Warner's 10-year-old son, Jake, struggles with autism and epilepsy. "We remind him to go to the bathroom before bed, just like we do to his sisters," Mary Warner says.

When Jake does wet the bed, the Warners don't make a big fuss about it and neither do his sisters. "We'll talk more about changing the bed than the actual wetting," Mary Warner says. The Warners assure Jake that he is OK and help him clean up, and explain the situation to his sisters. "They realize Jake has no control over his bedwetting," Mary Warner says. "Our son has so many other things to worry about, like fitting in at school and trying to speak in a way that others understand, that we try to keep his home life as stress free as possible." Jake's sisters simply accept that Jake has special needs. "They don't think he's very unusual at all," Mary Warner says.

Hayes advises parents to discuss the issue with the siblings of an incontinent child privately in an informal, yet honest, way. Explain to the siblings that this is something their brother or sister cannot control. "Siblings can be given suggestions as to how to be sensitive to the problem and how they can support their sibling," Hayes says. Try some role-playing and ask the non-bedwetter to pretend he woke up wet. How would he feel? How would he like to be treated? Although siblings will inevitably tease each other, it shouldn't be tolerated where bedwetting is concerned. Instead, focus on support and understanding, not disapproval of the child.

Ways to Help on Wet Mornings
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