Need advice for overnight Girl Scout trips RE: bedwetting

[peg2001]

My DD's Brownie troop spent the night at my house last weekend as a test run to see if they can handle being away from home overnight. Their troop leader wants to take them overnight to the Girl Scout camp in the spring.

These girls are ages 6 to 8 and it never crossed my mind that bedwetting might be a problem. However, the next morning, there was a large wet place where one of the girls slept. The last thing I wanted to do was embarass her so when she asked for a plastic bag for her stuff, I gave her one without comment. I waited until they all left to spray down the area with a pet enzyme cleaner.

I'd love some advice on how to handle this situation on future troop trips. I could bring along plastic bed covers for the cot/area where she will be sleeping but I'd hate to be that obvious in singling her out. Should I ask the troop leader to talk to her parents about the possibility of using some kind of overnight pull-up on her? What if they are offended? I guess I'm not sure why they wouldn't give us the heads up ahead of time unless this is not a common occurance.

Any ideas?
Peggy

 

[always quiet]

Would it be possible to get mattress covers for all the cots, that way you wouldn't be singling one girl out? I know our local dollar store sells them. You could tell all the girls, if they noticed, it was for hygienic reasons.

I would ask the girls parents if this is a routine occurance or maybe just a fluke kind of a thing. When my oldest DD was that age, every winter, til she was about 7, the first really cold night, she would have an accident. Never failed! I could almost predict it would happen by watching the weather forecast!! Would only happen that one time a year. If it happens to this girl frequently, I am sure they would want her to be prepared and not cause her any undue distress.

 

[Keli]

I tend to think this must have been a fluke too because I can tell you that most parents of kids that consistantly wet the bed go to incredible efforts to keep that from happening when their children are with others.

There are certainly things these parents can do to keep this from being a problem so I would definitely talk to them about it. She can discretely put on a pull up right before she goes to bed but she might need a little help from you in disposing of it in the morning without anyone knowing.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I think this warrants a private conversation with the parents from the leaders of the troop.
Camping in itself will cause you enough grief. As a leader I would say it is up to them to find a solution (with the parents and girl). If this is not done now then this will be a real problem as time goes on. Not to mention serious embarassment.

Hopefully the parents and girl will welcome a solution and it will make things fun for everyone.
Maybe talk to parents first without girl and see what the issue is.
Good Luck, that sounds tough.

 

[monarchsfan16]

Originally posted by always quiet
Would it be possible to get mattress covers for all the cots, that way you wouldn't be singling one girl out? I know our local dollar store sells them. You could tell all the girls, if they noticed, it was for hygienic reasons.

And when they see the mattresses at a girl scout camp they will believe this. They can sometimes be downright gross.

This was probably a fluke, at that age, so the parents definitely should be talked too. It may be that she was just nervous or something but I know that when that happened to one of the girls I was in Girl Scouts with, she was actually happy to have someone talk to her parents about it, so that she wouldn't be embarassed anymore. Unfortunately on these camping trips the bathrooms aren't as easy to get too as they are in your house.

 

[Piglet]

I would tend to think that if the bedwetting was a constant problem that the parents would have mentioned it. Maybe the little girl was afraid to get up when she had to go or was so busy that she didn't want to take time out to go to the bathroom. She also may be starting with an infection.

My 7yo DD gets busy and has to make an urgent run to the bathroom occassionally and has had accidents once in a while, especially when she is having fun with her friends.

I think I would just talk with her parents, and you can work out together what can be done.

Melinda

 

[zurgswife]

I tend to think this must have been a fluke too because I can tell you that most parents of kids that consistantly wet the bed go to incredible efforts to keep that from happening when their children are with others.

As the parent of on older chlid bed wetter I have to concur...we go to very detailed lengths to make this not be obvious....

I would have the leader speak to the parents and just plan ahead just in case...

 

[Disney Doll]

I would do the mattress pad thing for all the beds, and, as you said, kind of just say "This is for hygienic reasons, because these beds are used by many people."

I would also mention it to the girls mother as well. It could have been a rare occurrence, maybe because she was excited or nervous or drank a lot before bedtime and was in a deep sleep. or whatever. But it could also be the start of a urinary tract infection, so the child's mother needs to know.

 

[DISshopkeeper]

Originally posted by zurgswife
As the parent of on older chlid bed wetter I have to concur...we go to very detailed lengths to make this not be obvious....

I would have the leader speak to the parents and just plan ahead just in case...

I concur also. Oh, the strategies I've dreamed up over the years.

I think the cover for ALL mattresses is a good idea.

 

[peg2001]

Thank you for all of the advice. I like the idea of using covers for all the beds/cots. I will also tell the troop leader to mention the occurance to the girls mom.

Peggy