Ask Sam letter

Hi there

Thanks very much for your letter. I can hear it’s is a difficult time for you at the moment.

I’m really pleased you’ve decided to ask for support because I know bedwetting can sometimes feel like a difficult subject to discuss. It can be a worrying and frustrating experience but it’s not something you have to cope with on your own. There are lots of different reasons why someone might wet the bed and it can happen at any age. It’s not helpful of your dad to tell you that it’s what babies do. This is something you deserve support with just like with any other problem with your health.

I can hear that at the moment it feels like you’re missing out on a lot because of your fear of your friends finding out that you wet the bed. You are not the only teenager who wets the bed, and I would hope that a good friend would understand that it’s not your fault. However, I can hear that wetting the bed is affecting your confidence, and there are things you can do which you may find help to reduce or stop it from happening. If you haven’t done so already you can speak to your doctor or school nurse about this, they will have supported other people in similar situations and will be able to help you through this. They might also be able to help your dad understand that this isn’t your fault and that he can help you to overcome it.

Sometimes bed wetting can be linked to the your drinking habits or sometimes it can be about concerns someone is having in their lives. Perhaps you could start to keep a diary to see if there is anything happening to trigger your bed wetting. This would be a really useful thing to be able to show to your doctor or nurse if you decided to ask them for help.

You may find it helpful to get some support from other young people who are in a similar situation and to read their thoughts and feelings. There is already a thread on the message boards about bed wetting. I’d also recommend having a look at the ERIC website, which provides support for anyone affected by bed wetting. They have a section of the site that is just for teenagers which includes advice and information and a dedicated message board.

If you want to speak to a counsellor in more detail about what has been going on, you can do this by calling us on 0800 1111, having a chat 1-2-1 with a ChildLine counsellor or send us an email.

Take care

Sam