For young children who are learning to control their bladders, and mastering using the toilet in the middle of the night, bed wetting, (enuresis) can be part of normal childhood development. For older children, bed wetting can be a response to a stressful life-changing event, as well as indicating an underlying medical problem, or the side effects of medication.
Allow children to develop at their own pace, especially with regards to giving up their night time diaper. Research shows that children who are potty/toilet trained when they are ready, are less likely to wet their beds. Children do not have to be potty/toilet trained when they are two-years-old unless they show an interest in using the potty or toilet.
Research also shows that pressure during toilet training especially from the mother can lead to obsessive-compulsive behaviours later on in life, such as repeated hand washing and obsessions with cleanliness.
Bed wetting is not something your child can control or that he does on purpose, so punishing and shaming him will only make things worse and have a negative impact on his self- esteem. Chat to your child and reassure him in a matter of fact way, that he has nothing to be embarrassed about, and that you will help him to deal with the bed wetting.
Here are some tips:
Ensure that he no longer requires a bottle at night time, before you remove his diaper.
Take him to the toilet just before bed and teach him how to ‘squeeze wee,’ or empty his bladder.
Take him to the toilet in his sleep at about 10 pm, or before you go to bed. This may help with bed wetting. However, for some children who sleep heavily, it may not make a difference as to whether they wet their bed or not.
