Parental Decisions Regarding Bed-Wetting and Diapers

 This sharepost is a response to Guest's comments on my sharepost "Bed-Wetting: Should Older Children, Adolescents, and Teenagers Be Required to Wear Diapers?" I realize what I've said is very controversial and goes against the grain of most people's thinking(both professional and non-professional) on this subject. The point of my original sharepost was to get people to see this issue in a whole new light.

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   I can certainly see “Guest's” point of view however he said several things in his reply that just proved my point .One of them was "Kids do have difficulty "seeing two feet beyond their noses" to understand the consequences of their decisions. “They also tend to have a somewhat distorted view of the priorities" and "Where the parents come in is in the fact that because they are older,can often have a more realistic view of the "big picture."”

  The big picture as I (and I believe most people) see it is to be able to manage the bed-wetting in a manner that makes the youngster feel comfortable and helps them maintain hygiene. If a youngster doesn't wear protective garments and lays all night in urine soaked sheets or wears a product that leaks how is this helping them with hygiene or making them feel comfortable?

  I think requiring a youngster to wear some type of diaper to bed strikes most people as being punitive due primarily to the fact that diapers conjure up an image of being a baby. Due to the negative image of diapers, people associate requiring an older child,adolescent,or teen to wear them to bed as something degrading and therefore punitive. People are very symbol oriented-flags,national anthems,art,medals,and clothing are just some of the symbols we impart certain meanings and value to. To many individuals a diaper is a symbol too-a symbol of being a baby. But we must remember that the meaning and value we impart to a symbol is not intrinsic-we are the ones to give it meaning and value. There is nothing intrinsically babyish about diapers-they're just an absorbent material folded and placed between the legs then fastened around the waist of an individual to help manage incontinence. It would help a great deal if dictionaries define a diaper in this way instead of being a garment worn by babies. By not acknowledging that incontinent individuals and bed-wetters also need diapers it demonstrates the implicit assumptions people have regarding diapers which in turn perpetuates the image of diapers being babyish. If I was responsible for writing the entry for diaper in the dictionary I would define it this way: “An absorbent garment folded and placed between the legs of an individual then fastened around the waist designed to protect individuals with bed-wetting problems,incontinence,and as a basic garment for infants before they are potty trained.”

  In my opinion it's all about the parent's attitude. If the parents are putting the child,adolescent,or teenager in diapers to humiliate or degrade them then it is wrong. If however the parents are using the diapers as a tool to deal with the bed-wetting then this is acceptable in my opinion.