Helping Your Child in Stopping Bed-Wetting

Approximately 10% of children are still wetting their bed after 5 years of and this disorder can have important psychological implications. Moreover, its origin is sometimes in the head, although not the majority of cases and treatment often requires consultation with a psychiatrist. Here we are going to take a look at the relationship between enuresis and the toddler's psychology.

Does you child still have accidents at night? Are we talking about enuresis, the famous pee at night? Schematically, we can identify the different stages of this disorder.

From a year and a half a baby will know that he has peed in his bed. Between one and a half and two and a half years he will know how to keep himself dry during the day and at around three to four years he will do this even at night.

Normally, all children of 5 to 6 years will have learnt well how to keep themselves dry all nights but there is a 10% of toddlers who still have difficulty in doing this.

Psychological causes

Bedwetting after this age can make us suspect of psychological causes especially after a child has kept himself dry during the night for several months and then begins to pee again in bed.

This is referred to secondary enuresis and often caused by anxiety or stress just like facing a new situation for example the birth of a baby brother or sister, moving, a change in class or a parental separation. This type of enuresis can be found in only 20% of the cases. The remaining 80% are so-called primary enuresis where the child is never able to keep himself dry all night. In this case, there will surely be a physiological problem; a hormonal problem or the bladder is too small.

Psychological consequences

Although bed-wetting does not necessarily come from psychological causes, it still has a significant psychological impact. Most children feel shame and lose self-confidence but that often hampers the child's social life. A study shows the affects it can have on these children:

* 42% refuse to go to sleep at a friend;
* 38% do not want to go to retreats;
* 11% do not want to leave their homes at all!

The impact on the children is very important. It will cause anxiety, sleep disturbances and even irritability.

Psychological solutions

In case of enuresis, it is obviously important to consult a doctor, who can identify the problematic situation at the origin of the disorder. Above all, we must not dramatize the situation with the child, but we should make him understand that he is not alone and that this problem is transitory and treatable. Then you have to eliminate a simple environmental cause by seeing that the toddler goes to the toilet before going to bed, no taking a drink exactly before going to bed etc. Establishing good habits is often effective. You should make him drink more during the day and less at night, establishing a ritual of going to pee just before going to bed, leaving a small light on the way to the toilet and making sure that you do not punish him once he wets his bed.

If this disorder does not disappear or minimise after a few weeks you should consider it as a greater problem. In case of secondary enuresis, advice will be needed. You have to identify the source of anxiety for the child. The best solution is for the parents to try to bridge gaps or solve the family problem that worries the child.

If it is a physiological disorder (primary enuresis in particular), consider other solutions to solve the problem. This is done for example by using the famous Stop-pee alarm, an alarm that wakes the child when he begins to urinate in the bed.

Sources:

http://www.childdevelopmentinfo.com/disorders/bedwetting.shtml