Enuresis is the medical term for bedwetting. It is very common in young children and can persist into teenage years. If your child is wetting the bed, check with your doctor that it isn’t a sign of urinary tract infection or constipation or other underlying condition.
Primary enuresis is when your child has always wet the bed; doctors think this is a delay in maturation of the bladder. Secondary enuresis is if bedwetting occurs after your child has been dry for a year or more; this is more likely to be a psychological cause.
There can be underlying emotions for bedwetting. It can provide a release of emotion, often fear, that the child may not feel safe to, or have time to, express during the day. Perhaps your child is repressing fear (normally of an authority figure), of not living up to expectations, and this fear is released at night in his urine – thereby creating a self-fulfilling prophecy where he is ashamed of himself for not living up to expectations of being a ‘good, clean boy’ and his worst fear is realised. Help you child to relax and accept himself by reassuring him he is loved unconditionally.
Flower essences can be helpful for treating the emotional cause of bedwetting. Cherry Plum is for feeling like a time-bomb is ticking away inside and is ready to explode. It can help your child feel calm and relaxed.
The Australian Bush Essence Red Helmet Orchid is for a poor relationship with the father and to help male bonding, as bedwetting can be a release of fear if the child feels the father isn’t there to protect them, or the family, especially at night.
Try reading the following affirmations to your child, or let them write out the words and make a poster to put by their bed:
I am safe and secure.
I am in control of my life.
I am unique and special.
BELLA’S STORY
Bella was wetting the bed nightly at age 7. She occasionally went a couple of nights dry but her record had been only three nights in a row ever since she began toilet training. Bella’s dad had always worked in a different country and she saw him only twice a year and her mum thought it may be related to this. Bella tested with a sensitivity to dairy and as she always had hot milk before bedtime, this seemed to make sense.
Just by stopping the milk at bedtime Bella improved her bedwetting and was dry for two weeks.
On our second treatment Bella tested as needing the crystal carnelian and her mum put one under her bed. Carnelian is a beautiful orange coloured crystal that is said to protect against negative emotions, especially anger. Bella was angry that she hardly saw her father and was resentful that her mother also had to work full time. By using the carnelian and chatting to her about why her mum and dad did what they had to do, Bella was able to take a higher perspective on her situation. This was a big shift for a 7 year old to make but she did it and that ‘growing up’ allowed her to stop wetting her bed at night.