It’s a tricky time. Your child has wet the bed at night and they are upset. Everyone’s tired due to the disruption it causes. You’re worried about your child, and they may feel unsettled.
So how do you reset the morning after a night of disrupted sleep. We spoke to parenting expert Liat Hughes Joshi about helping your child the morning after.
What your child can do to reset after a night-time accident
Firstly, your child is the most important one in this situation, so try to push down any feelings you might have that are negative.
Yes, it’s upsetting and unsettling to be woken up in the dead of night by a child who has had an accident and you are missing your sleep.
But try to remember that they will be feeling awful, so put their feelings first and try to deal with the job in hand—of clearing up and helping your child—in as non-emotional way as possible.
Your child will want to start the day off well, so whether it’s a school day or a day off, there are a few things that will get their day off to the best start possible.
A bath or shower
Your child may have had a clean-up during the night but wake them early enough to have a really good wash in the morning.
Let them choose their own clothes
This is a great idea if it’s the weekend, a holiday, or if they don’t have a school uniform. They will feel in control and empowered by being able to choose themselves.
Give them a reassuring cuddle
One of the best ways of moving on is to provide a distraction and move on with your day as if to say, ‘this is fine, we'll sort it out together but it's not a big deal,’” says Liat.
After breakfast, sit down somewhere quietly with your child and have a chat about what happened during the night.
Make sure they know they are not in trouble. focus on how you can sort things out together and show and tell them you are not cross with them. You can also make some plans for bedtime, so that your child is thinking about how to avoid the same thing happening again that night.
These actions will help your child feel supported and confident and also help them take charge of their own bedtime routine, which helps with confidence too.
How parents can help a child reset after bedwetting
According to Liat, bedwetting can in some cases contribute to behavioural problems because a child may feel guilty and embarrassed. As their parent, you can comfort them, and be their safe space when it comes to feeling confident again. You can:
Talk about what’s happened
Allow your child to talk about how they feel. This will help you both process what’s happened, and hopefully help them feel more able to talk to understand this is not their fault.
Talk about the future
Have a chat about what they eat and drink before bed and make sure that a last loo break is incorporated into their bedtime routine.
Take some practical steps
Help them by suggesting some immediate things you can do to help them tonight, such as by wearing DryNites® Pyjama Pants under their pyjamas. They might also like the reassurance of a DryNites® Bed Mat on their sheet to protect their bed.
Get the bed ready together
After a difficult night, Liat suggests trying to get the bed ready again, together. Your child might like to help you re-make the bed with fresh sheets. This will help them feel like a grown up, actively addressing their accident and putting it to bed (excuse the pun) for the day.
Do something nice together
Make sure your child gets some special time, one-to-one, with one parent on the morning after a bedwetting night. Make sure they feel special, listened to and loved. This makes it easier to keep the channels of communication open between you.
Make some plans for the day, week or weekend ahead
Giving your child something new to look forward to is very important so that they don’t feel they are being punished.
Choose some nice things to do together, whether it’s reading a story, going for a day out, going shopping, visiting a relative or just doing some crafts together. Also, allow them a nap or two to make sure they’re getting enough sleep, especially if they have disturbed night.
How parents can reset after their child wets the bed
Just as it’s important to help your child reset and make them feel better after an accident, it’s also important for you to reset too.
“After a bad night, set things to rights first – wash the sheets, change the beds, get everyone ready for their day,” suggests Liat.
“Then take a little time out for you to make sure you feel okay too. That might mean you get out for your daily exercise—a yoga class or a walk in the park is ideal.”
Liat does acknowledge that parents may find it hard to get the time for this, however. If you do have a partner, make sure you share the nights supporting your child—just to let each other take some time out.
If you’re a single parent, try to get other family members to stay over once a week to help. Or if you can’t do that, make sure you at least book some time off work when your child is at nursery, or attending school. You deserve some time to recover too!
Make sure you look after your own mental health through this developmental stage. After all, it can be pretty full-on if you have a job, a family and you’re also missing sleep and worrying due to your child wetting the bed.
Quick and easy ways to reset for parents
- Have a nap (if you can)
- Have a bath with scented bubbles
- Bring the spare sheets and pyjamas into your child’s room so you don’t have to search for them at night
We’re here for you, day and night
Most children have times when they have night-time accidents, so make sure they know it’s common. They will be reassured—and so will you—to know how many children of their age still have the occasional wet night!
In the meantime, make sure you give them the help and support they need, including having some supplies of DryNites® Pyjama Pants—just in case!
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