Now let’s not forget about you! As a parent we do all we can to help our children and address their needs first, right?  But how are you feeling right now? Bedwetting doesn't only affect the child, it can be a huge burden for the entire family! 

You know, I read recently that parents or caregivers of bedwetters also have a reduced quality of life, particularly mothers! It’s actually proven that mothers have a higher rate of anxiety and depression than mothers of non-bedwetting children. They also scored higher in screening tests for other psychiatric symptoms, which were either reactive to their child’s bedwetting as well as pre-existing factors. That’s crazy! 

Research suggests that persistent bedwetting may lead to parents feeling anxious, guilty and eventually experiencing loss of confidence in their parenting skills. It can also generate much more serious feelings and behaviours, such as a sense of helplessness and a lack of hope and optimism.

Difficulties can also form in the relationships between the parents and the child. A minority of parents or guardians punish their child for wetting the bed, either verbally, or to a lesser extent, physically. 

Emotionally it’s hard for a parent not to feel frustrated, tired, angry, concerned, fed up. Did I mention tired? It’s exhausting! And what about the financial costs to families? The costs of doing extra washing, buying extra bed linen, buying pullups or replacing mattresses. What about the additional time and effort that goes into stripping and remaking beds or doing the laundry! Uhg! I am so glad those days are behind me. 

So yes, bedwetting is a huge strain on parents and can leave us feeling helpless, frustrated and at a complete loss as to what to do to help our child. 

Despite all this, I want to applaud you for reading this article, because you WANT to help your child and your family escape from this, what may seem to be right now, a never-ending cycle. If you are feeling helpless right now, I want to help you change that, and that, I believe you can.

In my next article I’ll explain how to do just that, and it starts with a change in attitude! Here's the link: https://www.theparentinggarden.com.au/blogs/bedwetting/parents-attitudes-and-the-effect-on-bedwetting