HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1989-05-10, Page 8'Page 8 —.Lueknow Sentinel, Wednesday, May . Ib, IW
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Parents train child for a lir
hen the Smiths first real-
ized he had a problem
till was S years old. Now
he is 15.
"Don't worry , he'll outgrow
it," the doctors kept telling
them. The last time had been
four years ago.
tut ,:;ill was still a bedwetter.
Ile would wake up in a dry bed
just two days a week. Dive doc-
tors had tried their best. They .a
put •',ill through many tests,
wrote numerous prescriptions,
ordered hospital stays and even
performed surgery Nothing
seemed to work
"Over the last 15 years, we felt
fortunate if the bed was dry two
nights in a row," says the boy'`
father, who asked that their real
names not be used. Bill could go
to visit someone and spend the
night. But he night stay awake
the whole time, because he was
embarrassed and did not want to
wet the bed.
Then, several weeks ago, the
Smiths heard of the Canadian
Children's Centre. They sent
away for free literature and saw
their own son's story being
- iIav� emit Who hit risen ----_f.
hardest was an earlier story the;
linker bedwetting to arson.
"My son tried to burn down
our shed," says the father.
That's when I said I am tired of
hearing 'don't worry he will out-
grow it' - also 1 found out
bedwetting is harmful physical-
ly .and emotionally . If bedwet
'*ting can be stopped,;why should
Ave allow our child to sleep in
:this condition. If -my son needed
-braces, I wouldn't. hesitate."
-Many::don't
outgrow
bedwetting
Children don't always stop
bedwetting says Canadian Chil-
dren's Centre .director Vincent
Fowler. In 14 years the Centre has
successfully treated thousands of
bedwetters, and receives a large
number of inquiries -from adults
who still have:theproblem.
"But quiteoftena doctorsswill tray
'Don't worry, "your '.child will out-
grow it.' That's because -most doc-
,:tors don't want.the. agents to wor-
-ry. A history of bedwetting -in the
family can reduce the chances a
child will outgrow it."
Psychologist Dr. Warren Bailer
of the University of California at
Los Angeles writes "Evidence ac-
cumulated casts doubt that chil
dren outgrow bedwetting. Most
bedwetters hide their feelings and
shame, and embarrassment are
-their constant. -companion. Correct-
ing bedwetting often produces -re-
markable results in family rela-
tionships, - behavior, school work
and peer contact."
Bill was dry nine weeks after the
Smiths sent for the Centre litera-
ture and eight weeks without a
wet bed, they have started to no-
tice other changes.
"My son has always been very
quiet, very withdrawn. lie seldom
talks to us. I ;guess that's because
he was teased a lot when someone
-who'd let him stay at his home let
the cat out of the bag," says the
father. Today, Bill reaches out..fer
;affection from his family in away
they've never known. He also ap-
pearsmuchcalmer.
Bill follows the patterns of many
°'nocturnalaenuretics"_as the con-
dition is medically known. For
them, the problem is more .than
just a wet theet ;nuisance. 'Unfor-
tunately, it's _still a ,closely 'closet-
ed problem few people .are ,willing
to seek help for :or even -discuss
with their family :physicians -or
friends.
`Harmful
physy
*ad,motional}y
"These children can .become -so-
cial outcasts," Fowler,says, "their
bedwetting problem makes it diffi-
cult for thein to join the crowd, to
night's ep
Psychologicall
considerations
"To offer a child aTeward to accomplish
something when they're sleeping, they can't win.
It sets them up for failure,"
go to came, or spend the night
with a friend. They live in con•
start fear of ridicule - that some-
body will uncover their problem.
Bedwetting is not an accepted
thing to do.
He noted that the resulting shame
from bedwetting during the sensi-
tise age of a child, can be devastat
ing. Often hostility, resentment
and feelings of rejection or antiso-
cial traits that can carry over into
adulthood.
"Our- success goes beyond ;fust
stopping bedwetting," Fowler
says. "Most :parents tell .us that
their children are happier with
themselves. The child en like
themselves -snore and . so do their
parents. A -child who likes -and -re-
spects himself -is more capable of
liking and respecting others.
"A tremendous amount of stress
is removed from the whole family.
Often they weren't even aware it
was related to bedwetting. Parents
often find a great behaviour and
attitude change inthe•child. "
"Schoolwork often improves and
so does the child's attention span
and concentration. There are some
real, positive benefits from stop-
ping:bedwetting."
,But bedwetting, he explains, can
leave emotional: scars both ,on chil-
dren and parents if the ,problem
isn't treated quickly. And as a gen-
eral rule, he says, children should
be able to make ii .through the
night within six months of being
toilet trained during daytime
hours.
