Coping with Bedwetting: The Morning Pee Report

Knocking on your parents’ bedroom door to tell them you wet the bed.

Let’s see. That ranks about equal with spring cleaning, studying for a big history test, and getting shots – all in the same day! There are a few things that will make it easier for your little one. One tactic you may not have considered is getting a system for the morning pee report (feel free to rename it!).

It’s a pretty sure bet that your child will feel less embarrassed if there’s a definite time and place to talk to you privately (and calmly). Make sure to set aside some a regular time each morning to be available to your child.

Now, this time shouldn’t be in front of brothers and sisters – which can be a challenge if you’ve got a large brood. It’s crucial that this conversation is done privately. Brothers and sisters are notorious teasers not always known for their compassion or kindness. But even if their only sibling is a sweet 18-year-old sister who would never even think of teasing, your child still doesn’t want to announce:

“I wet the bed. Somebody, please pass the toast,”

while you’re eating breakfast.

One more part of this idea is to have a system in place where your child can check in with you each morning either way – dry or wet. An easy way to do this is to create a chart where the two of you mark wet and dry nights. That way your child doesn’t have to approach you only with bad news about an accident. You could easily add this to your morning routine, and it’ll feel a whole lot less like the dreaded confessional booth. Your morning time together could become a positive time of encouragement and support – transforming a time they’d rather avoid into a positive thing instead.

Children really do take comfort in routines. With a system in place, your child won’t feel like the “I wet the bed” report is a disruption to everyone’s morning ritual.

Along with this routine, you should teach your child how to help with the laundry, when there’s been an accident. Even little kids can strip off wet sheets and take them to the washing machine. They could spray the sheets with some enzyme cleaner, and get out some clean sheets. Of course, they’ll need your help getting the new sheets on the bed (don’t we all?!), but that’ll come along eventually. They can also wash themselves – and need to learn to do this to keep their skin healthy and to begin a practice of good hygiene.

Just like anything else that’s unpleasant or complex, if you can break it down into its parts and make it a standard operating procedure, you can get through it faster than you’d imagine. No better time than the present to build these good habits – taking care of things that are less fun first, being honest, taking personal responsibility for your body. These are characteristics that will serve your child (and you, for that matter!) well in life.