London: An estimated 750,000 children in the UK accidentally wet their beds at night. The problem persists for 15 percent of five-year-olds who wet their bed most nights, as well as, three percent of 15-year-olds who still wet the bed. Alicia Eaton, an expert who has worked with children who wet the bed since 2004, published her first book on the subject in 2009.
Eaton is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and Advanced Practitioner of NLP (neuro-linguistic programming), using methods that used to be overlooked and branded ‘alternative.’ But the proof is in the pudding, and Eaton has helped countless families with the bedwetting problem and published ten books along the way.
The latest is the tenth-anniversary edition of ‘Stop Bedwetting In Seven Days’, her simple step-by-step guide to help children conquer bedwetting problems. In it, the expert shares her 19 golden rules for tackling the problem, revealing how to stop it in seven days with her tried and tested methods.
Before you begin, it is recommended to read the book in its entirety and familiarise yourself with the process. All you will need are some A4 sheets of paper, felt-tipped pens, party balloons, a notebook for recording success, and the downloadable audio version of Dry Beds Now from Alicia Eaton’s website.
1. Pick your moment:
Is your child ready to tackle this problem? Do they recognize that this is something that can be dealt with? Do they have the desire to change? Don’t pick a particularly busy week to start, like one beset with school exams for example. You’ll know which week is best for you but do plan ahead.
2. Start keeping a diary:
Record your child’s behavior patterns. The kind of information which is useful to know is:
- How many times did your child wet last night?
- At what time?
- What kind of day had it been?
- Was it a busy day at school or perhaps slightly less regimented because of the school holidays?
- Had your child had extra sport and become dehydrated?
- Were there lots of homework or anxiety caused by school tests the next morning?
- Was it a late night following a friend’s birthday party?
- What did your child eat?
- And how about drinks?
- This is the information-gathering stage – it’s time to start acting like a detective. Understand the habit and it’s easier to help solve it.
3. Clear your clutter:
A lot of this issue centers around confidence. Furthermore, a lot of the time a child will be scurrying to the toilet in the middle of the night, so keep their route clear of toys and other clutter, a trip can further affect confidence.
A cluttered, disorganized room will reflect your child’s cluttered, disorganized mind and this is not going to help.
Ask them to clear the room in a positive way, and tell them what you do want rather than what you don’t.
4. Assess the lighting:
Some children who have gone to see Alicia have said that they would go to the bathroom at night if it wasn’t so dark, could this apply to your child? Light the route to the bathroom well but keep in mind they must be able to sleep in their own room, so have the light accordingly. A useful ‘halfway’ measure may be a bedside potty if the child is really too scared to visit the loo alone.
