Bed & Breakfast

Sometimes you have a bedroom without a lot of space and it’s usually the bed that takes up most of it. Especially for rooms that are designed to be more than just sleeping areas (kids’ rooms, for example), this can mean that there’s not a lot of room for the rest of the things – desk, chair and other paraphernalia – that the room needs to contain. Here are some ideas on beds that maximize your space and allow the room’s space to be used to its full potential.

The Shelf Headboard:

Possibly the simplest thing you can do to combine sleeping arrangements with space-saving, the headboard that doubles as a shelf can hold books, tissues, lights and anything else imperative for bedtime. Most beds can handle an appropriately sized shelf-headboard, making it an economical option for people who already have a good bed.

Bunk beds:

The original space-saving solution, the bunk bed! These beds are generally geared towards children who have to share a room or a child who has a lot of sleepovers. Bunk beds are also an option for guest bedrooms and for storage of toys and equipment on the top bunk. For children, they can also function as an economical canopy bed with the addition of curtain rods. Take note that it is strongly recommended that children under the age of 6 not be given the top bunk.

Mezzanine/Loft beds:

At first, these appear to be bunk beds, but they generally lack a second sleeping arrangement on the bottom, leaving space for a chair, desk, or anything else that a person might desire underneath. Some come with elaborate setups that include shelves, steps and matching furniture. Others are just the bed and a ladder. These are ideal for college dorm rooms and smaller rooms that need to house an active child. The same caveat that applies to the top of bunk beds applies to lofts – no kids under 6.

Murphy beds:

A Murphy bed will flip up against a wall when it is not in use. This enables the floorspace that it would otherwise occupy to serve for other purposes. Murphy beds have come a long way from the cartoon cliches that folded up on hapless characters. Many of them today have exceptionally comfortable mattresses and are easy to take down and put away. Modifications to the Murphy style allow for a desk or other useful feature to “pop out” when the bed is put away.

Hanging beds:

Some of these beds just hang from the ceiling and don’t offer any more storage space than a regular bed with room underneath the frame. However, a few enterprising businesses and individuals have created hanging beds on a pulley system, allowing the bed to be swung to the ceiling and out of the way. This requires a fairly high ceiling relative to the room’s occupant to be truly useful and care must be taken that the pulley bed, equipment and structure it is affixed to are able to take the weight of both bed and occupant(s).

Bedup:

This French concoction puts the bed on tracks and gives it some fold-down legs so that you can raise and lower it like a hanging bed on pulleys, only it’s anchored to the wall. This makes the bed less moveable and gives it some solid support from the legs as well as the tracks it runs on

Futons:

What we think of as a futon and what the Japanese, the creators of this style of bed, think of as a futon are two completely different animals. The Japanese futon refers only to a mattress that is often folded up and put away during the day, allowing for use of the bedspace. The Western “futon” tends to refer to the mattress and the frame it is placed upon, which can be laid out like a bed or folded up like a couch. Either way, these are very good beds to use for a small space. However, one should take care in the type of futon they choose; many futon mattresses are cheap copies of traditional mattresses and are not supportive of the back.

Sofa beds:

The first cousin of the futon, the sofa bed mimics an ordinary sofa, but turns into a different creature entirely when night falls. A mattress appears out of hiding and folds out to create an ample bed, the width of the original sofa seating space. If it’s space saving you’re after, this is definitely one to consider.

Trundle beds:

Another time honored tradition, the trundle bed is a bed-within-a-bed. One bed is put together the normal way, but its frame is just a giant drawer, holding another bed. Perfect for small spaces and frequent sleepovers. Most trundle beds have the mattresses at different heights, but some have pop-out mechanisms that put the trundle mattress at the same height as the main bed.

You can do a lot with a smaller living space if you find the right furniture. Check out some of these options if saving space is important to you.

