Bedwetting Myths Busted

In this blog post we look at some bedwetting myths that may be slowing down your child's progress to becoming dry at night.

MYTH 1

“My child is wetting the bed on purpose”

Bedwetting is not your child’s fault. Bedwetting occurs when the subconscious link between their brain and bladder hasn’t formed yet. Your child therefore has no control over their bedwetting, which can be extremely frustrating for them if they want to become dry. This means that they should not be blamed or punished for wetting the bed.

MYTH 2

“I should restrict how much my child drinks in the daytime to stop them from wetting the bed at night”

If your child is bedwetting, it is important that your child drinks fluids regularly throughout the day. Restricting fluids will not help to prevent wetting and your child’s bladder will instead adjust to holding less fluid, which means they will actually need to empty their bladder more regularly. Water is the best option, as caffeine and fizzy drinks can have a diuretic effect. For more information, see our previous blog post.

MYTH 3

“It will help if I lift my child to the toilet whilst they are still asleep”

The bedwetting alarm treatment works by waking up your child when they first start to wet the bed. This helps their brain to recognise the feeling of a full bladder whilst they are asleep. If you lift your child to go to the toilet whilst they are still asleep, they will not be aware of this sensation and will not progress to dry nights.

MYTH 4

“My child should wear nappies to bed if they are wetting”

Although nappies/pull-ups might seem a good idea to reduce laundry loads, your child should wear normal underwear if you are trying to cure bedwetting with an alarm. In fact, the Malem bedwetting alarm range allows their own underwear to be worn, which means your child is comfortable and not wearing any strange clothing. It is important that your child learns the consequences of wetting. Nappies make your child think that it’s “OK” to wet. In the long-term, this means that some extra laundry is preferable over nappies.

MYTH 5

“There is nothing I can do to stop my child from wetting the bed - they will never be able to be permanently dry at night”

Most children wet the bed simply because the link between their brain and bladder has not yet developed (primary nocturnal enuresis). The good news is that, with the help of a bedwetting alarm, this natural process can be sped up - in a matter of weeks/months and your child can become permanently dry at night!