PARENT’S CORNER: Bed-wetting a sign of stress
Does your child have a bed-wetting problem? Do you react by getting angry?
By Grace Canada
Does your child have a bed-wetting problem? Do you react by getting angry? If you do, it’s perfectly understandable. However, such a reaction is counter productive and can only make matters worse.
Let us first look at the nature of the problem. Understanding some of the reasons behind bed-wetting might help you to handle the problem effectively.
It is not unusual for a child to wet his bed. Now and then, such accidents do happen, and should not be taken seriously. True bed-wetting (enuresis), is when a five-year-old child, or older bed-wets at least twice a month.
In true bed-wetting, the wetting is done unconsciously. A child may urinate during the first third of the night, and remember nothing of the occurrence.
Bed-wetting is divided into two categories, primary enuresis and secondary enuresis. Primary enuresis is a term used to describe a situation whereby a child has never been totally dry for a year. Secondary enuresis means a child has started bed-wetting after having been dry for at least one year.
Bed-wetting is more common in boys than girls. In 1% of the cases, bed-wetting continues into adulthood but usually most children stop bed-wetting by the time they are teenagers.
Some causes of bed-wetting include:
Emotional problems. For example, a child may start bed-wetting as a reaction to a stressful change in his or her environment, like, birth of a new sibling, divorce, death of a parent or a close member of the family, separation and first week of school.
Urinary tract infection (UTI), undetected diabetes, or seizure disorders may cause bed-wetting.
Considerations:
A child who bed-wets is usually unhappy about it, and is likely to suffer from low self-esteem. Taking this into consideration, although having to deal with your child’s bed-wetting can be exasperating, your getting angry can make a bad problem worse.
Recommendations:
l Avoid the temptation to punish, threaten, or ridicule your child. Instead, enlist co-operation from the child.
Use behaviour modification techniques, for example, reward the child with something he or she likes for every dry night.
Limit fluids before bedtime or get a child up to use the toilets.
Have your child examined for diabetes, seizure disorders and UTI. If necessary, talk with your doctor about a drug called imipramine. Last but not least, express support rather than anger. This will save the child’s self-esteem which in turn could motivate him or her to co-operate. Ends
Does your child have a bed-wetting problem? Do you react by getting angry? If you do, it’s perfectly understandable. However, such a reaction is counter productive and can only make matters worse.
Let us first look at the nature of the problem. Understanding some of the reasons behind bed-wetting might help you to handle the problem effectively.
It is not unusual for a child to wet his bed. Now and then, such accidents do happen, and should not be taken seriously. True bed-wetting (enuresis), is when a five-year-old child, or older bed-wets at least twice a month.
In true bed-wetting, the wetting is done unconsciously. A child may urinate during the first third of the night, and remember nothing of the occurrence.
Bed-wetting is divided into two categories, primary enuresis and secondary enuresis. Primary enuresis is a term used to describe a situation whereby a child has never been totally dry for a year. Secondary enuresis means a child has started bed-wetting after having been dry for at least one year.
Bed-wetting is more common in boys than girls. In 1% of the cases, bed-wetting continues into adulthood but usually most children stop bed-wetting by the time they are teenagers.
Some causes of bed-wetting include:
Emotional problems. For example, a child may start bed-wetting as a reaction to a stressful change in his or her environment, like, birth of a new sibling, divorce, death of a parent or a close member of the family, separation and first week of school.
Urinary tract infection (UTI), undetected diabetes, or seizure disorders may cause bed-wetting.
Considerations:
A child who bed-wets is usually unhappy about it, and is likely to suffer from low self-esteem. Taking this into consideration, although having to deal with your child’s bed-wetting can be exasperating, your getting angry can make a bad problem worse.
Recommendations:
l Avoid the temptation to punish, threaten, or ridicule your child. Instead, enlist co-operation from the child.
Use behaviour modification techniques, for example, reward the child with something he or she likes for every dry night.
Limit fluids before bedtime or get a child up to use the toilets.
Have your child examined for diabetes, seizure disorders and UTI. If necessary, talk with your doctor about a drug called imipramine. Last but not least, express support rather than anger. This will save the child’s self-esteem which in turn could motivate him or her to co-operate. Ends