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This post is sponsored by GoodNites.
Having a child who wets the bed is not. Even when it seems like you finally have it figured out, it is common for nighttime wetting to prove you otherwise.
This doesn’t mean you have failed as a parent.
Take a deep breath, and know that so many families have been there! It’s okay and it won’t last forever, and I’ve got some tips to help you and your family find solutions to get through it easier.
Dr. Heather Wittenberg is a child psychologist who focuses on child development. She is a nighttime wetting expert but she’s also a mom of 4, so she understands that parents experiencing this can feel confused, isolated and frustrated. That’s why I’m excited to share her tips for dealing with this (and some of my own, too), in addition to what I found most helpful as a parent going through this myself.
5 Nighttime Wetting Tips from an Expert
Find the right Nighttime Solution for Bedwetting
For children who stay dry during the day but have trouble staying dry at night, Dr. Wittenberg recommends using GoodNites NightTime Underwear to help support your child through it. GoodNites are disposable nighttime pants that can help keep children confident and comfortable at night. My son wears the L/XL size which is 40% more absorbent*, so I know that even if he does have an accident, they’re designed to protect him all night long.
Establish a Nighttime Routine
Keeping a routine helps your children know what to expect and helps them feel more comfortable and relaxed at bedtime. Let them take the lead with their routine, but be there to show them support.
Stop at the bathroom and allow them to dress themselves for bed in their GoodNites and pjs and brush their teeth before they head to bed. Then follow up with a bedtime story or another similar activity to help them relax and know that it is time to rest.
Making GoodNites a part of our bedtime routine has helped my son realize that nighttime wetting is no big deal — it’s just part of our life right now, but it won’t always be.
Support Them Through It
If your child is aware and embarrassed by their nighttime wetting, this can become a huge part of their emotional development. They probably do not recognize it as such right now, but children need the support of their parents through times such as this.
The second time my son wet the bed, he was so frustrated. He came to me crying, “Mom, it happened AGAIN.” I think he was scared that I would be upset with him. I quickly assured him that everything was ok, and soon, he was back in his bed with no more worries.
Be sure to open the lines of communication and express how much you support them.
Let Them Be Kids
Just because your child is wetting the bed at night does not mean that they shouldn’t experience things like sleepovers or overnight trips. Dr. Wittenberg specifically noted that these types of activities are important for building a child’s independence and self-esteem.
Using GoodNites bedtime pants can help instill confidence in your children by keeping their pjs and sheets dry all through the night. If your children are more confident about staying dry at night they will feel better about branching out and experiencing events like sleepovers.
For us, the first sleepover was a HUGE deal with my son. He was so scared that he would have an accident! But I knew that with GoodNites, he would stay dry all night long and because they’re discreet and easy for him to put on himself, no one even had to know about it. And he had so much fun! I’m so relieved that nighttime wetting doesn’t prevent my son from these types of experiences that every kid deserves.
For the Parents…Relax
As a parent, it is easy to feel guilty or to blame yourself for nighttime wetting troubles but remind yourself that every child has a different story. Which means every child develops at a different pace than others and that is totally okay.
Advice from a Mom Who Has Been There
I want to emphasize the last tip…relax! I worried a lot about this the first time I went through it and learned that I spent all that worry-effort unnecessarily! My worries included if my kid was too old for this, if his life was too stressful, and if I wasn’t being a good-enough parent. After about a year, the nighttime wetting stopped and it occurred to me that it wasn’t because of anything that I HAD or HADN’T done. Each kid’s timeline has been completely different and that is OK.
*vs. leading 4T-5T training pants
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