My child pees in bed: how can I fix it?
Bedwetting is a problem that all parents have to face sooner or later. Even if it is taken for granted, one of the very first things to do is not to panic: avoiding feeling guilty and making the child feel guilty will only make the situation worse. Read our tips for getting prepared and preventing episodes from becoming frequent, but first here's a themed video: parents and guilt.
Pissing in bed: what the statistic says
From the age of 3, the child may urinate in bed, especially if you are in the diaper removal stage. However, your child may continue to have episodes of bed wetting until age 15. It is rare and only happens to 2% of children. The disorder is also known as bedwetting. This constant worry does not benefit either parents or children, let's see what can be done.
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Why is my child peeing in bed?
A distinction is made between primary bedwetting, in a child who has never had episodes before, and secondary bedwetting that affects children who have had episodes of bedwetting in the past.
There are several possible causes for nocturnal bladder weakness.
- One of the first causes is to be found in the parents: if both wetted the bed as children, it will be very likely that this will also happen for their children.
- Bedwetting does not necessarily have a psychological origin, as is often thought. It can also be caused by a decrease in nocturnal secretion of antidiuretic hormone, which normally prevents nocturnal urine production.
- Babies' nervous systems may not be mature enough to control bladder contractions, especially at night, in which case patience will be the only remedy!
- Some anxious children are afraid of getting up alone and in the dark and still prefer to pee in bed. They may even dream of going to the bathroom (it happened to all of us!).
- Finally, some suffer from sleep so deep that they are not awakened by the urge to urinate ... and they pee in bed.
How to deal with the problem of bedwetting: our tips
Faced with enuresis, every parent looks for the right attitude to adopt. Should the accident be trivialized or, on the contrary, should the child be reprimanded? Or wouldn't it be better for him to get involved and then participate in cleaning the sheets? Parents are all different and so are their reactions!
Just keep in mind that bedwetting is totally unconscious on the part of the baby. It is not true that he deliberately wets the bed as we sometimes hear.
So, even if it's complicated, let's avoid focusing on this (transient) problem. Everyone has to do their part to make the situation as painless as possible. You can ask the child to put on the sheets and pajamas with the dirty laundry so that they are washed and ready for the next night.
Pee in bed: when to worry?
After the age of 6 it is not unusual for a child to wet the bed and it is important to remain calm and patient. On a medical level, a child who has only a few sporadic episodes of bedwetting is of no concern.
In the case of a child who has not been bedwetting for a long time or a child who leaks urine during the day, a pediatric consultation is needed to identify a possible medical problem.
From the age of 11 onwards, treatment is necessary and psychotherapeutic care is sometimes very essential. Thus, as they age, most of these children avoid going to sleep outside the home. This can also become a problem when going to the hospital. summer camp.
The best solutions for bedwetting
The most important thing is certainly being able to involve your child without humiliating him. Let him know that there is nothing in there, but have him participate in the management of his bedwetting without making it seem like a punishment. To help your child overcome the problem of bedwetting, here are some simple tips to follow.
The evening
- After snack time, ask him to drink less ... but don't deprive him of drinking completely, it is useless and harmful to his health!
- Avoid extremely liquid foods (such as soup) for dinner.
- Remind your child to go to the bathroom just before going to bed and create a healthy ritual.
In the morning
- Is the bed dry in the morning? Value your child, congratulate him. Remember how ecstatic you were at her first pee in the potty and how bright she was then ... go on!
- In the event of an "accident", involve your child by asking him to help you change the sheets and make a clean bed.
- Create a small "bedwetting" calendar with him: the night was dry, draw a sun in the corresponding day box, the night was wet, a rain cloud ... What a joy to see, as the weeks go by and of the months, the calendar will fill up with many more suns and less and less rain! This allows him to see that his efforts are paying off and soon, bed-wetting at night will be just a thing of the past.
And to make your life easier, and to anticipate nighttime losses, do this:
- Leave a light on if the baby needs to get up on his own
- Use a waterproof mattress protector
- Have a change pajamas ready
- Leave a towel next to the bed
Here are some useful products to deal with the bed-wetting emergency: mattress-saving sheets and a practical device that controls the humidity of the sheet. At the first drop of pee, the mother is warned with an alarm clock / alarm and can intervene by taking the baby to the toilet.
- Salvaletto towel on Amazon for € 8.19
- Pampers crossbar for cot - on Amazon for € 12.90
- Device to avoid bedwetting - on Amazon at 119.19 €
Bedwetting FAQs
Do I have to wake up my child to pee during the night?
No, this would be useless and, in the long run, this kind of habit ends up interfering with the baby's sleep.
I take my son to the doctor to fix the problem. What will happen?
To make a diagnosis, the doctor will ask the parents and the child to fill out a questionnaire. This can be complemented by examinations: urinalysis, ultrasound ...
What other methods are there to keep the bed from getting wet?
Your doctor may prescribe specific medications to remedy the problem. There are also protectors: special diapers for "big babies". Finally, bed moisture alarms are available on the market. These are panties or a plate to put under the sheet and equipped with moisture detectors connected to an alarm. At the first drop of bedwetting, the alarm goes off, the baby is awakened and can go to the bathroom. This method can be absolutely effective!
