How to Prevent Bed-Wetting

Parents may feel relieved after toilet training a child: finally, no more diaper changes! In reality, toddlers and young children may have mastered daytime bladder control but still struggle to stay dry at night. Though this difficulty can be embarrassing and uncomfortable for school-age children, it is a common problem. While most bed-wetting issues eventually resolve themselves, there are several things concerned parents can do to help a child who wets the bed.

Instructions

    • 1

      Encourage your child to use the bathroom before bedtime. Tired children may sometimes head straight to bed, ignoring a bladder that could use emptying. Even if your little one says she doesn't have to go, have her make a habit of trying to use the toilet right before bed.

    • 2

      Rouse your child from sleep within a few hours of her bedtime. Since most bed-wetting occurs within these first few hours, a scheduled wake-up can provide a second opportunity for your little one to use the bathroom, suggests KidsHealth.org.

    • 3

      Change your little one's fluid intake. Some parents may find success by limiting fluids in the last few hours before bedtime or by limiting the intake of drinks containing caffeine, such as soda.

    • 4

      Consider using a bed-wetting alarm. These devices detect wetness and set off an alarm when your child wets the bed. A bed-wetting alarm could eventually train your child to wake up before he has an accident.

    • 5

      Offer rewards, like stickers, when your child manages to have a dry night, and heap on the praise. Congratulating her for a job well done, combined with a little prize your child enjoys, could provide her with the motivation to stay dry.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • How to Treat Bed-Wetting
      Bed-wetting is no fun for parents or children, but it isnt necessarily a sign that anything is wrong with your child. About 15 percent of children wet the bed after the age of 3, according to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
    • Three-Year-Old Wetting the Bed
      Q My three-year-old son lets you know when he is awake, that he has to use the potty. However, at nap time or during the night he never awakens to let myself or my wife know that he has to go. Is this a developmental problem or what can be done? A Th
    • How to Prevent Bed-Wetting
      Parents may feel relieved after toilet training a child: finally, no more diaper changes! In reality, toddlers and young children may have mastered daytime bladder control but still struggle to stay dry at night. Though this difficulty can be embarra