Save your child from bedwetting
Feb 25, 2007
THE idea of waking up on a wet bed is every child’s nightmare. The pain is aggravated by parents who humiliate or threaten the child for it. While many children learn to keep themselves dry at an early age, some grapple with bedwetting till early teenage or even beyond.
PARENTING
By Jamesa Wagwau
THE idea of waking up on a wet bed is every child’s nightmare. The pain is aggravated by parents who humiliate or threaten the child for it. While many children learn to keep themselves dry at an early age, some grapple with bedwetting till early teenage or even beyond.
The shame and embarrassment it entails makes children treat the soiled bedding discretely while parents seethe in rage.
Bedwetting baffles parents and to many, it remains a force to reckon with in the parenting task. Since many parents are ill-equipped to deal with the problem, they threaten, scold or punish the children.
The case of a nine-year-old boy in Rakai district, whose father tied a brick on his genitals, tied his hands and locked him up in the house, is still fresh in his mind. This reminded me of how my mother threatened many years ago to fasten a live snake round my waist to bite me in case I dared to wet the bed.
Parents are hardly aware that the psychological wounds haunt the child for life. As children are tortured for bedwetting, many ask themselves ‘why me?’ and ‘what caused this?’
Causes of bedwetting:
Night time bedwetting (referred to as enuresis) is normal and common among pre-school aged children. Primary enuresis is a bedwetting problem where the child has never been dry at night, while secondary enuresis is occasional bedwetting among children who keep dry at night. Arnold Samuel in No More Bedwetting: How to Help Your Child Stay Dry, observes that occasional bedwetting is related to stress in a child’s life. Stressful events include hospitalisation, joining school, the birth of a sibling, divorce, parental alcoholism, abuse and neglect. Secondary bedwetting clears up on its own, especially after the child has adjusted to the stressful environment.
Children who consistently wet their beds are the greatest cause for concern. But think twice before blaming the child, because some research links bedwetting to genetic factors. This implies that the child might have inherited some of the genes from you!
Paediatricians (children’s doctors) also believe children who wet their beds have bladders that are not developed enough to hold urine the whole night.
Managing bedwetting:
With the exception of a few cases, almost all children outgrow bedwetting. As children mature, their muscles become stronger and their bladder capacity increases. They also tend to sleep less deeply and become more sensitive to the messages the bladder sends to the brain. Let us share some tips that could help you deal with this problem:
Use of bladder retention training during the day might help increase bladder capacity at night. Help the child to retain urine for increasing periods during the day as a way of training the bladder.
Wake your child periodically throughout the night to empty his or her bladder. Emptying the bladder before going to bed and limiting liquid intake at least two hours before bedtime is advisable.
Bedwetting humiliates your child and any additional punishment or threats will damage the child’s self esteem. This shame makes the child hide wet bedding or cover up the soiled spot. Without proper help, a child might degenerate into self- hatred or such shame could paralyse a child’s relationships later.
Assure your child of your love and acceptance all the time.
Do not make the child feel guilty and ashamed of this problem. Bedwetting is a temporary problem but the child remains yours forever.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032
By Jamesa Wagwau
THE idea of waking up on a wet bed is every child’s nightmare. The pain is aggravated by parents who humiliate or threaten the child for it. While many children learn to keep themselves dry at an early age, some grapple with bedwetting till early teenage or even beyond.
The shame and embarrassment it entails makes children treat the soiled bedding discretely while parents seethe in rage.
Bedwetting baffles parents and to many, it remains a force to reckon with in the parenting task. Since many parents are ill-equipped to deal with the problem, they threaten, scold or punish the children.
The case of a nine-year-old boy in Rakai district, whose father tied a brick on his genitals, tied his hands and locked him up in the house, is still fresh in his mind. This reminded me of how my mother threatened many years ago to fasten a live snake round my waist to bite me in case I dared to wet the bed.
Parents are hardly aware that the psychological wounds haunt the child for life. As children are tortured for bedwetting, many ask themselves ‘why me?’ and ‘what caused this?’
Causes of bedwetting:
Night time bedwetting (referred to as enuresis) is normal and common among pre-school aged children. Primary enuresis is a bedwetting problem where the child has never been dry at night, while secondary enuresis is occasional bedwetting among children who keep dry at night. Arnold Samuel in No More Bedwetting: How to Help Your Child Stay Dry, observes that occasional bedwetting is related to stress in a child’s life. Stressful events include hospitalisation, joining school, the birth of a sibling, divorce, parental alcoholism, abuse and neglect. Secondary bedwetting clears up on its own, especially after the child has adjusted to the stressful environment.
Children who consistently wet their beds are the greatest cause for concern. But think twice before blaming the child, because some research links bedwetting to genetic factors. This implies that the child might have inherited some of the genes from you!
Paediatricians (children’s doctors) also believe children who wet their beds have bladders that are not developed enough to hold urine the whole night.
Managing bedwetting:
With the exception of a few cases, almost all children outgrow bedwetting. As children mature, their muscles become stronger and their bladder capacity increases. They also tend to sleep less deeply and become more sensitive to the messages the bladder sends to the brain. Let us share some tips that could help you deal with this problem:
Assure your child of your love and acceptance all the time.
Do not make the child feel guilty and ashamed of this problem. Bedwetting is a temporary problem but the child remains yours forever.
jwagwau@newvision.co.ug
0772-631032