This is a guest post by working mom Ruth Mendez.
Whether kids like it or not, there are times they will wet their beds. It’s normal.
Bedwetting During Potty Training
Bedwetting during sleep is normal for kids. Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis, arises from causes that kids have no control of. As much as children want to prevent wetting the bed while asleep, one of the primary causes for bedwetting is deep sleep. Children also tend to have a small bladder, and a nervous system still under development. This means communication between the bladder and the brain maybe delayed. Urine is released even before the brain knows the bladder is filled.
Less anxious kids tend to wet the bed less frequently. A good way to make kids feel safer and more comfortable is by getting them a kids’ canopy bed.
Bedwetting in Older Kids
Other possible reasons for bedwetting are insufficient ADH hormones (or the brain chemical responsible in slowing-down our kidneys at night) and a stressful environment. Interestingly, some kids with siblings start bedwetting after their brother or sister is born. This may be attributed to anxiety and excitement that elder kids experience with their newborn sibling.
If bedwetting is normal, then why do some parents get angry with kids?
How to Get Through This Season
Editor’s note: No one wants to be wakened from their sleep with a wet child and a wet bed. It’s a pain to have to get up and change the sheets, but remember it’s just a season.
Scolding kids who wet their beds may even worsen the situation. Since anxiety is one factor in bedwetting, getting mad at them will only aggravate this feeling. Focusing on a flaw they can’t fix might even result in lower self-esteem.
The best way to deal with bedwetting is not letting them know you’re bothered. Yes, having to dry the mattress can be frustrating, but I don’t want bedwetting to be a big deal in our home.
Three Tips to Prevent Bedwetting Accidents
There are several things you can do to lessen “slippery” incidents:
- Limit liquids. Prevent your kids from drinking liquids an hour or two before bed. This will give ample time for their body to secrete all the urine it can before your children fall asleep.
- Potty before bed. Teach your children the habit of going to the bathroom before bed. Even adults do this, so why not start young? You might also want to make this part of their night time routine along with brushing their teeth.
- Set an alarm. If neither of these helps, you might want to set an alarm in the middle of the night to wake your child to go potty. This may be a little extreme, but it’s nothing compared to changing sheets and drying the mattress every single time.
It’s best to talk to your kids and explain that while this is unpleasant, it is normal. Since we don’t want children growing up thinking it’s fine to wet the bed, we should encourage them to practice good habits until their muscles and maturity ensure it won’t happen again.
Looking for Resources to Help Make Potty Training Easier?
Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness*
*affiliate links
What tips do you have for getting through nights during potty training?
About the Author: Ruth Mendez is a working mom with lovely twins. She and her family enjoy yoga during weekends, aside from going to the movies and eating ice cream at home. Ruth loves Dubai and works as a Community Manager for Afterschool.ae, the leading after school activity planning platform for kids and moms in UAE.
This is awesome! Thanks for the opportunity Raki. 🙂
Great article, limiting liquids and potty before bed help a lot. Chiropractors do wonders also. They adjust the spine so that all the nerves are relaxed and the organs (including the bladder) function optimally. A bedwetting alarm also helps. It basically “trains” the brain to wake up before urination occurs. Hope this helps!
