Bed Wetting and Old Wives Tales

skizics1's story

April 02, 2008

I really don't understand why incontinence (Bed Wetting) is such a difficult subject to talk about. I've had a good deal of experiences with the subject, starting with the fact that I wet my bed every night until I was eleven years old. I was born in 1951 and according to my mother I was potty trained before my second birthday. (old wives tale number 1) All children learn to control their bladders by age 2. They don't! It's really three to four years old but doctors don't even begin to consider it a problem until a child is six or maybe seven.
I would be curious to know how many of you tell your kids, or remember being told that "big boys (and girls)" don't wear diapers? (old wives tale number 2) Take a look at the diaper shelf at your local grocery store. The diapers range in sizes from preemie to 125 pounds, that's about the size of an average 14 year old. Manufacturers won't make diapers that big unless someone is buying them. So guess what, big kids do wear diapers.
How many of you remember waking up every morning in a wet bed or diaper thinking that you were the only kid who still wet their bed or had to wear diapers because of it? And now (old wives tale number 3). There is a CURE for bedwetting. There isn't, but it can be managed. The only thing that cures bedwetting is maturity and every child has their own internal clock. Approximately 98% of the population will have learned to control their nocturnal enuresis by the time they are 18 years old. So you can tell your children with a high degree of confidence that they will outgrow their bedwetting. The main thing you need to remember, and I was lucky because my mother did this for me, is to involve your children in the discussion. Make sure they understand that a good night's sleep is more important than whether or not their diaper is wet. Diapers don't cause bedwetting, diapers don't encourage bedwetting, diapers prevent bedwetting.
The main thing is, don't let your toilet training teach shame and guilt.