Does your child wet bed in sleep? Know how you can cope with this.

Children who wet the bed are often ridiculed. Many times night-time bedwetting continue in children even after the age of five years, posing a problem for the child as well as his parents. In such children, the ability to hold urine is diminished or under-developed, and this could be due to a variety of reasons.

Parents usually take cold, cough, and fever in their children very seriously but not bedwetting, which is also a very critical problem. Close to 15 percent under-five children in Mumbai suffer from this problem. If the problem persists even when they have crossed the 5-year age bar, expert guidance is a must.

Many studies are underway to understanding why children wet the bed. In many children, the ability to control their bladder is limited. This could be due to hormonal imbalances, particularly related with the Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH). The treatment to bedwetting primarily involves identifying the cause of bedwetting and advising medication for it along with suggesting lifestyle modifications for the child. Many studies are also in progress in trying to establish a link between social media and virtual networking to bedwetting; while, some have tried to establish a connection between violence and bedwetting.

However, a few lifestyle changes for the child can help him a great deal to stop wetting the bed. What follows are a few tips – 

• You should never scold your child if he wets the bed. This is a problem he has no voluntary control of and hence, he should not be chided for it.
• The days when he does not wet the bed, appreciate it. Make him feel your support.
• Make sure that your child urinates just before he goes to the bed.
• At least two hours before going to the bed, your kid must be given hot beverages like warm milk.
• You must never give beverages like tea, coffee or cola to your kid before going to the bed.
• Children wet the bed because their sleep remains unhindered by the urge and they cannot wake up in the middle of the night to pee. In such cases, you can set an alarm and wake him up to pee.
• Bedwetting can be a problem in air-conditioned rooms during summer. Make sure that your kid does not feel too cold during the night.
• If your child wets the bed at least two to three times in a week, it is really paramount that you take the advice of a doctor as his frequency of bedwetting is on the higher side.