Many years ago, my 13 year old son had a temporary bed wetting issue. I know that this sounds kind of old for bed wetting, but he was bedridden at the time with a bad ankle injury from playing basketball at his school. My poor son was in a lot of pain, and our doctor prescribed a mild pain pill for me to give him, and told him to drink lots of water everyday, which he did. A nurse at the doctor’s office recommended that I put a plastic mattress cover under my son’s bed sheets, in case of any wetting accidents. Once we got home from the doctor’s office, I put the plastic mattress cover, and other protective plastic, on my son’s bed. I then helped him get undressed, down to just his undershorts, and helped him get settled into his bed. I kept going in, and out of his bedroom, constantly checking on him, and making sure he was drinking plenty of water, like our doctor recommended. I remember that the weather was rather hot at this time, and once when I checked on my son, he had kicked off his bed covers. He appeared to be warm, and complained that his ankle was hurting. So, I gave him one of the prescribed pain pills, and soon he seemed to be getting sleepy. When I checked back on him a little bit later, I was surprised to see that he had removed his undershorts, and was laying naked on top of his bed sheets sound asleep. I guess as a mother, I was a little worried about him, so I called the doctor’s office, and spoke to the nurse there. She reassured me that everything seemed to be okay, and that the pain pills prescribed normally make kids sleepy. Talking on the telephone to the nurse made me feel a little better, so then I went back into my son’s room, sat on the edge of his bed, and held his hand while he slept. While sitting there, I noticed a bottle of baby oil that I had put on my son’s nightstand. So, while my son slept, I started rubbing his body down with baby oil. When I started carefully rubbing baby oil onto his tummy, that’s when my son started peeing. His little pee stream shot straight up into the air, and sprayed onto his bed sheets. It all happened so fast, and I had no towel, or anything for my son to pee into. All I could really do was just watch, and when my son finished peeing, he appeared to still be asleep, and his bed sheets were soaked. Luckily, I had put plenty of protective plastic down beforehand. Once my son was awake, I cleaned him up, and his bed, and had him wear a cloth diaper, attached with safety pins, whenever he decided to sleep. Otherwise, he stayed naked in his bed, and for the most part stayed dry. There were a few other mornings when I went into his room to check on him, and he had removed his cloth diaper, and was in the process of peeing in his bed. I guess he had to go real bad, and said that he couldn’t hold it any longer. As his mother, I felt sorry for him, as he really couldn’t walk at this time. He always seem so embarrassed, and ashamed about his situation. I could have gotten very angry with his pee accidents, but instead I tried to be very patient, loving, and understanding. I kept telling him that there was nothing to be embarrassed about, as I had seen him naked since he was a baby. I spent a lot of time sitting on the edge of his bed talking to him, and hugging him. Once when I was sitting on the edge of his bed hugging him, he peed all over my nightie. He told me that he felt real bad about peeing on me, but said that once he started peeing, he couldn’t stop. I guess I know how that is, because at times I have had a few bed wetting issues as an adult. I would wake up right in the middle of going, and I couldn’t stop. My bed has seen a few wetting accidents over time. While my son was still bedridden, a girlfriend of mine, who does massage therapy, contacted me about coming to my house, and giving my son a massage. She had heard about my son’s injury, and I had read about how helpful massage therapy can be for most injuries. My friend came over early the next morning, and I hadn’t told my son about this, as I wanted it to be a surprise. My friend, and I went into my son’s bedroom, and my son was just laying there in his cloth diaper sound asleep. I just automatically sat on the edge of my son’s bed, and checked his diaper to see if it was wet. This must be a “mother-thing”. My son’s diaper was a little damp, and I automatically started removing the safety pins, and his damp diaper. When I about had my son’s diaper off, I suddenly remembered that my friend was there, and hesitated. My friend reassured me that it was okay to remove my son’s diaper. She asked that I stay in the room during the massage, and told me that most of her clients, whether children or adults, are naked during the massage. My son just laid there naked on his back, and asleep. My girlfriend skillfully massaged most of my son’s body, and I think that my son slept through most of that massage. When she was working on his lower legs, and feet, he started to wake up by stretching his arms, and legs at the same time. While he was stretching, his little penis became noticeably erect, and peed a river into his bed. My friend just looked at me and said, “This is normal for boys.” She and I cleaned up the pee mess, and she finished her massage. I felt a little embarrassed, but my friend assured me that peeing happens all the time, especially with boys. Once my son’s ankle healed, and he was no longer bedridden, the bed wetting ended. I suppose bed wetting can happen to anyone, no matter what age, especially if there is an injury involved. This was just a little side-step for my son, but I was very patient with him, and we got through this bed wetting time.