Dog lovers are suckers for allowing their precious pets to sleep in the bed with them. They will adjust their sleeping position during the night so their pooch can curl up or stretch out in their favorite position. Wouldn’t everyone get a better night’s sleep if Fido had his own perfect dog bed?

Observing how your dog sleeps will give you important clues to make the right decision when choosing a bed. Since dogs are creatures of habit and prefer to sleep in the same spot, this makes it even more important to choose the right bed to accommodate your dog’s sleeping habits.

5 Dog Bed Options Based on Shape and Style:

1. Donut shaped bed. This is the perfect choice if your dog likes to curl up into a ball or lean against something soft. It’s a cozy bed that is a comfort for dogs that like to be warm and feel protected. Determine the size based on whether your dog likes a cozy fit or wants a bit more room to stretch out.

2. Round pillow style beds. For dogs who like to sprawl out or circle around to make a soft nest, this is the style to choose. Round beds allow plenty of space for any sleeping style and the soft fill inside the cover provides soft, yet supportive comfort.

3. Rectangular dog bed. This bed will accommodate dogs that like to lie on their stomach! The shape is a great space saver and works well under tables or desks, so your dog can be close by whether at home or work. This style works well in crates and makes a great travel bed.

4. Orthopedic beds. If your dog is older or has arthritis or other joint problems, this is the bed to choose. Some beds are heated, which provides additional comfort for older dogs in the winter.

5. Outdoor beds and crate mattresses. Dogs that spend time outside or in a kennel probably deserve a comfortable bed even more than an indoor dog. There are heated beds, cooling beds and waterproof beds to consider. Check out the washing instructions, since these beds will need to be washed more often.

Selecting the right dog bed cover:

Anyone who has ever had a dog knows how messy they can be, so it’s important that your dog bed is up to the challenge. Of course, you want to keep your maintenance to a minimum, so choose 100% machine-washable fabric covers that can be removed from the mattress when it’s laundry time. The best beds come with a zip-off cover. In addition to the styles mentioned earlier, many of the new sofa-type dog beds can be purchased with a washable slip cover. They are definitely worth the extra money.

Choosing the size:

Dog beds must be big enough and strong enough to match your dog’s breed, but not so big that you waste money on unused bed space. Carefully measuring your dog will assure the proper fit.

There’s no hard and fast rule for size selection, but the following information offers a good guideline. Measure your dog standing up from tip of nose to base of tail and also from floor to shoulders or head. If you will be buying a mattress dog bed, add 12 inches. This will give you an approximate width and length for a flat dog bed.

Measure your dog’s length another time in his favorite sleeping position when he is fully stretched out, or his diameter when curled into a ball. For nest and ball-type beds measure the length of your dog while he is curled up. Measure from the top of his head to the point where his tail meets his hindquarters, and then add 7 to 9 inches.

The right size dog bed will be a close match or just slightly larger than your measurements. Beds that are too small may not be comfortable for your dog. It’s important to allow room for growth, if your dog is still growing, or you’ll be wasting money and replacing beds often. Be sure to allow room for movement regardless of whether your dog is still growing or if he’s already at maximum size.

Fabrics:

Does your dog enjoy sleeping in a sunny spot in the morning and by the bed in the evening? If so, select a bed that can be easily moved about the house and fits the decor in several rooms. To save money, buy a bed that matches the room where your dog spends the most time sleeping, usually where ever the family spends the most time.

Dog beds these days come in many designer colors and fabrics. There is something for every dog and dog owner that not only offers a soft or durable fabric but blends with the home decor.

To paraphrase a familiar saying – when Fido’s happy, everybody is happy. Your dog’s health and comfort depends upon his getting a good night’s sleep. Keep in mind that small dogs or dogs with arthritis may find it difficult to climb into a platform or furniture type bed. Make an informed decision when you purchase a dog bed and your dog will benefit for years to come.

Sweet dreams to all!

When bed bugs invade an apartment, who calls the exterminator and who pays? The conundrum in the emerging field of bed bug law is pitting landlords against tenants and filling court dockets.

