No More Bedwetting: Secrets of Success with Imagery for Kids

Wet bed again! How many mornings have you reached your child's bedroom hoping for a dry bed. Just this once. And instead, the sheets are soaked. You expected this at 3 or 4 or 5 years old, but not at 7 or 8 or 12 or 13, or even older. And how embarrassing for your child after all this time. Sleepovers and camping trips are a nightmare! You've tried everything - not drinking after 6:00 pm, taking your child to the bathroom before she went to sleep, before you went to sleep, even sometimes when you've awakened in the middle of the night. But to no avail. The wetness seems to come just when you leave. Maybe you've even gotten angry thinking that he must be able to control this bedwetting. It's just too much! Fortunately, excellent help is available. Guided and interactive imagery has been especially successful in overcoming and controlling bedwetting. Children find their own unique solutions by learning to deeply relax, turn inward, and listen to what their body truly needs. When incorporated into a holistic approach, using imagery tools of deep breathing ("the balloon breath"), symptom dialogue ("talking to body parts"), visiting the "healing pool", and connecting to inner wisdom ("listening to wizard or wise animal friend") have been invaluable. Additionally, affirmations, behavioral charting, and monitoring stress have proved extremely useful. With this program, children have been able to create their own "dry" beds! Bright, sensitive, and highly motivated Margaret* is a typical example. She was almost 10 years old when I met her and had been wetting the bed almost nightly for as long as she could remember. Her parents had done everything they could think of, and were even considering the new nasal spray hormone, which supposedly shuts down urine production at night. Because of its expense and not wanting to be dependent on an outside drug, with their pediatrician's blessing they decided to try an imagery approach.nn"Traditional Behaviors"nWe developed a three part program that fit into her lifestyle. First, Margaret continued with the "traditional behaviors" recommended for controlling bedwetting, though not always consistently. For example, not drinking after 6:00 pm ("It worked for a little while, but then, I got really tired of it, cause if I had something really salty for dinner I wanted a bit to drink..."), going to the bathroom right before going to sleep, and having her parents wake her and take her to the bathroom before they went to sleep ("sometimes they forget" and "the times vary too much").nnFor more resources from Dr. Charlotte Reznick, visit her website Imagery for Kids