Is bedwetting a symptom of discomfort?

When it is not of mechanical origin, what does bedwetting express? Bedwetting is a symptom that expresses discomfort. Like flowing tears, bedwetting can express grief, but also anger, aggression that cannot come out during the day. This can be the case for children whose parents do not allow the slightest spark of aggression, who are asked to be perfect, to never have a bad word for their little brother, their little sister. Bedwetting can then testify to the explosion of impulses, including Oedipal impulses, which cannot be expressed on a daily basis. These are also overprotected children, kept in a baby-like status, and who are rarely allowed to do things alone (washing, running errands, going to school alone from a certain age). Is bedwetting a way to attract attention? Like when a younger brother arrives, for example? When a baby arrives and monopolizes all the parents' attention, the older child may indeed regress and start wetting the bed again. More than a way to attract attention, it is a way of expressing suffering: that of no longer capturing all the attention as before. By wetting the bed, the child also expresses his desire to become a baby again, the object of all the attention, with a diaper, a bottle. Another example: a child who works well at school, who is good. Wetting the bed is sometimes a way of signifying that he exists, even if he does not cause problems, unlike his brothers and sisters who, with their problems, monopolize all the attention of their parents. As a parent, what attitude should you adopt? It's important for the child to feel active in their symptoms. For example, waking them up at night to go to the bathroom isn't productive because it doesn't make them responsible. They need to gradually acquire the reflex of waking up when their bladder is full. And as soon as they're old enough, ask them for help making the bed. This helps the child become aware of their problem and appreciate their progress. This also saves parents from getting up at night—and, out of exhaustion, scolding their child. Should punishments be banned? The child doesn't wet the bed on purpose. It is therefore unfair to scold or punish him. You must look for the suffering your child is expressing and reassure him by telling him that he will eventually succeed. Also, avoid humiliation, especially from his brothers and sisters. On the contrary, you must value your child by giving him the opportunity to be independent—for example, by sending him to buy bread alone—by having him do activities in which he succeeds. This is very important for his self-esteem. If the bedwetting is of psychological origin, is it absolutely necessary to consult a psychologist or a child psychiatrist? Bedwetting is a warning sign that indicates a more or less significant level of discomfort. If, apart from this problem, the child is comfortable in their life with their friends, at school, and at home, and it doesn't seem to bother them, there's no need to seek medical help. However, if their bedwetting is accompanied by other signs of discomfort and they ask for help, it's definitely advisable to seek medical help. Sometimes a few sessions are enough to resolve the problem.