Legislation recently introduced in the New Jersey Legislature as Assembly Bill 3203 would force landlords to shoulder the entire financial burden of combating bed bugs by making them solely responsible for conducting annual inspections, distributing and displaying educational material created by the state, immediately treating reported bed bug infestations, and maintaining a bed bug-free environment throughout the apartment building or complex. Similar bills are under consideration in other states.

Citing the nationwide 500% increase in bed bug infestations and calling the common bed bug “a public nuisance,” Bill 3203 states, “it is a matter of public welfare to protect New Jersey citizens’ health from this pest.” Noting that owners of multiple dwellings are “in the best position to coordinate the extermination bedbug infestations in that multiple dwelling,” the bill directs, “Every owner of a multiple dwelling shall be responsible, at his own expense, for maintaining the multiple dwelling free of an infestation of bedbugs.” Landlords who fail to act would be fined $300 per infested apartment and $1,000 per infested common area. Local health boards would have the power to act for and bill unresponsive landlords. (You can read the complete text of New Jersey Bill 3203 on the Stern Environmental website.)

Given the exponential increase in bed bug infestations nationwide, landlords are leery of the possible financial repercussions of such legislation. In New York City, bed bug complaints jumped from 1,839 in 2005 to 8,830 in 2008. Violations issued by the Department of Housing Preservation and Development rose from 366 to 2,757 over the same period. New York and New Jersey apartment owners are legally tasked with providing pest control for tenants. It’s the apartment owner’s responsibility to provide tenants with a pest-free living environment. That wasn’t always true. Since the 1908 case of Jacobs v. Morand, tenants had been legally obligated to pay their rent even if bed bugs had made their apartment inhabitable. That changed in 2004 with Ludlow Properties, LLC v. Young when Judge Cyril Bedford ruled in favor of a frustrated tenant who had refused to pay rent for six months because of a persistent bed bug problem, writing:

“Although bed bugs are classified as vermin, they are unlike … mice and roaches, which, although offensive, do not have the effect on one’s life as bed bugs do, feeding upon one’s blood in hoards nightly turning what is supposed to be bed rest or sleep into a hellish experience.”

Today, tenants seem to be winning the litigation war against landlords, but it’s a tough fight. When bed bug infestations are discovered, tenants and landlords point the finger of blame at each other. “It gets back to the issue of responsibility,” said attorney Ronald Languedoc. “In law, the party that asserts a claim usually has a burden of proof. I think it is probably hard to track down where, precisely, they came from and how they got in there.”

Under current New York and New Jersey law, apartment owners bear the responsibility and financial expense of providing housing that is rat-free, roach-free and now bed bug-free. For cash-strapped apartment owners, there’s the rub. Rats, roaches and other vermin are attracted by garbage and unclean conditions. The connection to proper maintenance, efficient trash collection and regular pest control is obvious. The cost of such regular maintenance is an expected part of managing an apartment building. Just like electric, water and other utility costs, these expenses are figured into monthly rent payments and recouped.

Bed bugs are an entirely different problem. Bed bugs are not attracted by filth. They are insects of convenience like lice and fleas. These tiny insects crawl from one infected individual to another. They set up house near beds and in bedrooms, hiding in cracks and crevices during the day and creeping out at night to feed on the blood of their unsuspecting prey – humans. The size of an apple seed, bed bugs multiply quickly and are adept hitchhikers. You can get them from contact with an infected individual, visiting his home, brushing his clothing, standing next to him or borrowing his belongings. You can get bed bugs by sitting in a seat just vacated by an infected person on a subway, park bench, taxi or airplane. Since not all people react to bed bug bites, people often spread bed bugs without even knowing they have them.

