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DRY AT NIGHT

Clincial hypnotherapist, Lynda Hudson is inundated with requests for help by exhausted parents whose children have yet to become dry at night. She talked to Eden about her work

As a parent you may well be aware that children over the age of six-years-old commonly wet the bed at night. But did you know that their bodies have to produce an anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) before the bladder is able to hold nocturnal urine? For some children, this happens as late as age 12.

Enuresis (bed wetting) is only acknowledged as a medical problem after a child has turned six years of age. And even then, if you visit the doctor thinking it’s a problem, they will generally take a relaxed stance.

A relaxed view is also required by parents at this stage – although of course that’s easier said than done when having to change bed sheets night after night. It is difficult for the child in question too, who can easily feel inadequate – something Lynda says parents ought to be aware of.

“Feeling like a failure is something I hear from children a lot. Night after night of wetting, the child can feel that they are letting parents down, as well as themselves. It’s good to be able to alert them to the fact that bedwetting occurs commonly. And that a large percent of those it happens to, have yet to physiologically develop in order to stay dry.”

HOW TO HELP AT HOME

Before attempting any night time training, parents ought to have encouraged their child to employ good drinking habits – to not drink after the evening mealtime (around 5pm) – other than a few sips if required. Children should also be nudged to use the toilet prior to heading off to sleep.

MEDICALLY SPEAKING

If the bedwetting habit is ongoing, Lynda would emphasize that children need to be medically checked to rule out any organic problems. She’s very strict about the parents need to support the treatment, and that the child’s environment is safe and secure – after all, wetting the bed is a natural response to any kind of abuse.

If it is that the ADH is not present, then the child will have to wait for time to pass and nature to right itself. Either that or the doctor can prescribe a drug to mimic the natural hormone the child is lacking, which has the effect of reducing the amount of urine produced. Although this drug is usually well tolerated, headaches, stomach upsets and nausea have all been reported on occasion. Further to this, rather frustratingly, bedwetting generally reoccurs when the drugs are stopped.

ALARM DEVICE

Some parents try bedwetting alarms. There are various types, but all involve a sensor that activates an alarm the moment it gets wet as the child begins to urinate. The theory is that the alarm wakes the child who, over time, should become ‘conditioned’ to urinating and waking, and eventually becomes trained to wake before beginning to wet the bed at all. One of the dangers is that the child sleeps through the whole procedure while the rest of the family wake!

ALTERNATIVE HELP

The good news is there are other avenues to explore. Lynda has been helping children by using the technique of hypnotherapy. She said, “Although I have not conducted a clinical trial, the children I have seen have nearly always had a positive outcome and their parents are very pleased to have found an answer which is natural and safe.”

HYPNOTHERAPY: HOW IT WORKS

It’s a simple enough concept: An age appropriate audio recording is played to the child every night at bedtime. Lynda uses a repetitive technique to train the listener into conditioning their body to wake them up at night to use the toilet, or indeed to hold their bladder muscles tightly shut all night long. Lynda’s voice is incredibly soothing, her natural rhythm dictating a state of relaxation. She explains, “I believe that habit and mindset play important parts in perpetuating bedwetting and this is where treatment with hypnosis can be particularly focused. The body gets into the habit of relaxing all the muscles in sleep and not noticing and not responding to signals that the bladder is full; this is particularly so in the case of deep sleepers and many mothers report that their bedwetting children are very deep sleepers indeed. Children who have had the problem for many years go to sleep with the mindset that this is a problem over which they have no control and their expectation is that they will wet the bed. It is all about changing that.”

PULL UPS

And what about the children who have been wearing night time pull-ups constantly for years? “If they wear protective pants the body is kept comfortably warm and dry and this reinforces the lack of need to control their bladder. It is essential for the body to learn the difference between wet and dry and, generally speaking, I will only agree to treat children where their parents will agree to protect the bed rather than the child.”

LYNDA’S GOAL

Lynda wants to help children stay dry at night. Her hypnotherapy aims to increase a child’s positivity and optimism, therefore building their self-esteem and confidence, in turn helping them to take control and learn a new process. A new habit where children will eventually notice the bladder feeling full, and sleeping less deeply, be able to wake when necessary to empty it. Empowering children and helping parents everywhere.

For more information, visit Lynda’s website firstwayforward.com

Any guidance on how a nanny can help with toddler sleeping though the night please call our Childcare team Manager Pippa Owens on 02074716000

October 9, 2017

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