Is your kid’s bedwetting caused by ADD? As many children with ADD do suffer from sleep disorders, it is common for them to suffer from bed-wetting, also known as enurosis. Some of them sleep very deeply and may have difficulty waking up to go to the bathroom when their bladder is full. As most children with ADHD have difficulty with discipline and organization in the first place they may be less responsive to behavioral interventions. Disciplining an ADD bedwetter may make him wet the bed more which is definitely the case with my bedwetting nine year old.

Children who suffer from ADD, feel ashamed for many reasons in the first place so you should never shame them more by striking them or being harsh with them. Bedwetters and especially ADD bedwetters can’t control themselves at all. This is the result of constant criticism and rejection from their peers. Some of them just may accept the bed-wetting as one more thing in their life that cannot be changed or controlled and not make the effort to change the situation.

Bedwetting is thought to be more common in boys than girls. At age five bedwetting affects 7% of boys and 3% of girls. By age ten, it affects 3% of boys and 2% of girls. By adolescence, 1% of ADD sufferers still suffer from bed-wetting

Doctors do not know an exact cause of nighttime bedwetting (also called enuresis) in ADD afflicted children, except that the area of the brain that controls impulses seems to be under active.

Enuresis may occur on its own in normal and ADD afflicted children because of slow neurological development, a small bladder and a tendency to produce too much urine at night. It has also been attributed to anxiety, a sudden change in routine and emotional trauma. Kids that have been shocked in some way bed wet more. Kids that move to a new school will also wet the bed. Even seeing a scary movie can cause it.

Before you jump to conclusions you should realize this first. A very small percentage of children might experience bed-wetting as the result of such physical problems as bladder infections, kidney infections, chronic nephritis, diabetes mellitus, lower spinal cord problems and congenital malformations of the urinary tract. Bedwetting is also associated with enlarged tonsils or adenoids. Get your kid checked out by a good doctor if you suspect it has a physical cause.

If your kid is a bedwetter get some help or medication for him or her. This can last into adult hood for whatever reason and cause your child years of humiliation. Make sure there is not something you can do for some of her to treat this type of symptom, which may or may not be a sign that your kid has ADD. Sadly, adults with ADD will wet the bed their entire life and there is very little they can do about it as they have no control over the part of the brain that controls urges.

Here are some everyday, helpful hints to get you started, keep you going, and stick to your diet.

1. Never leave home “starving.” Always have a light snack before eating dinner in a restaurant, such as a piece of fruit, a glass of juice or a carrot.

2. Don’t go food shopping on an empty stomach! You’ll be tempted to buy everything in sight.

3. Don’t be tempted by treats. Store them out of view, off counter-tops and as out-of-reach as possible.

4. Don’t eat in front of the TV. Watching the boob tube — instead of watching your plate — lulls you into overeating. Also avoid being tempted by food and snack commercials.

5. Make it a rule in your house to confine your meals to the dining room or kitchen table! Never don’t eat standing up! This leads to mindless snacking.

6. Think before you drink. Alcohol adds lots of calories, but no nutrients. Also, it weakens your willpower to avoid the wrong food choices. Hangovers can cause wicked cravings for fatty or high carbohydrate foods that can sabotage any attempt at weight loss.

7. Fill up on soup first. Begin every meal non-cream hot soup; it forces you to eat slowly and fills you up so you won’t overeat.

8. Take time to taste your food. Don’t gobble food down! Rushing through your meals doesn’t give your brain the time that it needs to signal your body that you are full.

9. When dining out, request sauces and low-calorie dressings on the side.

10. There is no law that requires you to finish everything on your plate.

11. Prepare a shopping list (with menu ideas in mind) and stick to the list. Avoid being tempted by bargains that grocery stores place on the outer aisles and at the back and the front of the store. The healthiest foods are usually in the long narrow aisles.

12. Use non-stick pans to reduce the need for cooking with fat.

13. If you must use oil, try a flavorful one like olive or sesame oil now remember little goes a long way! Make just a spritz of oil go even further by buying a Misto. A Misto is an aerosol can that you can fill with a good fat such as olive or canola oil.

14. A pinch of grated cheese or blue cheese will provide a flavorful kick without adding a lot of calories to a salad or grain dish.

15. If you cook in large quantities for your family, store leftovers in individual serving size containers. This is a way to practice portion control for yourself so you don’t eat too much at one sitting.

16. Nibbling off of someone else’s plate may seem harmless — but those calories do add up!

17. Drink six weight glasses of water a day. A beverage before mealtime will also help you feel full faster and longer. Water also helps your body digest food, which is especially important now that you’re eating a fiber rich diet.

18. Store really tempting treats in opaque containers or silver foil — and stick them in the back of the refrigerator. Out of sight out of mind!

19. Are you stuffing yourself? If you have to loosen your belt a few notches after meals you’re definitely eating too much!

20. Mashed bananas, prunes and apple sauce are great baking substitutes for fat, especially in bread, brownie and cake mixes.

21. When you choose to eat “fast food,” choose wisely: skip fried foods; avoid large portions; and opt for a small hamburger.

22. Sauté foods, if possible, in chicken stock, low-sodium soy sauce or water, instead of fat.

23. When cooking, broil, bake, roast, boil or stir-fry and let the fat drain. A George Foreman grill is an excellent investment for those who want to eat meat and avoid eating the fat drippings too!

