>> DEALING WITH BEDWETTING

Inevitably, parents of young children will awaken in the middle of the night to the sound of their child whimpering next to them, “Mommy, I wet the bed.” Bedwetting, clinically called enuresis, is especially common during nighttime potty training. But approximately one in seven children will continue to be plagued by this issue after age 3. A small fraction of these children will have a bed-wetting problem for many more years, sometimes until early adolescence. Chronic bed-wetting runs in families. For most children, their nervous system and bladder have not developed enough to wake them when their bladder is full. Knowing this, never scold, embarrass or punish a bed-wetter. No child likes to lie in a puddle of urine.

When a child’s diaper is consistently dry in the morning, it’s time to initiate the nighttime potty training. Make sure the child’s bed is protected by a plastic or rubber mattress cover. Avoid excessive liquids a few hours before bedtime. Praise and congratulate for dry nights. Some parents offer stickers for dry nights that can be traded in for special treats. During the day, train your child to associate the feeling of a full bladder with the urge to urinate. As a last resort, purchase a moisture-activated urine alarm. They are highly effective, relatively inexpensive and are sold on many Web sites.

"MOMMY, I WET MY BED" Hearing this comment at 3 a.m. signifies the beginning of a 20- to 30-minute routine: taking off the wet sheets, remaking the bed and cleaning up the child. The worse part is remaking the bed. To avoid this step, I place two complete sets of sheets and rubber pads on the bed before my child goes to sleep. After a bed-wetting accident I remove the wet sheets and the rubber pad under them, leaving the second layer of dry sheets and rubber pad on the bed. The child gets to go back to bed immediately, making it easier for him to go back to sleep. -- A.J., Chico, Calif.