Helping your child cope with bedwetting
Oct 26, 2008
THE constant washing of beddings and the unpleasant sight of vaguely ‘mapped’ mattresses in the compound often sparks off anger towards a child who bed wets. Some parents and school teachers are too hard on these children, while others even mete out unjustifiable punishments.
By Maureen Nakatudde
THE constant washing of beddings and the unpleasant sight of vaguely ‘mapped’ mattresses in the compound often sparks off anger towards a child who bed wets. Some parents and school teachers are too hard on these children, while others even mete out unjustifiable punishments.
Dr. Reginald Kiyingi of Kawoolo Hospital, however, says bedwetting is normal in children from birth up to five years. Sometimes for boys it takes longer periods like up to six years because their nerves take longer to develop.
“During this time in children there is poor coordination of the nerves†says Dr. Herbert Muhumuza, a pediatrician in Mulago Hospital. He adds that they are not yet well developed, cannot control reflexes and therefore end up urinating. Muhumuza says 90% of the children are supposed to have out grown it by the age of three.
Experts say a child has a 77% chance of being a bed wetter if both his parents were bed wetters, a 43% chance if only one parents wet the bed, and only a 15% chance if neither parent suffered from bedwetting as a child.
Other causes of bedwetting
According to Dr. Muhumuza, bedwetting can be sparkled off by a child’s hallucinations, diabetes, Urinary Tract Infections, damage of the nerves in the back, weakened sphincter muscles, stress in children and behavioral problems. But it can also be hereditary.
Effects of bed wetting
According to Medi-Resource Clinical Team, the most common complication of is the impact on self-esteem and the emotional distress it causes to children. Many children who wet the bed may fear to spend a night at a friend's or a relative’s house, for fear of getting embarrassed.
Prevention
According to Norah Kaitesi, a pediatrician in Kampala, parents should not beat a child who has urinated on the bed. “Tell the child it is normal and that he or she will outgrow it.†Assuring children that the occurrences are accidental is the key to managing the psychological effects.
Parents should train children to wake up and urinate. They should also make sure that a child urinates before he or she goes to sleep. At times little or no drinks should be given to children when they are going to sleep, this will help them not to urinate.
Kaitesi says children should be given vitamin B12 and B6 and a lot of greens to help them in their development
When to see a doctor
According to experts, since many children under the age of six still wet the bed, any of the following signs should signal the need to consult a doctor:
A child over the age of five or six who still wets the bed.
A child who is wetting during the day after the age of four.
A child who starts bedwetting at night after having stopped for six months.
And symptoms such as urinating frequently or pain while urinating.
Parents, guardians and teachers should help children to outgrow the habit in a safe and positive way. Insults or punishing them will only destroy their self-image and also prolong the habit.
THE constant washing of beddings and the unpleasant sight of vaguely ‘mapped’ mattresses in the compound often sparks off anger towards a child who bed wets. Some parents and school teachers are too hard on these children, while others even mete out unjustifiable punishments.
Dr. Reginald Kiyingi of Kawoolo Hospital, however, says bedwetting is normal in children from birth up to five years. Sometimes for boys it takes longer periods like up to six years because their nerves take longer to develop.
“During this time in children there is poor coordination of the nerves†says Dr. Herbert Muhumuza, a pediatrician in Mulago Hospital. He adds that they are not yet well developed, cannot control reflexes and therefore end up urinating. Muhumuza says 90% of the children are supposed to have out grown it by the age of three.
Experts say a child has a 77% chance of being a bed wetter if both his parents were bed wetters, a 43% chance if only one parents wet the bed, and only a 15% chance if neither parent suffered from bedwetting as a child.
Other causes of bedwetting
According to Dr. Muhumuza, bedwetting can be sparkled off by a child’s hallucinations, diabetes, Urinary Tract Infections, damage of the nerves in the back, weakened sphincter muscles, stress in children and behavioral problems. But it can also be hereditary.
Effects of bed wetting
According to Medi-Resource Clinical Team, the most common complication of is the impact on self-esteem and the emotional distress it causes to children. Many children who wet the bed may fear to spend a night at a friend's or a relative’s house, for fear of getting embarrassed.
Prevention
According to Norah Kaitesi, a pediatrician in Kampala, parents should not beat a child who has urinated on the bed. “Tell the child it is normal and that he or she will outgrow it.†Assuring children that the occurrences are accidental is the key to managing the psychological effects.
Parents should train children to wake up and urinate. They should also make sure that a child urinates before he or she goes to sleep. At times little or no drinks should be given to children when they are going to sleep, this will help them not to urinate.
Kaitesi says children should be given vitamin B12 and B6 and a lot of greens to help them in their development
When to see a doctor
According to experts, since many children under the age of six still wet the bed, any of the following signs should signal the need to consult a doctor:
Parents, guardians and teachers should help children to outgrow the habit in a safe and positive way. Insults or punishing them will only destroy their self-image and also prolong the habit.