01/10/2009 09:28:33
Stop bedwetting in 7 days !
Alicia Eaton, a friend of mine, has written a really excellent easy-to-read guide for parents, using the latest thinking from the fields of positive psychology, NLP and Hypnotherapy to help children conquer bedwetting problems in just a few days. Alicia is a Clinical Hypnotherapist and an Advanced NLP Practitioner trained by Paul McKenna and Richard Bandler.
If you have a child who wets the bed, you might feel you are the only parents in the world who has a child with this unwanted habit but actually 750,000 children in the UK accidentally wet their beds at night so you are NOT alone !
This book is will quickly and easily help your child get back in control and the changes will be noticeable in days and the benefits to their self esteem will be enormous.
For more information about Alicia and to buy her book Stop Bedwetting in Seven Days go to www.stopbedwettingin7days.co.uk
Here are her special Top Ten Tips
More than 750,000 children in the UK accidentally wet their beds at night. According to figures published by the British Medical Journal, 20% of five-year-olds have difficulty in controlling their bladders at night-time and it remains a problem for 3% of all 15-year-olds. The actual numbers are likely to be even higher as bedwetting is still a taboo subject which some parents are not happy to discuss – in many cases, it isn’t even talked about within the family.
Bedwetting – also known as nocturnal enuresis – can have serious consequences, including a lack of confidence and low self-esteem, with children often failing to reach their full potential. Invitations to sleepovers have to be refused while school trips, camps and even family holidays are met with fear.
Many reasons are put forward as possible causes for bedwetting problems such as: a small bladder; urinary tract infection; lack of hormones to concentrate the urine; anxiety or just something that runs in families. It is sensible to rule out the possibility of any infection by a visit to the GP. For children under the age of seven, there is very little help on offer and parents are often told their child will probably grow out of the habit.
Older children can be referred to Enuresis Clinics who will often suggest solutions such as using alarms in the bed which will wake the child once wetness is detected. If alarms are not successful, children may be prescribed medication or drugs to concentrate their urine.
Experts agree that for most children the problem is simply a habit that’s become entrenched over the years. Neuro-psychologists tell us that there’s a complex co-ordination that needs to take place between the nerves and the muscles of the bladder and it’s usually a delay in this wiring up that holds children back.
Modern psychological methods such as Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) can help speed this process up and make changing unwanted habits much easier. Already widely used in helping athletes and sports people improve their performance, it’s now possible to apply the same techniques to help children achieve night-time dryness.
Stop Bedwetting in Seven Days is a new step-by-step guide, written by Alicia Eaton an expert in the use of NLP with children, which aims to help conquer bedwetting for good. Here, she shares her top tips for helping your child kick the bedwetting habit.
TOP TIPS
1. If your child is continuing to be wet at night after the age of five, it’s a good idea to have a check-up with your GP to rule out the possibility of any medical causes, such as an infection which can be easily cleared up with antibiotics.
2. For the majority of children, the cause is simply a case of habit, so don’t automatically assume that there’s an emotional reason behind the wet beds. However, if your child has been dry for several months or even years and suddenly starts having wet beds, first consult your GP and then have a think about whether a change at home or stress at school could be a contributory factor.
3. After the age of five, it’s best to remove any nappies or pull-ups worn at night and simply protect the mattress from now on. Your child’s mind is more likely to make that vital mind/body link if he can actually feel the wetness as it happens.
4. Make night-time changes easier by putting two layers of sheets on the bed and slipping an absorbent pad in between. If your child does wet in the night, you’ll be able to remove the top layer leaving a dry ready-made bed for your child to climb back into.
5. Avoid ‘lifting’ – waking your child at around 11pm and taking them to the loo just before you go to bed yourself is, in fact, ‘training’ them to not only release urine when they’re half asleep, but also to develop a need to go to the toilet in the middle of the night.
6. Avoid using ‘reward systems’ to encourage dry nights. Introducing treats such as money, toys or sweets will only distract your child at just the moment they need to be concentrating on their ‘goal’ – dry beds. There’ll be plenty to reward your child once he becomes successful, such as worry-free sleepovers and school trips.
7. Ensure the route to the bathroom is well lit at night, perhaps even leaving a light on in there. But do avoid night-lights in the bedroom itself – your child will experience a deeper, better quality sleep if the room is dark and this alone may ensure a dry night.
8. Clear away clutter – your child needs to feel confident about getting up out of bed in the middle of the night should he need to use the bathroom. Check that the route is completely clear, without left-over jigsaw puzzles, toys and dirty clothes getting in the way.
9. Make the bathroom child-friendly and allow your child to choose some of the accessories, such as colourful handtowels. This will help them feel that this space belongs as much to them as to the adults in the house.
10. Stay positive – remain encouraging and enthusiastic throughout this period of re-training. Avoid giving any negative feedback – even a raised eyebrow will let your child know that you’re not happy. This will only make it harder for him to succeed as his ‘self-image’ will consist of feelings of failure. Remind your child of all the other things they were successful at learning, such as writing their name, tying shoelaces or hopping on one leg. This is just one more thing that they’ll learn how to do.
Stop Bedwetting in Seven Days is priced at £9.95. available from www.stopbedwettingin7days.co.uk.