Talking about bedwetting early and often is an important part of helping them develop good sibling relationships. In fact, it’s a great opportunity for siblings to learn how to be kind, compassionate and understanding.
Prepare yourself on how to talk to siblings so your family can support your child to drier nights, together.
Why should you always talk to your children about their sibling’s bedwetting?
In a constant battle between war and peace, many parents are all too familiar with love-hate relationships between siblings. And these relationships can become more complicated when you add a sensitive topic such as nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) into the sibling scenario.
The solution? Open communication. Talking to children about how they can support each other can prevent a lot of sibling rivalry and demonstrate the importance of building relationships based on trust.
Be sure to talk about bedwetting early and often so your children understand why it’s so important to be kind and compassionate towards their sibling. Include them in conversations and encourage them to express how they feel, plus any ideas they may have to help their brother or sister. Or, read our best ways to support a child who is bedwetting for more inspiration.
How to talk to siblings about bedwetting
Every family dynamic is different, so we encourage parents, guardians and carers to do what works best for them and their children. Remember, the main goal is to be supportive about bedwetting, so be positive!
Open conversations are important, so if you or your child’s siblings ever experienced bedwetting, it may be comforting to share your experiences.
But, don’t worry if it’s not possible. Instead, try our conversation starters as an easy way to introduce the topic of bedwetting to your child’s siblings.
Address it head-on
“You may or may not have noticed, but [child’s name] is sometimes wet at night and wears DryNites® Pyjama Pants to bed.
These are night-time pants that help keep them dry and comfortable while they’re sleeping.”
Explain what it means and make siblings feel included
“[Child’s name] can use the toilet and stay dry during the day, but sometimes they still wake up wet.
Night-time accidents are not their fault, our fault, or anyone’s fault. It’s just how their body is changing and developing as they grow and mature. It’s something they’ll grow out of when their body is ready.
There’s no need to make this a big deal to [child’s name], but I want to make sure you know so we can help them feel comfortable about it, and patient with them.”
Give siblings a personal example
Explain this can help siblings relate to the child who is having accidents, and give context to the situation, e.g.
“You know you’re going to stay overnight with grandma in a few days, and [child’s name] is going to bring their DryNites® Pyjama Pants to wear under their pyjamas.
You may not even notice, but I want you to help them feel good by not teasing them in case you see.”
Encourage siblings to be supportive and kind
“I know you and [child’s name] may joke around and tease each other, but this isn’t something to tease about.
I know how much you care for each other, so I’d love it if you could help me make this as easy as possible for them by being kind and helpful.”
Check if they have any questions
It’s natural for children to have questions, especially if they haven’t experienced bedwetting themselves. So, encourage them to come to you with any that they may have and visit our bedwetting advice if you’re ever unsure of how to answer.
Use it as an opportunity for the whole family to support one another
Bedwetting is often a normal part of your child’s development. Pulling together as a family to support children having night-time accidents can offer the encouragement they need to reach drier nights with confidence.
Remember: there is no expected age for when bedwetting should stop—most children will grow out of bedwetting in their own time. That means all the support your family can give should never be given a time limit. You all just need to be patient, and supportive.
You don’t need to have all the answers
Don’t know everything about bedwetting? Not a problem! Covering topics like what bedwetting is, why it happens and the many available bedwetting story books, our bedwetting advice is always on hand to help, whenever you need it.
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