NFCAM

As parents, we are all too familiar with the potty training process and how grueling it can be sometimes. Those frustrating trial runs with underwear versus diapers, frequent runs to the bathroom, and accidents that seem to happen at the most inopportune moments, not to mention one of the worst parts of the potty training experience, bedwetting. Although this part of the developmental process can be challenging, for most kids, potty training and bedwetting are usually under control between the ages of three and five. However, this is not always the case for all children.

When I first began talking with parents about their child’s learning challenges in school, I listed out several questions that may be triggers or signs of why they may struggle. I would first start out with questions about reading, attention and behavior, comprehension and other academic topics, but surprisingly enough, over the years, my list of questions has veered off in a completely different direction. I now ask parents if their child is sensitive to bright light, loud noises, textures in their clothing, if they have poor balance and coordination, had a traumatic birth experience, or if they skipped developmental milestones like crawling. As I asked these questions, more and more parents began to tell me about how their child was over the age of five and still wetted the bed at night no matter what they tried. Parents would tell me how embarrassed their child was about it and how they would refuse to have sleepovers or spend the night at grandma’s house because they were concerned about wetting the bed. Sometimes this continues to happen even when the child becomes a teenager. As you can imagine, this immediately became another question I added to my assessments and I started exploring the reasons behind why this was happening and how it related to the child’s school performance.

If your child or student struggles with this problem at home, I’m sure you’ve already done your research and have tried many different strategies to help your child stop wetting the bed. The Internet is full of suggestions like reducing fluid intake before bed, have them go to the bathroom before bedtime, use a reward system or set potty training goals, avoid pull-ups or diapers, or even try a bedwetting alarm. If some of these strategies have worked, which I hope they do, great! You have nothing to worry about. However, if the strategies haven’t work no matter what you try and you are still searching for answers, we may know what is causing the problem.