Bed bugs can come into an apartment on someone’s clothing, in suitcases and backpacks, in the creases of storage boxes, in the cracks and crevices of used furniture, in the upholstery of a rental sofa and in refurbished mattresses. Apartment owners have no control over what attracts bed bugs or how the annoying little buggers get into the building. You can understand their reluctance to take responsibility for a problem they didn’t create and have no control over. Yet that is exactly what housing legislation requires them to do. Particularly exasperating are the strictures in New York City and under consideration in Jersey City and the New Jersey state legislature that prevent apartment owners from passing along the often hefty costs of eliminating bed bug infestations to their tenants.

The life cycle and living habits of bed bugs only confound the problem. A single female bed bug can produce up to 500 eggs during her one-year lifespan, laying about five eggs per day. Moving through five nymphal stages, bed bugs reach maturity in just five to eight weeks. They nibble on their human prey at night, feeding for up to 10 minutes every three to five days. The tiny bugs are often mistaken for other pests and their bites for mosquito or spider bites. Not all people react to their bites which look like raised, red welts and many don’t react (itching is typical) for several days after being bitten. Some people are so embarrassed, they fail to report an infestation or uselessly try to treat it with Raid. By the time the problem is noticed or reported, a considerable infestation can have developed.

Often by the time they’re identified, bed bugs have spread to other units in a building and the original culprit can be hard to identify. Because bed bugs spread easily through wall voids, elevator shafts, plumbing and wiring conduits, and heating and cooling ducts, next door units and those on the floors above and below an infested unit are also likely to be infested. Treatment of one unit can simply send bed bugs scurrying to find new living quarters. Even vacant apartments are not safe as bed bugs can live for one to seven months without a blood meal.

Eliminating bed bugs in a multi-unit apartment building can be a nightmare for everyone and an unexpected financial burden for the owner. Because of the many variables involved – the need for tenant cooperation, the bugs’ minute and numerous hiding places and their tendency to spread quickly and easily — multiple pest control treatments over a spaced period of time are necessary to completely eradicate bed bugs from an apartment building. Apartment owners are being asked to shoulder the financial burden without remuneration, sometimes without essential tenant cooperation, and with no guarantee that the whole mess won’t happen again. It’s not hard to understand why apartment owners feel new bed bug laws are unfair.

What are bed bugs? Bed bugs are one of the most annoying pests around. You can imagine how film makers can make even these annoying insects the most lovable creatures, in the movies.

So, pictures of bed bugs in today’s magazines and textbooks aren’t as loathing. Pictures of bed bugs and bed bug bites that you might see these days are just like pictures you might see roaches, ticks, ants, bees, and other kinds of insects. They are even humanized, characterized, or given physical attributes of humans.

The True Picture

Examining the bed bug under a microscope, you will find that they are wingless insects. Bed bugs have waxy and protective skin covers, and aren’t much different than any other insect.

Pictures of bed bugs show that bed bugs are very small, even microscopic. Looking at the from the top, they look like flattened organisms. This makes sense because they can creep and hide into the tiniest cracks, crevices, and holes in walls, floors, doors, and ceilings.

Their tiny size facilitates the need to take pictures of bed bugs using microscopes or magnifying glasses. Trying to look at a bed bug in person would prove very difficult, indeed, as they are too small to see with the naked eye.

If you have the super hero gift of Supervision, then you might probably be able to see and enjoy the physical attributes of bed bugs without magnifying glasses.

Where To Find Bed Bugs

Bed bugs don’t normally leave their hiding places in the daytime, which is another reason why it is easier to just look at their pictures in magazines and textbooks.

These tiny creatures are nocturnal so night time is party time for them. At night, bed bugs can be seen coming out in search of blood. Vampiric little things, aren’t they? Our human eyes are weaker and less focused at night so, we can hardly see these bed bugs when they are most active at night, hunting and partying.  If you feel like you are being plagues by bed bug bites, this may be the reason. 

Bed bugs are almost always found in crevices and small holes in the walls or on the floor.

Finding bed bugs is also tedious, requiring a lot of luck on the part of the searcher, or the person looking out for bed bugs. Why? Because full-grown, or adult, bed bugs can store food in their stomachs for about a year or more.

