Bed wetting is a situation that most parents go through with their children. According to studies, ten percent of children over five years old wet their beds at night and this is more common among boys. There are many different causes for children to wet their beds, and one of them is stress. Starting school, new siblings or family problems can trigger bed wetting episodes. Physical factors may also play are role such as a bladder infection or diabetes.
If your child wets his or her bed here are some things you can do to help remedy the situation.
· Control your child’s fluid intake at night. Make sure that majority of the fluids that he drinks is done during the daytime. At dinnertime, make sure that his water intake is controlled. If possible just make him sip some water when he is thirsty.
· Instead of serving food that has a high water content for dinner try to serve whole grain foods instead. Don’t serve food like cucumbers, fruits or salads at night because these contain high amounts of water. The excess water may make him urinate at night.
· He shouldn’t be taking anyway but if your child does don’t make him drink caffeinated drinks. Caffeine has a diuretic effect and will actually stimulate the bladder to urinate more. Food items that contain caffeine include iced tea, tea, soda and even chocolate.
· You should teach your child how to control his bladder. Do this during the day. You can help him strengthen his bladder muscles by asking him to hold his pee for about a minute when he feels like he needs to urinate. But don’t ask your child to hold his pee for a long time because this can lead to an infection in his urinary tract.
· Urge your child to urinate before bedtime. Ask him to go to the bathroom before he sleeps and urge him to pee. Even if he doesn’t feel the urge to urinate, ask him to empty his bladder.
· You should take this time to also talk with your child. Talk to him and ask him about his day. You may be able to identify situations that he finds stressful. This is particularly useful if your just suddenly wets his bed after a long period of having dry bed. This can be a sign of stress. Make your child feel loved and appreciated especially when there is a big change in the home environment.
· Praise him for nights when he does not wet his bed. It will reassure him and also build his self-confidence.
· If your child complains of pain whenever he urinates bring him to a doctor. His bed wetting may be a sign of infection.
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