The .concerned
parent
Bedwetting is known to cause
emotional problems if not correct-
ed, before school. So the majority of
inquiries come from parents of
four year olds looking for a solu-
tion prior to their children start-
ing school.
Many other parents get upset et
the child .because they know
friends and relatives can some-
times smell theodor, and the cost
can average over x$300 a year, just
for laundry 6
Some parents will reward their
children for a :dry night or ;.scold
when bedwetting ,occurs. but
Fowler says "To offer a child
-reward to accomplish "meth*
,when they're sleeping, is_a-no'win
.situation. It,ets them up for fail-
ure."
Tie hetes that a 3Ys y ear tudy at
McGill University concludes that
deep 'sleep, not :the .child, is to
:blame as the No. 1 .-;cause .of
;bedwetting.
ss d ffects
"Bedwetting can cause a tiny
bladder sno so does waking or re-
ducing .liquids.'' jie says. "1'ou ac-
tually -encourage - ,.,wetting by
valtiug them."
. mer a while, the_:chtlddeveiops
some -atroi*gly :ingrained = habits
and negative .steIi expectations,
which Make, ikhaarder. to :overcome
Staff psychologist Arnold Keller
-says the worst es -called solution -
without question - is for parents to
wait. until children outgrow the
problem This is because toilet
training teaches children the dif
ference between right and wrong,
success and failure, clean and
dirty So bedwetting only rein
forces negative feelings and can
lead to a poor SP If image
"It's not that they outgrow it.
it's that they stop talking about
it," he says. Most bedwetters hide
their feelings in shame They try
to hide from the parents any ink
ling that it matters. So parents of-
ten
ften don't think it affects the child
If a child does not show signs of
the bedwetting bothering them,
this can be serious
•
the problem, he adds. Repeated
bedwetting epi.soaes at night, ani
the frequency of day time' voiding
may tend to keep the bladder un-
derdeveloped and the sphincter or
lock muscle weak. Most bedwet-
tings are very sensitive. The child
may also, .become overly sensitive
about being a bedwetter. This anx-
iety connected with bedwetting
can -make the problem worse.
After children are toilet trained,
he says, ;caking -in the morning
-wearin a..diaper or sleeping in.,a
-wet bed „can't help but:affect them
emotionally.They..know they are. a
disappointment to themselves..and
their,.parents.
Folk remedies
There. are plenty of folk and trad-
itional remedies, but they often do
more harm than good because they
delay proper therapy.
Improper methods of treating
bedwetting can include: waking or
liftinga child at night, restricting
or reucing liquids during the day
or before bed, rewards, .scolding,
drugs, waiting to outgrow it, and
-treating it -medically. All of the
abovennethods can produce harm-
ful sideelr'ects.
Scolding only makes the prob-
lem worse, because the child ends
.:up denying how badly he or she
feels to the parents.
Medical attempts
Medical intervention isn't as
prevalent as it once was, it also
can worsen a condition.
Both the U.S. Food. and Drug Ad-
ministration and the American
Medical, Association: say drugs are
not the treatment choice.
Fowler notes that the .American
Academy of' Pediatrics established
that bedwetting is not medical
problem, and advised against most
'medical .testa or drags- For.exam-
ple X-rays close to a child's geni-
tais,poses. unnecessary risk of radi-
ation.
He notes that a etiegieal _ proce-
dure where the urethra or urinary
:passfigels enlarged has bees pp9gpu-
hu'ut 'Fowler .says The healing
and: a ,warring process can realise
the urethra to become smaller.
`Tine Smith's eon ;Bill underwent
the operation and it didn't work.
"The majority don't work to
their full potential," he says. Since
they are active during the day
they are deep sleepers with a short
attention span, Keller says the -t
often have difficulty communicat
ing with their parents because of
the guilt associated with bedwet
ting One study showed three of
every -four instifutionalizeopivie-
nile delinquents were or had been
oeuwetter: Unfortunateiy, too.
says Keller, there is a higher incl
deuce of suicide in children wh,
are bedwetters.
The older personality type is
that of the over -achievers, who try
to prove they're OK. Keller says
they knock themselves out to be
successful. All of this can cause
parents to suffer guilt when family
or friends start blaming them for
their children's problem. And as a
last straw, parents .sometimes
have resorted to rather cruel
methods of stopping their children
from bedwetting.
'Keller says one family admitted
beating thei child and making
him Slee} a a we. bed - admitted-
ly the first time they'd been abu-
sive and contrary to their love and
desire for their son to stop-wvetting
the bed.