Unfortunately for you, you now know why pictures are more accessible than actual and live bed bugs, even if you are sure your place or bed is a breeding ground for these elusive creatures.  The same hold true for pictures of bed bugs bites.

Bed Bugs’ Eggs

Bed bugs are too small for us to see them easily. Not surprisingly, their eggs are even smaller. Pictures of bed bugs’ eggs are almost always miniscule as it stands in real life already, but in actual encounters, they are truly microscopic!

They can be carried through the air by dust in the wind. This makes bed bugs’ eggs infamous. They can be easily spread because of their light weight and size.

Closer examination of bed bug egg pictures will show that their eggs are almost like all the other insect eggs, tiny, microscopic, but equipped with structures that can make them independent. So, bed bugs’ eggs can hatch by themselves even without the mother bug around.

It takes just 10 days for bed bugs’ eggs to hatch. By that time, new bed bugs are born into the world, adding to the rapidly multiplying bed bug population world wide.

Female bed bugs, as shown by some pictures acquired through the Internet and books, become like queen ants. They get much bigger before laying eggs. This is because female bed bugs can lay about 300 eggs in one pregnancy. How’s that for
a family! 

Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

Through understanding and examination of bed bugs’ pictures, we can picture out and understand how pesticides work.

Through pictures, we can see that bed bugs have protective waxy coverings that make them the same as most insects. It is this characteristic that makes bed bugs, and other insects with the same features, able to survive harsh and rapid environment changes, and even extinction.  Think of the cockroach, and bed bugs are like that too!

There are many pesticides that target these protective coverings. Insecticides mostly contain powdered silicon and glass granules that break into this protective covering.

If you look closely at bed bugs’ pictures, you will see that through the protective coverings, there are the bed bugs’ vulnerable insides and bodies. Pesticides attack these structures, killing the bed bugs in a matter of minutes or hours.

It is much more desirable, that rather than looking at pictures of beg bug bites from yourself, or others who have fallen prey to these little vampires, to be looking at pictures of dead bed bugs who hopefully hadn’t had the chance to feed on anything or anyone.

 I posted the article “ Should Older Children, Adolescents, and Teenagers Be Required to Wear Diapers to Bed?” on the Health Central Network also and one reader named “Guest” felt that an older child or teen might feel they’re being punished by their parents by requiring them to wear diapers to bed. I responded with the article “Parental Decisions Regarding Bed-Wetting and 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 article was to get people to see this issue in a whole new light.

  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 reinforces 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,punish,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.

  Another thing Guest mentions is that my comparison between wearing a cast and wearing a diaper is “comparing apples and oranges.” He said-”A child won’t necessarily get sick or have a detrimental consequence of not wearing protection for bed-wetting as long as hygiene is maintained” But “not wearing protection for bed-wetting” can have a negative effect on hygiene. Frequent exposure to urine can cause skin breakdown, ulceration, and infection.

  I was reading that normal urine pH is between 6.0 and 6.5 whereas the urine pH of incontinent people is between 8.0 and 9.0 which means it’s more alkaline. This in turn can irritate the skin. To quote one article-”Prolonged exposure to urine is known to chemically irritate the skin and impair its function.” Although wearing certain types of diapers can also cause skin problems,these problems can be minimized or eliminated by using the appropriate skin care products such as lotions,powders creams,and ointments in addition to cleaning one’s self thoroughly after changing the diapers. Without wearing diapers you’re just exposing more areas of the skin to negative effects.

   I’ll reiterate the following point-I do believe that parents should be understanding in terms of having the youngster wear diapers. That’s the reason I suggested implementing the reward system to encourage them to try the diapers and plastic pants out. It’s important to use this system for at least 6 months-some youngsters might need a year. It’s my contention that the older child, adolescent, or teenager will be motivated to wear them because of the rewards. By using a reward system to encourage them to wear diapers to bed they’ll associate wearing diapers with something pleasant-getting a reward. After a suitable time period they’ll probably be so comfortable waking up in a dry bed they won’t need the rewards anymore and will wear the diapers and plastic pants to bed of their own accord.