24. Sauces and soups can be thickened with a puree of potatoes instead of cream.

25. Instead of eating any product directly out of the box, pour a reasonable portion onto a plate or bowl, and put the box away. This also prevents mindless snacking.

26. If a recipe calls for 1/2 cup of oil, cut that amount in half, your taste buds won’t know the difference — but your waistline will.

27. Add spice to your life instead of fat; fresh herbs will perk up any dish without adding calories. Experiment with different ethnic foods and seasonings; they’re full of flavor — not fat.

28. Freeze leftovers immediately so you can’t raid the refrigerator later.

29. Watch portion size by dishing out meals and bringing plates to the table. Don’t set “bottomless” bowls and platters where they’ll tempt you to reach for more, unless it’s a salad or a bowl of vegetables. You can never get enough of those greens.

30. Start saving for that new post pregnancy outfit now! When you reach your goal weight, you can buy yourself some fashionable new clothes!

Children who have been diagnosed with ADD can be disruptive to say the least. Parents are often tempted to use corporal punishment because they feel that nothing less will get a child’s attention. Parents will try everything from emotional black mail to ignoring the problem to care taking in order to try and manage the situation. I know from experience with my nine year old that nothing seems to work.

Unfortunately, individuals with ADD do not respond well to any kind of punishment, whether it is corporeal or emotional. In the case of children, attempting to discipline them with violent acts only teaches them that violence is the best way to resolve conflicts. You cannot teach an individual with ADD to be accountable for their actions. All you can really do is minimize the heart-rending guilt that they feel when they do commit a misdeed.

Many parents of ADHD children are still waiting for their child’s case of the “terrible twos” to be over even after the child has reached adolescence. These impulsive and hyperactive children are often unable to “look before they leap” and cause serious safety threats to the entire family. As children with ADHD are also usually very creative and intelligent, it is difficult to quell their curiosity. They are always getting into medicine cabinets, trying to cook supper on their own and seeing how high they can climb up a tree. To make things worse some ADHD children have perceptual, coordination and balance disorders that affects their judgment when it comes to determining whether or not they are about to put themselves in a precarious position. This also leads to a lot of spills, breakage and loss of valuable property. I should know my nine-year is like a bull in China shop.

Individuals with ADD or ADHD can also cause serious emotional rifts between yourself and other members of your family. For instance, siblings of a child with ADD can act up because they feel they deserve the same kind of attention and focus that is given to the child who is misbehaving all the time. They may also resent the child and shun them from their social circle because they are embarrassed by his or her behavior. Physical and emotional injuries are frequent as conflicts break out between frustrated siblings and baffled sufferers of ADD. My older children are furious I spend so much time withy troubled nine year old.

Parents and spouses of ADD afflicted individuals may also find themselves taking a lot of heat for the behavior of there loved ones. Parents may be admonished by grand parents and friends and advised to discipline the child more often. Some parents may suffer from low self-esteem as the result of repeated accusations of not knowing how to raise a child. Some ADD children scream and act out so much that the neighbors and teachers suspect the parents of abuse. Teachers may also suspect a negligent or abusive family life is behind the child’s disturbed behavior. As the parent of one of these possibly ADD kids I can tell you that this is definitely not the case. I am a good mother. Still it can be hard to tell others why your kid acts up so much.

If you suspect that a child, or a friend’s kid may be suffering from ADD it might be because you are exasperated by his or her behavior.

For instance, your child who you know is quite intelligent might keep coming home with failing grades even though he thoroughly passed a home oral examination with flying colors the night before.

Adults can get I too. Your spouse may repeatedly bouncing checks or forgetting to pay bills even after you have resorted to leaving reminders printed in bold letters taped to the refrigerator. You might be concerned about a friend, who keeps storing her purse in the refrigerator and the milk in the medicine cabinet.

Another common scenario is the co-worker who starts several projects and never finishes them, leaving you to pick up the pieces. In order to cope with the person with ADD, you may have become a codependent or a caretaker who lives in a state of perpetual resentment. This is because you always have to clean up, cover up or fix the perpetrator’s mistakes. This resentment is also always accompanied by a feeling of guilt, as you may feel so baffled, frustrated and weary of your loved one’s antics that homicide is becoming one of your favorite fantasies. It is hard to think about killing your kid every day but that is how frustrating a child with ADD can be.

As the nature of ADD is essentially cunning baffling and confusing, the first thing you need to do is realize that you are feeling the resonance of this disease. You are in the same pickle that partners of alcoholics or manic-depressives are as you can’t help but react to mysterious and hurtful behaviors that seem to be “on-purpose.” If you are trying to cope with ADD by mirroring the sufferer’s own behavior back to them - stop. An individual with ADD almost never learns by example. Put your energy into understanding the disease and learning not to take it personally. The most important thing you can tell yourself is “This is not about me.”

As with most behavioral or psychological disorders, the symptoms of ADD are engaged according to the degree of severity. Everybody at one time or another displays at least one of the major traits of an ADD sufferer. We all get distracted, impulsive and restless. The difference between a so-called normal individual and an ADD sufferer is the frequency, duration and length of these symptoms.

I think my nine year old has ADD but I am sure he thinks I have it too. If you have a kid that doesn’t seem like he or she is listening to you then before you jump to conclusion figure out if he or she is just mirroring you. How often are you listening to your kid? It may not be ADD at all but just a reflection back of what your child has learned from you.