How to Cure a Child's Bed-Wetting

The technical term for bed-wetting is enuresis. A child is diagnosed with enuresis if they are over the age of 5 and they wet the bed at least twice a week. Bed-wetting can be a frustrating time in your family. However, there are many things you can do to help cure your child's bed-wetting problems.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Take your child to his care provider. There may be a medical reason why he's wetting the bed at night. There are also medications available that can help if there are no physical reasons for the bed-wetting. If the problem is new, it may also be related to stressful situations in their lives. Your child may need an evaluation from a mental health physician.
2. Understand that you must never punish your child. While this may be a frustrating situation for you and your child, all experts agree that punishing, scolding or yelling at a child who wets the bed will not help the situation.
3. Learn the physiology of bed-wetting. Due to the size of many children's bladders before the age of 5, it's possible for their bladders to fill up completely during the night. If they don't get up to urinate, their bladders will naturally release.
4. Encourage your child not to drink for a few hours before going to bed. Persuade her to empty her bladder a few times in the hour before bed, when they're reading books, brushing teeth or taking a bath. Consider setting a schedule of bathroom visits before bed.
5. Consider waking your child up once or twice during the night so he learns to get up and empty his bladder.
6. Think about playing music or leaving the light on in her room to keep her out of deep sleep. This works in some children since they wake up enough to feel their body's full bladder signal before they wet the bed. There are bed-alarms that can detect moisture, alerting children they are about to wet the bed.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep plastic 'beneath sheets' and clean pajamas within easy reach so any accidents can be cleaned up quickly.