  One of the most important aspects of dealing with an illness whether mental or physical is the sense of having some level of control over it. Having this feeling of control improves a person’s self-esteem. This is a recurring theme in discussions and debates about using diapers to manage bed-wetting with older children,adolescents,and teenagers. I touch on this issue frequently in my articles and I thought I would touch on it more in the present one.

  The prevailing view among most people whether medical professionals or not is that older children,adolescents,and teenagers should be granted autonomy in their decisions about what type of protection to wear to bed. The reasoning behind this is that by forcing them to wear diapers to bed you’re making them feel babyish. Independence is very important as children get older but in this context the main issue is the following: if the child,adolescent,or teen chooses a product that doesn’t offer adequate protection or chooses to wear no protection at all should the parents judgement about what the most appropriate form of protection to wear to bed trump the youngster’s need for independence? I personally feel it should but everybody’s different.

 As pointed out in my article “Ways Parents Can Encourage Older Children,Adolescents,and Teenagers to Wear Diapers to Bed” I think it’s important for the parents of an older child to explain why you chose a particular style of diaper to manage their bed-wetting. This includes the advantages the particular product has over other products and how these advantages will help them more effectively manage their bed-wetting. This in turn will make the youngster feel more comfortable and secure. Additionally the parents should listen to the child if they have any misgivings about wearing a certain type of diaper and let them know that you understand how they feel. At this point the parents should talk to the child about various strategies the child can use to help them with wearing nighttime diapers and the particular reward system they’ve put in place to help them adjust to the protection. It would be helpful if the parents get the child’s feedback on the reward system. By discussing the merits of a particular product and how this will help the child feel more comfortable and secure,by listening to any concerns the youngster might have,and by getting their thoughts on the reward system,it makes the child feel that your decision is not an arbitrary one and that you’re not trying to belittle or humiliate them. Finally it shows that you respect the child’s feelings on the matter which will make it more likely that they won’t resist putting the garments on before going to bed. Many parents dread the possibility of this nighttime battle and the previous suggestions will help in this regard.

 As far as teenagers are concerned,it can be quite a challenge convincing them of the merits of wearing diapers to bed. The majority of teenagers are very sensitive about the idea of independence and many of them are highly resistant to parental demands in general and wearing protection to bed in particular. The need for autonomy increases significantly during these years. The book “Reclaiming Youth At Risk- Our Hope for the Future” by Larry K. Brendtro, Martin Brokenleg,and Steve Van Bockern has the following to say concerning this: “The desire to acquire greater independence accelerates rapidly during early adolescence. One survey asked students to rate the importance of 24 value statements,one of which was “to make my own decisions.” This value increased more between fifth and ninth grades than any other.”

 With this in mind, a different approach is warranted with teenagers. In some cases parents give teenagers money for good grades. For example,they might give the teen a certain amount for each B earned and a certain amount for each A received. A similar system could be put into place to encourage the teenager to wear diapers to bed. Ideas along these lines as well as various strategies a youngster can use to help them cope with wearing diapers to bed are described in my my article “Ways to Encourage Older Children,Adolescents,and Teenagers to Wear Diapers to Bed and Other Topics.”

 I’ve since rethought somewhat my previous position on requiring teenagers to wear diapers to bed for bed-wetting. I still feel older children should be required to wear diapers to bed if the attempts to cure the bed-wetting have been unsuccessful and garments such as pull-ups and “Goodnites” are ineffective at protecting both the youngster and the bedding, but as far as teenagers are concerned it might be prudent from a psychological standpoint to give them more latitude in this area. That being said, I do feel teens’ concerns with image will prevent many of them from objectively evaluating the merits of certain forms of protective garments.

