Parents of children who wet the bed have been looking for ways to encourage their child to break the habit. You may have tried a number of times to get bedwetting to stop. Here’s how a “star chart” can effectively lower the incidents of bedwetting in your home.

As you know, bedwetting isn’t something that is done on purpose. It is entirely involuntary and something children can’t ‘control.’ Your child’s bladder is small which can make holding urine during sleep difficult. However, they can learn to recognize their need to use the restroom during the night. Choosing to get up and go rather than staying in bed is where a star chart can come in handy.

Using a star chart is one of the simplest encouragements for children to learn to stay dry during the night. One of the best things you can do, however, is to help your child realize that bedwetting is normal for children and that they will outgrow it. Making them feel bad about bedwetting may actually cause their bedwetting to become worse.

Is there a toy they’d like or something special they would like to do? This could be the perfect “reward” for them once they have mastered staying dry at night for a specific period of time. Of course, any night they remain dry should be celebrated, but this reward will be extra special.

Explain to your child that they will get a star on their chart. How large their chart is, how many days or weeks, is entirely up to you. Will you restart the chart when they’ve had an accident, or merely start on a new line? You may want to talk to their pediatrician about how long it generally takes for their bladder to become accustomed to training. Many pediatricians recommend using a star chart for at least three to six months before they will try another treatment method.

A star chart is simply a calendar that you place star stickers on for each night they wake up dry. You would place the calendar or chart in a prominent place and have a good amount of fanfare when your child stays dry. Let them place the star on their chart so they are taking ownership of their accomplishment.

You don’t want to make your child feel bad about wetting the bed at night; you want to encourage them to do otherwise. It serves your child better if you make each dry night a celebration rather than discouraging them about an accident.

We all want our children to grow up with a positive self-image, and star charts are a positive reinforcement that has been proven to be effective. Of course, star charts may not work with every child, but they are a step in the right direction and easy to attempt before going with more extreme measures such as bed alarms that sound whenever the bed becomes wet or prescription medicines. Remember to celebrate their accomplishments and you may find bedwetting a thing of the past.