VINCE FOWLER
For .additional information.
and ''find .-out why .your
child -wets the -bed, a_send for
our free brochure. Ail iugulir-
lea Are eonf denitjal. 1041 or
_write Canadian Childreres
Centre, MO Ouellette Avenue,
$luite tiO2 Windsor, Ontario,
8A f 7,, Canada. 'Telephone:
180003:.0802 or i5J$) , 254-
3i511.
Semi ferfree inforiauttionlin WHY YQU.RVl 1
U OW W litOPJ'l:
NAME
ADDRESS
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4 AIWA CODE
POSTAleCODE . (CHILD'S AGE
,#o:;GA 1 tliAN r.411,1,13fie$,S-prOiTRE*1110--PioniorteAvanuo,
Itliter$00rWiodotorLOrliatio NSA iC7.--Talophone 1400las.002.
ALL: • las i% Fit-NTAl..
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CPS INSICER
by JenniferPorter
and'TammyNeable
Grade 1 ,
We had math centres with Mrs. MacIn-
t"yre. We did weighing, estimating, number
fact sheets, counting to 200, and also
shapes. We are very fast at math facts now
and can beat "chips" in the math race
computer program. Our class readers
were Hailey, Jaime, Sarah, Charlie and
Sharon. They taped their stories as they
read to us. In Environmental Studies, we
have researched many spring creatures.
Grade 2
As the grand finale to our House Unit.
We were able to, view the assemblance of
Conor McDonagh's Royal Horne. It was
quite fascinating to watch the large crane
put the sections together to forma the home.
Devon MacDonald was very relieved when
he returned to school after the Music •
Festival. This was a new experience for
him and he did very well. Good for you
Devon!
Grade 2/3
Grades 2/3 participated in the "Pitch -
In" held on Monday. The school -yard has a
nice clean appearance. Can we keep it tidy
all summer? We are very proud of Rachel
Bushell taking first place at the Music
Festival in Walkerton. Congratulations.
Library Lotto winners this week are
Jackie -Freeman, Laura Parker.
Grade 3/4
We missed Mr. Dennis on Wednesday,
Thursday and Friday because he was at
the Outdoor .Education° Center with the
Grade 7 rias :However, we enjoyed hav-
ing Mrs. Gilchrist as our. simply teacher.
WamadefishmObiles,playersfloorhockey
and'finished a lot o&math Everyoneis en-
joying the "family" unit we started last
week. We have learned a lot about
ourselves and why we feel the way we do
when certain events happen. All of us
agree that we are very thankful for our
families
'Grade4
It has been a busy week in .grade 4. In
EnvironmentalStudies we are learning all
about space in our 'Space Centres. In math
weare learning about "decimals" We are
being taught our colours irnFreneh, and we
are enjoyingthem.
Grade has been working on different
kinds 4f poetry - initial poems, .personal
poems, acrostic -poems, cinquain poems
and haiku poems. -
t tde`5
"Due to the budgetand cutbacks in spen-
ding armownced inthe budget we discussed
the importance of VIA -rail. We found that -
10 people have actually -had rifle on the
train. Of 18 surveyed sib thought the train
servieeshoal1dJJeeut"whiie nwereagainst
cutting the service. Jason's for keeping
the train include - it is anatternate to other
means o£ transport -rail isiess dangerous
thanother means. 'Trains Are easy to use
when -compared to phi aud.airports.
Crrade$
'This week in Grade ".6 tb y -are workinx
withrati+os:>in°rnath roc : rine
in geography.
Coigratulatiull ;go to .ii 9'Neill
who i l t 'first, .Julie Carter :who ,placed
second, .1JoeylIodsins who placed second
And:Jamie o_arkrtloalin -Wi e'whoaltio
-r-epr-e .ted our ,school At the .imnic
'festival.
SPecAllUovitiwa
l ie 1 iiltiOn. :tooka :nil
V trip tc► thellu oor lad gun etre
on Mon,(14y endAlixeaftv stf w.
WJ iYe �yee'wpere there ;A��4j„�� j'�/j(�j1 i.0 coim-
coin -
PAW orientee'T , tree (',14 +^'-^iligp,allfl we.
Also .! IIY new r*ez • We 100 4i
great tin*
lkirs. brsv
;lvlaclntYVe t
.hooks or Ute YouugAUthorsfoonference in
Je .Are conpje• 9ogra14a a to
-et9 eats ti' cher PP Pett
tepace (at '-faittiftd volunteer who 1s
oo&-overr lexpert) .
10134, cl renin- ridgy N ghttat8 15
At-the''OOMMallgy