Older Children,Bed-Wetting,Diapers,and Discretion: How to Handle Babysitters and Other Issues-part 1
One of the key concerns of older children that wear diapers for bed-wetting is how to maintain discretion. For many children that wet the bed parents going out for the evening is a situation that elicits a considerable amount of anxiety. This article addresses this issue and is divided into two parts.
I encourage you to read both parts because I feel that they contain valuable information As mentioned in my article "Older Children,Bed-Wetting,and Self Diapering" older children should be responsible for putting on their own protection unless the child has some cognitive and/or physical impairment that prevents or makes it difficult for him or her to do so. If this is the case this should be brought up to the babysitter beforehand. With this in mind there is really no reason to involve the babysitter. The only scenario I can see where this might be necessary is if the child has to wear diapers and plastic pants to bed. There could be situations in which the parent or parents have not finished laundering the diapers and plastic pants.
As a result the babysitter might notice plastic pants hanging up to dry or have to take diapers out of the dryer when theyre done to give to the child before he goes to bed. Or the diapers and plastic pants might be laundered but the parents might have forgotten or not have time to put them in the childs room and the babysitter has to give them to the child. Depending on the relationship you have with the babysitter and their maturity level this may not be a problem.
Usually a parents intuition should be a fairly reliable guide to how well the person taking care of the child will respond to this issue. If the parents feel that the babysitter is responsible and level headed they might have no qualms about involving them in dealing with the protective garments. That being said, another thing to consider is the childs relationship to the babysitter. The child might not feel comfortable with them knowing they have to wear diapers and plastic pants for bed-wetting.
If this is the case or the parents dont feel the babysitter will react to the fact that the child has to wear night diapers in a mature,respectful fashion then the parents need to make sure the garments are ready for the child prior to the babysitter coming over. As discussed in previous articles there are instances where bed-wetters wear both reusable and disposable diapers. If this is so the child can wear disposable diapers when the parents might be out for the evening and use the cloth diapers and plastic pants on other nights. This way the babysitter doesnt have to know about the bed-wetting and diaper use.
As far as the childs relationship to the babysitter is concerned another factor involved in how close the child feels to the babysitter is the sex of both the child and the caretaker. Girls tend to be more mature than boys and as a result are usually more responsible. Also the girls maternal instincts come into play which means in general girls tend to be more nurturing and sympathetic. When you combine the traits of responsibility with being nurturing its very likely that a girl babysitter might be more sympathetic and understanding about the fact that the child needs to wear diapers to bed.
As far as the sex of the child and how this relates to how comfortable the child feels with the babysitter knowing about the bed-wetting and diaper use,this has to be taken on a case by case basis. For example, some boys feel more comfortable discussing certain issues with a female. Likewise the boy might feel more at ease discussing other types of problems with a male.
The same can be said for girls. Bed-Wetting and the use of diapers to manage it is also a case where the child might only feel comfortable discussing it with a certain sex. The parents have to make a judgement based on the childs personality and that of the babysitter.
