Children are notoriously bad at drinking enough liquids. They are so busy playing they sometimes 'forget' to drink. Sometimes, children seem like camels - able to go for ages without having a drink. Obviously, when they are thirsty they will rush indoors for a drink. But often they look for sugary, caffeine-laden drinks which are great for quenching thirst, but do little for the body's fluid levels.
That's because the caffeine in many drinks leads to extra urination. The result is that more liquid goes out of the body than is taken in. And therein lies a problem. Your child's body has inbuilt mechanisms to maintain the liquid levels. A lack of liquid intake, combined with the effects of caffeine in fluid output, means your child's body requires more liquids to maintain the right balance. In other words, their body starts to demand more liquid.
That demand for extra liquids usually starts at the worst possible time - early evening. Your child is home from school or from a day playing with friends and they suddenly want a drink. They gulp down whatever you give them and demand more - and more. This is because their hydration levels are low and their body's self defense mechanisms have kicked in to ensure that they don't become dehydrated.
However, the body always takes in more than it actually needs - just to be on the safe side. So that excess has to go somewhere. It is taken out by the kidneys, converted into urine and placed in the bladder for urination. But this can take a few hours to occur. The result is that your child's bladder has often not completed filling until after they have gone to bed.
If they have a poorly developed sense of bladder fullness while asleep, they will simply wet the bed. Many children wet the bed not because they drink too much, but because they don't drink enough!
If a child drinks plenty of water during the day, they need less during the evening. Also, because their body has had time during the day to regulate it's water levels, there is less need for urinating at night. Hence if a child drinks more during the day, the likelihood of bed wetting is reduced. Preventing your child from drinking too much liquid is actually working against you; it makes bed wetting more likely.
The problem for many parents is encouraging children to drink enough water during the day. As ever, changing your child's habits starts with changing your own. Start drinking more water yourself - it won't do you any harm! Your child will see you doing this and will not see water drinking as unusual.
Also, make sure you provide your child with water whenever they go out. Put a bottle of water in their bag and encourage them to drink it. Equally, raise the issue with school, suggesting that children should be encouraged to drink more. You don't need to mention your child's bedwetting - indeed you shouldn't as it will embarrass your child. However, if you can get your child's school to encourage more daytime drinking of water you'll be helping the overall health of the whole school - as well as reducing bedwetting in your own child.
For more information on how to deal with bed wetting and end the misery for your child visit bed wetting info.
pet-friendly home cleaners Arlington Heights ...Finding out that a child has been born with a... Read More
If your child is to derive the benefits of physical... Read More
I know this Mom. She homeschools her 5 children, plus... Read More
What parent hasn't gone into a son's or daughter's room... Read More
For the first year or two of life outside the... Read More
There are times when my ideas of raising a child... Read More
Parents are losing their self-control to anger. A friend called... Read More
'How can I start getting my children to help out... Read More
Having worked with parents for the last 35 years and... Read More
What do you do when your child begins talking to... Read More
Home schooling benefits children. As a parent, I feel it... Read More
On one of her quarterly visits to see her grandson,... Read More
"My son won't go to bed at night without a... Read More
In today's busy world, many parents have lost the art... Read More
What is in a name?The answer is everything!Jo J. of... Read More
Oh Please, Don't Say Maybe!!!!Are you often a participant in... Read More
Suppose that you rearrange your life to homeschool your child... Read More
Many parents seem to be more than a little confused... Read More
One of the basic issues we need to understand is... Read More
MYTH: All teens have to rebel, and the teen years... Read More
We know that you want your little guy or gal... Read More
The first year of a child's life is the most... Read More
(Isaiah 11:6 KJV) The wolf also shall dwell with the... Read More
At age seven months in the womb, humans begin language... Read More
I have always been aware of my number one weakness:... Read More
quick home cleaning Des Plaines ...I am a single mother of a 17 year old... Read More
1. STOP focusing on what you are going to make... Read More
Sitting by her Pinocchio lamp, she smiled at me as... Read More
Anyone can become a parent; there are no tests or... Read More
Parents are in a unique position to "monitor" their children's... Read More
Self-reliance and potential are two very important values that I'd... Read More
Do you live with an ADD / ADHD child? If... Read More
There isn't a school day that goes by that I... Read More
Travel is a common theme in my life -- probably... Read More
Parents looking for a quick fix usually choose troubled teen... Read More
You're trying to catch up on some sleep on a... Read More
Even if your teenagers do not use drugs, you still... Read More
"Hugging is healthy: it helps the body's immunity system, it... Read More
(Excerpted from Jim Rohn's 2004 Weekend Leadership Event)You have to... Read More
Mary, Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With... Read More
Chaim Ginott was a schoolteacher whose ideas and observations helped... Read More
Winnie the Pooh is the classic picture of Inattentive ADHD.... Read More
"Life consists not in holding good cards but in playing... Read More
A strange thing happened to me today. Or more precisely,... Read More
As Mother's Day approaches I would like to give a... Read More
How excited do kids get with the start of school... Read More
I really like all natural remedy for Attention Deficit Disorder... Read More
"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine,... Read More
A parent writes in, ``We are having a hard time... Read More
"I don't know and I don't care."I've heard those words... Read More
Parenting |