More water, not less, will help end bedwetting
Children are notoriously bad at drinking enough liquids. They
are so busy playing they sometimes 'forget' to drink. Sometimes,
children seem like camels - able to go for ages without having a
drink. Obviously, when they are thirsty they will rush indoors
for a drink. But often they look for sugary, caffeine-laden
drinks which are great for quenching thirst, but do little for
the body's fluid levels.
That's because the caffeine in many drinks leads to extra
urination. The result is that more liquid goes out of the body
than is taken in. And therein lies a problem. Your child's body
has inbuilt mechanisms to maintain the liquid levels. A lack of
liquid intake, combined with the effects of caffeine in fluid
output, means your child's body requires more liquids to
maintain the right balance. In other words, their body starts to
demand more liquid.
That demand for extra liquids usually starts at the worst
possible time - early evening. Your child is home from school or
from a day playing with friends and they suddenly want a drink.
They gulp down whatever you give them and demand more - and
more. This is because their hydration levels are low and their
body's self defense mechanisms have kicked in to ensure that
they don't become dehydrated.
However, the body always takes in more than it actually needs -
just to be on the safe side. So that excess has to go somewhere.
It is taken out by the kidneys, converted into urine and placed
in the bladder for urination. But this can take a few hours to
occur. The result is that your child's bladder has often not
completed filling until after they have gone to bed.
If they have a poorly developed sense of bladder fullness while
asleep, they will simply wet the bed. Many children wet the bed
not because they drink too much, but because they don't drink
enough!
If a child drinks plenty of water during the day, they need less
during the evening. Also, because their body has had time during
the day to regulate it's water levels, there is less need for
urinating at night. Hence if a child drinks more during the day,
the likelihood of bed wetting is reduced. Preventing your child
from drinking too much liquid is actually working against you;
it makes bed wetting more likely.
The problem for many parents is encouraging children to drink
enough water during the day. As ever, changing your child's
habits starts with changing your own. Start drinking more water
yourself - it won't do you any harm! Your child will see you
doing this and will not see water drinking as unusual.
Also, make sure you provide your child with water whenever they
go out. Put a bottle of water in their bag and encourage them to
drink it. Equally, raise the issue with school, suggesting that
children should be encouraged to drink more. You don't need to
mention your child's bedwetting - indeed you shouldn't as it
will embarrass your child. However, if you can get your child's
school to encourage more daytime drinking of water you'll be
helping the overall health of the whole school - as well as
reducing bedwetting in your own child.
More information on dealing with bed wetting can be found at www.bed-wetting-info.co.
uk