Tips on Dealing With Male Juvenile Bed Wetting

A frustrating condition for you and your son, bedwetting affects 10 percent of 6-year-olds and 3 percent of 12-year-olds, according to HealthyChildren.org. And before the age of 13, boys are twice as likely as girls to wet the bed. To stay dry through the night, your son's brain needs to alert him while he's sleeping. It's a complex process, which is why it's such a common problem. A calm, supportive, low-key approach is best, according to HealthyChildren.org. However, if your son recently began regularly wetting the bed after years of staying dry through the night, you should seek medical advice, as this could be the sign of a more serious medical condition or emotional upset.

  1. Keep It Low-Key

    • Wetting the bed isn't something your son is doing willfully or out of laziness, which is why you shouldn't punish, yell or threaten to put him in diapers. Remain calm and ask your son to assist you in changing the sheets. This isn't punishment, but it allows him to participate in a necessary part of the process, according to KidsHealth.org. Praise him when stays dry through the night, but in general it's best to treat nighttime accidents with the same matter-of-fact attitude with which you handled toilet training.

    Prevention Advice

    • Encourage your son to drink fluids throughout the day and less fluid after dinner, according to KidsHealth.org. While you should never prevent a thirsty child from drinking, drinking plenty of water earlier in the day can reduce thirst at bedtime. Eliminate caffeinated beverages, as these increase urination. Encourage your son to use the toilet one final time before he gets into bed so he starts the night with an empty bladder.

    Protection Advice

    • A mattress that absorbs urine night after night omits a foul odor, which can be a source of embarrassment to your son. If he's younger than 6 and is accustomed to wearing disposable training pants, continue with those. If he's older or refuses to wear training pants, secure his mattress and pillows with zip-up plastic coverings. Wipe down the plastic with a basic household cleanser to remove the urine odor and let the surface dry before putting on new sheets.

    Drying Up

    • If your son expresses concern or embarrassment about wetting the bed, it may be time to adopt a more proactive approach. A bedwetting alarm sits under your child's sheets and goes off at the first sign of moisture, waking your son and prompting him to relieve the rest of his bladder in the bathroom. After a few weeks of waking in the night, your son's brain will learn to wake him up before he wets the bed, according to HealthyChildren.org. Other parents find sticker or incentive charts helpful in motivating behavior change, though according to HealthyChildren.org, the bedwetting alarm is the most effective solution.

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