School Camp when your child wets the bed
School camp can be hugely exciting - until you have a child who still wets the bed.
Suddenly there are all sorts of extra worries. What if the other kids find out? Who should we tell? How will they change without anyone noticing? What happens to wet pants or bedding in the morning?
For an older child especially, the fear of being embarrassed can sometimes become bigger than the excitement of camp itself.
The good news is that with a little planning, bedwetting doesn't need to stop your child going to camp and having a fantastic time.
Firstly, remember that Night Dryness is a journey
It relies on several things working together - including bladder capacity, the ability to wake to bladder signals, and producing enough antidiuretic hormone (ADH) overnight to reduce and concentrate urine.
Children reach this stage at very different ages.
In our own family of five children, they became reliably dry at night at ages ranging from around three right through to eight.
Download our FREE 'Dry Nights Ahead eBook HERE and start practical tips to help speed up their journey
So if your child is heading off to school camp and still needs protection at night, they're certainly not the only one.
Start planning before camp
Don't make the night before camp the first time your child tries a new pair of pants or a new system.
Whatever they're going to wear, test it at home first. Actually practice how they will do things at camp (eg discreetly dealing with the protection before bed and after getting up) , so that they have a plan they are sure of.
You want to know:
- Is it comfortable?
- Can your child put it on and take it off themselves?
- Does it reliably hold what they normally wee overnight?
- Can they change discreetly?
- What will they do with it in the morning?
If your child normally produces a large amount of urine overnight, don't suddenly switch to something much less absorbent just because it's more discreet.
A leak in a shared cabin is likely to be far more upsetting than wearing reliable protection.
Talk to your child's teacher
It can be really helpful to quietly let one trusted teacher or camp parent know.
You don't need everyone involved.
Ideally, your child knows exactly who they can go to if they have a leak, need somewhere private to change, or aren't sure what to do with wet clothing or bedding.
Talk with the teacher beforehand about practical things, including letting them know what the child is using and how ( eg a Sleeping bag liner and Confidence Pants with a bag for storage), find out where your child can change and where wet items can be stored.
A good plan means your child doesn't have to work it all out while surrounded by their friends.
Make the protection as normal and discreet as possible
For a child who only occasionally wets a small amount, ordinary-looking absorbent underwear may be enough.
Our Confidence Pants are designed to look and feel much more like regular underwear while giving some backup protection for smaller nighttime leaks.
For children needing more absorbency, our Shorts Style Pants provide considerably more protection while looking like shorts. They have a fairly thick pad so best to try them before camp. They will still leak if the child outwets the absorbency ( like anything that doesn't have a full waterproof outer layer)
For children who still produce a full bladder's worth of urine - particularly those who would normally completely fill a disposable pull-up -our reusable Pullups are the better option. They have a fully waterproof outer and the absorbency in the hidden pocket can be adjusted to suit your child. They are bulkier than disposables and this may be the most important factor , so testing them out before heading to camp is a good idea. Our Pullups are useful as a leakproof layer over the top of a disposable, or over our Confidence pants, so if your child is an extremely heavy wetter, they may still have a place in helping management of night wetting when away from home.
Sometimes a disposable really is the easiest option for camp. This can be managed discreetly. You could pop them down the sleeping bag for your child to put on after lights out, or have them in a toilet bag the child can take to the bathroom with them before bed. Make sure the child knows how to dispose of them in the morning too ( this can be arranged with a camp adult, or they can pop them in a plastic bag to bring home if its only one night away).
The aim isn't to prove that your child can manage without protection. The aim is to help them go to camp feeling secure and able to enjoy themselves.
Think about the sleeping bag too
Even with reliable protection, having a backup layer can provide enormous peace of mind.
A waterproof sleeping-bag liner can be particularly useful at camp because it protects the sleeping bag without looking like a waterproof bed mat. It is not absorbent, so your child will still need to wear enough absorbency to soak up an accident. If there is a leak, dealing with a liner is also much easier than trying to quietly dry a whole sleeping bag. Our Brolly sheet sleeping bag liners come in childrens and adults sizing. the navy blue is popular and doesn't look too different from a regular sleeping bag liner.
Have a morning plan
This is one of the things that's easy to overlook.
At home, your child might simply walk to the laundry with wet pants. At camp, they're waking up in a cabin full of other children.
Work out beforehand what they'll do.
A wetbag can be really useful for reusable pants. Your child can remove them, put them straight into the bag and zip it closed.
If they're using disposables, find out where they can discreetly dispose of them.
The simpler the routine, the better.
Let your child be part of the planning
Older children usually have very definite ideas about what would make them feel comfortable - and what would be horribly embarrassing.
Ask them.
Would they rather change in the bathroom?
Would they like their night pants tucked inside their pyjamas in their bag?
Would they prefer the teacher to know, or a particular parent helper?
Where would they like to keep their wetbag?
Giving them some control can make the whole situation feel much less daunting and reduce their anxiety.
And please don't let bedwetting be the reason they miss out
School camps are about friendships, independence, trying new things and making memories.
Bedwetting is simply something that some children need to manage for a little longer than others.
Pack what works. Have a discreet plan. Make sure one trusted adult knows.
Then send them off to camp to have fun.
They can work on becoming dry at night another day.
Need help working out what protection your child needs for camp?
Get in touch with us at Big Kids Pants. Tell us your child's age, size and roughly how much they're wetting overnight, and we're very happy to help you work out the most discreet and reliable option for them.