What Not to Do If Your Child is a Bedwetter

Bedwetting is one of the most humiliatimg things a child can go through. I wet the bed till I was 12 years old. I can tell you from my own experience, that punishment does not cure it, and can leave a wound that never heals. As I got past the acceptable age that a child should no longer wet the bed, my dad went to extremes to try to get me to stop. None of which worked, all were humiliating, and all contributed to a low self esteem and gave me a sense that I was a failure.

Sometimes I was left to lay in it all night and not have my sheets changed for weeks, or restricted having drinks till soon I was drinking almost nothing everyday. All that accomplished was a stronger smell of urine. There were times I was made to hang my wet sheets out of my bedroom windows. I was beaten more times than I can count, but that happened alot for no reason anyway. I was the oldest of seven and the more they were able to train themselves at night, the worse it was for me. The most humiliating punishment happened when I was 10. We lived in Chicago and had six blocks to walk to school. I had wet the bed the night before, and it was a cold winter day. When I was ready to go to school, My dad pinned a sign to the back of my coat. MY NAME IS DONNA, I AM 10 YEARS OLD AND I WET THE BED. He followed me to school to make sure it wasn't removed. It is something I will never forget, and I continued to wet the bed till I was 12 so other than leaving psychological scars, it was not effective. Nothing was.

Bedwetting also kept me from having friends. I was six when I went to my first and only sleepover. I tried to stay awake all night so I would not have an acccident. Of course at six I ended up falling asleep and not only wet myself, but also the girl whose bed I was sleeping in. I never spent the night away from home again. I don't know if was on purpose, or if it was a matter of poor hygiene in my family, but I was never encouraged to wash or shower when I got up in the morning. I can sometimes smell the odor I had when I went to school then.

Bedwetters do not wet the bed on purpose. There is either a psychological or physiological reason why I child does it. Care enough to find out why your child wets the bed. Let them know that these things happen. Take them to the Dr to find out if there is something that can be done. Now there are new medications, and even nasal sprays that can help a child control it. If your child is invited to a sleepover, there are now disposable absorbent underpants for all ages that can be worn discreetly.

To this day have a problem with my bladder. Thankfully I no longer wet the bed, But there are times I have come close. If your child is a bedwetter, please Love your child and help them through this. Growing up in these times are hard enough.