Debunking Common Bedwetting Myths

If you are a mother of a young kid then one of the topic that is bound to be on your mind is around Bedwetting and how to help your kid navigate through this problem as they grow older. In our informative article on debunking common bedwetting myths, we will share some ideas surrounding this complex problem to equip you with all the information you will need to help your child.

Debunking Common Bedwetting Myths

There are many myths around bedwetting – what causes this common, but complex childhood condition which can impact a child’s self-esteem. Here are some of the popular myths and the truth about them –

Myth 1 : Bedwetting is caused by Stress

Not true. While bedwetting sometimes can be caused by stress and anxiety in very young kids, that is usually not the case. In fact some of the most common causes of this problem are – Delay in bladder maturation, small bladder, deep sleep (where the child does not wake up when bladder gets full like other people) and genetic reasons (parents who suffered from this condition are more likely to pass on the condition to the kids)

Myth 2 : Children grow out of it by themselves so no additional help is needed

While this statement could be true for young kids under the age of 4.5-5 years, it is important for parents not to ignore this issue for too long. It is important for parents to take this condition seriously and take their kids to a qualified health professional and get a check-up done to understand if there is any other issue which could be resulting into bedwetting for e.g. any infections in urinary tract which could be very easily treated.

Myth 3 : Children wet the bed because they are too lazy to get up from bed

Bedwetting can be a very stressful and shameful experience especially for kids. In most cases this happens while the child is sleeping making this myth completely baseless.  Children can get really conscious and have feelings of shame and denial while suffering from this condition making it important for parents to reassure their kids that it is not their fault and other kids suffer from similar condition.

Myth 4 : Punishing Children will help them get rid of this problem

Kids have absolutely no control over bedwetting because they are not even in their senses when this usually happens so punishing a kid for something like this would be punishing them for feeling sleepy during night time. It is more likely that the child has some health problem which needs to be reviewed by a health professional to get them the help they need.

Additionally, punishing a kid can damage his self-esteem further and make them feel that they have disappointed you. Child can also go into a shell and be scared to share problems with you if they get punished for something that they have no control over.

Myth 5 : Children Wet the bed because they are deep sleepers

While this statement might be true for a very small fraction of kids, it is not true in general. Most of the studies have indicated that rather than deep sleep, it is the inability of the child to pick the signal from the bladder that it is full and wake up is what contributes to this problem. Similarly, waking up the child in the night and taking them to loo is also not a reliable solution because the child is not learning to wake up by themselves. It might help in keeping the bed try but is not resolving the root cause of the problem.

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