How to Save Your Mattress from Mishaps
As a parent it can be tiresome getting up in the night to change sheets and attempt to scrub, treat, extract or dry a mattress that has been subject to a bed wetting mishap.
If this happens, the number one rule is “BE CALM AND CARING TOWARDS THE CHILD“. This is very important, because they probably weren’t even aware they were doing it and the mishap only became aparant when they woke up and called out to the parent. Your reaction is very important so that your child does not develop issues or “hang-ups” around going to bed or having a restful sleep. So forget the stress because mattresses can be cleaned without a problem. Here are the SIX most important steps to Avoiding Bed Wetting Mishaps:
If you’re not doing this already, you should get in the routine of applying these steps with your child, assuming they are out of nappies and either toilet trained or working through that stage:
- Do not give any fluid to the child after dinner. If dinner is about 5pm or later, there is no need to give them fluids after this time so long as they have been adequately hydrated up to dinner time.
- Do not give fruit juices or cordials after dinner or any other sugary drinks (Yes, these are included in “fluids”)
- Encorage kids to go pee before bed after they have brushed teeth. This forms a habbit that makes it almost automatic for a person to pee after brushing their teeth at night.
- Dont over excite the child before their bedtime. The lead up to bedtime should be calming and have the effect of “winding down” at the end of a big day.
- After the child goes to bed, some parents, will half wake up their kids later, just before the parent goes to bed, and get their child to go again so the risk of bed wetting is further reduced. (Remember, be gentle and softly spoken so they are not stressed by the disruption)
- To assist during a training stage, specific night time nappies can be purchased from the supermarket or pharmacy that allow the child and parent to avoid concern about “potential” for mishaps. Brands include; Huggies etc.
If you ultimately want to protect your mattress from urine staining or any other mishaps that may occur, a mattress protector will prevent the transfer of liquids past the plastic liner. These are used in hospitals and nursing homes often. For kids, however, the problem is often corrected by adjusting the steps leading up to bedtime.
Additional Resources:
Mattress cleaning & sanitizing