Reply from Tom, Child's Age none - 3/11/02 - IP#: 159.39.16.14If your wife changes his bed regularly and has only noticed stained sheets once, it probably isn't really a problem. If it is more than an isolated incident, you should at least put a vinyl cover on the mattress and an absorbent mattress pad over that. If you think there is a problem you need to discuss it with your son to find out how often it occurs. A trip to the doctor may be in order to see if there is some physical cause. He may be embarrassed, but he can't expect wet or stained sheets to go unnoticed. If he was really trying to keep it a secret he would probably have changed the sheets himself and washed or hid the wet ones. Contrary to what Jinx said, keeping a child in diapers is not the dominant theme here. He probably had a bad experience with his parents when he was younger. Diapers should only be used if wetting occurs regularly (more than once a week) and 1) wetting causes the person to wake up and loss of sleep becomes a problem; or 2) changing the bed and washing sheets, mattress pads, and clothing causes an unacceptable burden on whoever does the laundry. As long as the mattress is protected, an occasional wet bed isn't much of a problem, especially if the person is able to sleep through it. It's a good idea to let someone know when it does happen because wet sheets left on the bed will eventually result in the room smelling like stale urine. |