Bed Wetting is Normal
As most parents know, bedwetting is normal. We may not want to talk too much about it but it’s a normal part of growing up; just like learning to walk and being able to write your own name.
How common is it? We went to the Continence Foundation of Australia for the answer and discovered that bed wetting is very common with approximately 1 in 5 children in Australia wetting the bed.
*(Figures cited from www.continence.org.au/pages/bedwetting.html)
So at 1 in 5, bedwetting is a fairly common (aka normal) phenomenon in children. So why is there still so much shame around it?
Every parent knows that small differences can mean the world to a child, both good and bad. If you’ve ever seen a child blatantly eyeing up the biggest piece of cake you’ll know what we mean. They’re transparent in their greed, attention-seeking, and demands – they just don’t know it.
Equally, because empathy is a later part of the development process children can quickly use another’s weakness to their advantage without understanding its impact. If you’ve seen that same child eyeing up the biggest piece of cake, turn from Mummy to Granny, you’ll know what we mean – they naturally know who will let them get away with it and who won’t.
It’s when children sense weakness in another child that is the most difficult; Mummy and Granny can see what’s going on… but other children can’t, and they can’t easily self-moderate. In other words, without empathy or moderation, children can be downright nasty to each other. And bedwetting is just the sort of weakness that makes an easy target.
So our advice is twofold. Firstly, shaming a bedwetting child seems to have little result but prolonging the bedwetting. Of course, you want them to be a big boy or girl, but if you create a strong sense of shame – chances are they’ll carry that with them and other children can pick up on it.
Secondly, don’t hide the problem. Or at least if you hide it, hide it in plain sight. Secrecy can add to shame and that’s the very thing you as a parent are trying to avoid. That is why our Brolly Sheet Bed Pads with Wings and waterproof bedding is designed to be seen. No more industrial and shamefully crinkly under sheets – instead quiet comfort with attractive designs.
Our Brolly Sheets Bed Pads with Wings are so easy to replace that depending on the age of your child they can help or even do it themselves. The convenience means a minimum of fuss, and a far less tense parent - all helping to reduce shameful feelings that do so much harm.
