My rose tinted spectacles let me see my grandchildren as perfect…… even though I have to disguise any vegetable under a layer of cheese sauce….. I also pay no heed to the occasional quarrels I hear breaking out. I have learned to change the scene rapidly until we are all ‘friends’ again.
But the issue that really had me flummoxed (puzzled disappointed with a touch of horror) was when the youngest never grew out of wearing nappies at night.
2 years of age, normal behaviour……….3, still acceptable…….. 4, a bit of a problem…. 5 and the subject of bed wetting became an ISSUE.
It taxed nerves and disrupted relationships between the child in question, the siblings, the parents and of course the ever loving (patience fraying at the edges) granny. The siblings had to be taught that it was NONE OF THEIR BUSINESS and they soon learned to avoid teasing and even talking about it.
A visit to the family doctor assured everyone that 20% of children up to 5 years old wet their beds at night.
So when Suzie, with the curls and the Oscar winning dimple smile passed that milestone and still woke at least 5 mornings of the week, in a test run, wet, despair loomed on the horizon.
The doctor reassured us that she was not lazy nor did she have a weak bladder. She did not have an infection.
‘Grin and bear it,’ was his ‘expert’ advice.
It cost a fortune in appointments, tests and counselling……..mainly for the granny and the worried parents.
The only piece of advice that we were agreed upon was never to shame the child. When the other two were given new sleeping bags for their camping trip it was tempting to exclude Suzie on the grounds that it would be ruined in no time.
They simply made sure that she wore her ‘pullups’ (a child sized nappy) without fail over that long weekend.
They tried various tactics:
They made a star chart to record her success rate…..it failed.
They tried extravagant praise when she had a dry night…..it failed the very next night.
They set their alarm and mum or dad got her out of bed and took her to the toilet in the ‘wee’ hours of the morning……….it failed and they were bad tempered as well from a broken night’s sleep.
They tried the promise of a special outing and an ice cream as a prize for a dry week……..it failed and only caused horrible disappointment.
The 6th and 7th birthdays passed and nerves were stretched to breaking point.
One day a few weeks before her 8th birthday, Suzie began extolling the beauty of a new bicycle. She dropped heavy hints with little success.
In desperation with her eyes sparking with enthusiasm she told her parents, ‘it comes with a basket carrier in front in which Tiggles can ride. Perhaps I could get it for my birthday Daddy,’ she sang out with her most winning smile.
Mid sentence he looked up from his computer and glanced lovingly at his youngest child. With an exasperated mind and unthinking mouth he ran his hands through his hair so that it stood up in spikes and said……….. ‘a bicycle? You’re more likely to get a year’s supply of night time nappies.’
‘Smart move dad,’ said Harry as he swerved out of reach as he passed through the study.
IT DID THE TRICK.
Suzie stopped wetting her bed that very night……….forever.
Squiggles, her little dog (also a long ago bribe to encourage her to stop wetting her bed) took to riding in his basket on the front of her brand new birthday bicycle, like a duck to water.
Pixabay
And Suzie?
She is the proud (dry) owner of a new pink bike complete with a shiny big bell.