Bringing up children is not a lazy afternoon walk in the park. Consider adding an obstacle course with man-eating crocodiles to your stroll, that is how colorfully exciting being a parent is. From the day we bring our beautiful bouncing babies home we are worried about their sleeping schedules, are they getting enough milk etc etc.

Then as they blossom into delightful toddlers we are faced with a new set of problems, from tantrums to picky eating to stranger anxiety we are dealt with a different obstacle course at each development stage. Now having four children at home you can say I have experienced many troublesome parenting challenges and with each child it does get easier.

But saying that though I always say all my children are uniquely different, one’s set of problems are different to another. The latest problem, that literally has me up all night is bedwetting. My four year old went through the normal rounds of being potty trained and showed a keen independence to put behind her diaper days.

I was more than happy to not have huge diaper bills and to tick another done box in my parenting things to accomplish, one more child potty trained. HOORAY! I’m sure most parents can relate to the relief one feels when we accomplish even a mere obstacle, like little Junior ate his carrots today, we’re ready to throw a party at that! So you can imagine my alarm and disappointment when the dreaded bedwetting reared its ugly head again.

I believe it got exacerbated when the older ones relayed some truly ghostly horror stories that had my poor four year old afraid of any dark corner. So because she was afraid of sleeping by herself she was sent to sleep with the older children. The next day would be filled with complaints of wet sheets and stinky bedding from the older ones. My husband suggested we put her back in diapers only at night. Surely I thought we can’t digress back into diapers but must solve the problem at hand.

Here are some ways to help your child from bedwetting:

1.    According to the experts children’s bladders mature at different times. Just because your friend’s five year old doesn’t wet the bed does not mean that your one should also stop. It is important not to compare and to allow your child to cross that milestone on their own timeframe.

2.    Always have a laid back attitude towards solving the bed wetting process, if your child feels that you are stressed by it then they will also get stressed and it is unnecessary to trouble them on a problem that they cannot control.

3.    When your child shows signs of keeping dry till morning or going to the toilet by themselves, reward them accordingly. This will boost their confidence and help in achieving the common goal.

4.    Of course limiting the amount of liquids they have in the evening helps to keep the bedwetting at minimum. Do not let your youngster indulge in bucket loads of liquids after seven and make sure they go to the toilet beforehand.

5.    If you feel that your child needs to go to the toilet by a certain time late at night, then always take them before you go to bed. I used to take my four year old by ten o’clock before I go to bed, but sometimes she doesn’t always need to go and more times I feel too exhausted to go to all that hassle just before bed. This method only works for some.

6.    Experts have suggested that if the nighttime bed wetting does continue there is no harm in putting the child back in diapers and trying again in a few months.

Bedwetting in younger kids will sort themselves out as they get older. If your older child has suddenly started to wet the bed, then external factors might be at hand and you will have to talk them through their problems. Parenting is the single most selfless job one can do, but it also the only job that your get paid in hugs and kisses and it’s fully worth it!

By Mayuri Jayasinghe