Tips to Prevent Wetting at School

"My 7 year old daughter will be starting 2nd grade soon. In first grade, there were times when she didn't make it to the bathroom in time. This resulted in wet pants, sometimes requiring a complete change of clothes.

She has been checked out by her doctor and there does not seem to be any associated problems. What can we do to prevent this from happening this school year?

Embarrassment

You're smart to address this before school starts. This is so embarrassing for kids, in fact, children list wetting pants in class as the third most stressful event that could happen, preceded only by losing a parent and going blind.

• Pack a change of clothes or leave some in the nurse's office
• Wear waterproof underwear and dark clothing
• Make sure your child has regular showers or uses moist wipes to clean her skin and prevent odor
• Discuss strategies with your daughter should wetting occur

Treatment

Urologists around the country agree that this common and frustrating problem can be best handled by frequent urination on a regular basis, adequate daytime fluid intake and making sure bowel movements are regular and soft.

Timed Voiding

Emptying the bladder regularly eliminates the urgent messages that sometimes result in urine leakage. The difficulty arises when children get busy with other activities and lose track of time. Telling a child to go potty every 2 or 3 hours is a hard concept to grasp.

-Use a discreet vibrating watch as a reminder to urinate every 2 hours during the day. For example, the Rodger Vibration Reminder Watch has up to 8 specific times you can program as vibratory reminders.

-Consult her teacher about the best toileting times

-Make sure she has free access to the bathroom when her watch reminds her to go

-Instruct her to use the bathroom at these times, even if she does not feel the urge

Starting the new school year off with a reminder watch and a plan of action is likely to eliminate many of the embarrassing accidents she had last year.