Practical Bed Wetting Advice for Parents
There are many different causes when a teen is wetting the bed. While it may be easy to see this as laziness or defiance on the part of a child, this can be quite contrary. Enuresis, for example, can be a primary cause where the child lacks the ability to control the muscles, or his body doesn’t wake him up when it relaxes its muscles to urinate. In normal child development a child will gain control of his bladder at night usually from about 4 to 7 years old.
Many children feel stigmatized and alone in this issue, this is because 90% of children believe they are the only ones who have this problem. At the age of 13, if your boy is wetting the bed, it’s important to keep an open mind as to what the problem may be. If you can rule out medical related conditions and have already tried limiting liquids at night, it may be worth looking at his emotional and mental health with a therapist for families. Boys may wet the bed due to trauma such as witnessed domestic violence or experiences abuse.
Important Steps to Take When Your Teen is Wetting the Bed
First, as many boys at this age are beginning to enter puberty it is important to be sensitive about the issue. Even if it frustrates you, sensitivity towards your child will go a long way. Keep in mind he is feeling like he’s becoming a man, and is often ashamed that he is struggling in this area. Make sure he understands this does happen and it’s okay. Second you may want to try waking him up a couple of times at night to have him try and use the bathroom, this may help his body get used to the pattern of waking up to use the bathroom. Finally if you have exhausted all these options and have had no luck, it may be time to look at his emotional and mental state. Often these problems can improve with some therapeutic counseling.
In conclusion it’s important to keep positive and have hope. Keep in mind that your child may be just as confused as you and wants to also get this under control. Often you will see the embarrassment and shame come in trying to hide the bed wetting and solve this problem on their own. This is where you skill of sensitivity and normalizing can be important in helping to get your child to work with you in solving the problem.