Bladder Training

FIND OUT HOW TO GIVE BLADDERS A WELL-DESERVED WORKOUT

One of the best ways for kids to build confidence and self-esteem is through having successful experiences.

Can you toilet train out of bedwetting?

Unlike daytime training, which is conscious and deliberate, nighttime bladder control is more dependent on maturation of children’s nervous systems and bladder so it is much more challenging to train a child a night. Wetness cues while helpful during the day do not work in the same way at night, as often children will continue to sleep through until morning. Similarly the use of incentives or rewards designed to motivate your child to stay dry are largely ineffective due to lack of conscious control and can in fact be damaging to your child’s self-esteem when they are unable to achieve a dry nappy. While nothing is guaranteed, there are a few things you can do to encourage nighttime bladder control: • Encourage healthy bladder habits by ensuring your child drinks water regularly throughout the day. • Discuss with your child what they should do if they do wake in the night and need to go to the toilet – should they go to the toilet on their own or call out to you? • Make sure the toilet is easily accessible, young children can be scared of the dark so a small night light can ease their fears. • Avoid waking or lifting your child throughout the night, as this will not give your child’s bladder opportunity to learn to store the amount of urine their body produces. • Ensure your child is not too over-tired when they go to bed as this will make it more challenging for them to wake in response to a full bladder.

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EXERCISE FOR INCREASING BLADDER CAPACITY

Some bladders take a little longer to develop and the reason your child might need to urinate so frequently could be due to a smaller bladder with less capacity for urine. This exercise has been proven to increase bladder capacity, however, you may not see positive results at night if your child is still developing bladder control.

1. Ask your child to let you know when they need to urinate
2. Start a timer for ten minutes and ask them if they can wait until the alarm sounds
3. Each day you can increase the time by a couple of minutes until you reach 25-30 minutes
4. By this time your child’s bladder should have expanded slightly to accommodate more urine.
5. If your child is motivated and old enough to use a timer, they may even like doing this exercise by themselves.

Bladder Training

EXERCISE TO IMPROVE BLADDER CONTROL.

This exercise is easy and will help your child become more aware of bladder control. Many children simply need to realise that they can control urination and this exercise can put that into focus. This can also be combined with the exercise above.

1. Accompany your child to the bathroom next time they need to urinate
2. Ask them to urinate for three seconds and then stop for three seconds
3. Repeat this until they have finished urinating
4. After some practicing your child should be gaining a better perspective of their own bladder control.

NOTE FOR CHILDREN PRONE TO URINARY TRACT INFECTIONS

Despite being safe for most children, it’s still important to check with your doctor if these bladder exercises will be helpful to your child. Urinary tract infections can be further inflamed if the sufferer holds their urine for longer than they need to. If your child is prone to infection, these exercises may not be recommended by your doctor.