 When talking to your teenager about his or her bed-wetting and possible ways to manage it it’s important to put yourself in their shoes. First off it’s an embarrassing situation to talk about,and second,this embarrassment is compounded by the possibility they might feel you’re treating them like a baby by requesting them to wear diapers to bed. With a teenager it’s important that they feel in control of the situation. This entails involving them in the decision making process. If the parents feel that a certain type or brand of diaper would be best to manage the bed-wetting given their particular circumstances and the teenager balks, you can say something along these lines: “Both your mother and I have been researching the different types and brands of products available to manage bed-wetting and we feel that due to your level of incontinence,it would be best for you to wear pin-on diapers covered by plastic pants(or whatever other type of diaper the parents find best to manage the problem) These offer excellent protection which in turn will make you feel more comfortable and secure. We worked out a reward system to encourage you to try these out for a while. Please realize that we have your best interests at heart and we’re not doing this to punish or humiliate you. We hope you don’t think we’re treating you like a baby. Keep in mind that there are plenty of cases where adults persuade other adults to wear diapers such as in the case of married couples who deal with bed-wetting. There are also instances of children purchasing diapers for their parents suffering from incontinence due to medical problems. For instance conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease,Parkinson’s disease,and other diseases can cause incontinence and the children might have to purchase diapers for their parents to manage the incontinence. We’d like for you to at least try these out for a while. Who knows, you might feel real comfortable wearing them and wouldn’t consider going to bed without them on. Eventually you’ll come to see that it’s not so bad wearing them .In the long run you’ll realize the merits of wearing these to bed. As I said we’ve come up with a reward system designed to encourage you to try these out for 6 months to a year. If after that time you don’t want to wear them you can wear other garments.” I would stress to the teen that it’s best for them to wear the most effective garments to deal with their bed-wetting not the garments that have the best image.

  In terms of self-esteem one of the issues I haven’t seen addressed is this: a big part of self-esteem is having a sense of control over one’s circumstances. In order to have this control  we must make decisions about the best course of action to follow given our particular circumstances,and since everybody’s circumstances are different people will make different choices. The way we make these decisions is by evaluating all available options and then choose the best one from all the others. In some cases this might not be the most pleasant one but over time we learn to adjust. Adults do this all the time and the ability to do this must be instilled in youngsters at an early age.

  How this ties in with bed-wetting and wearing diapers to manage it is in the following manner: by not wearing the most effective protection (or not wearing any protection at all) the youngster is in effect demonstrating that they’re not acting in a responsible manner which to me is being childish. I would tell them that to a certain extent it’s more babyish not wearing diapers to bed. I would also say to them that part of being mature is choosing the best way to manage a problem which in certain situations might not necessarily be the most pleasant one. Most adults are also reluctant to wear diapers but they realize it’s in their own best interest to do so and although it might take them considerable time and effort to make this adjustment,in the end the majority are able to get used to wearing them. Many times in life we have to choose the lesser of two evils. In the case of bed-wetting the lesser of two evils is wearing a diaper as opposed to waking up in soaking wet pajamas and bedding.

  The qualities of being responsible and choosing the best course of action given the circumstances are some of the hallmarks of being an adult. In addition it makes an individual feel in control of the situation thereby improving the individual’s self-esteem.

  How is lying all night in wet clothes and bedding or wearing a diaper that leaks being in control of the situation? On the contrary, by lying all night in wet clothes it reminds the person that they’re not in control. When discussing this issue the key thing mentioned is the negative psychological effect of requiring a youngster to wear diapers to bed but what doesn’t seem to be considered is that a feeling of not being in control of the problem can have detrimental psychological effects also which can last for a long time. As mentioned in previous articles people have different levels of incontinence. In addition the incontinence might effect them in different ways-some people sleep on their sides and have problems with side leakage,some people wet more than others at night,etc. Due to these differences people require certain types and brands of diapers otherwise they wouldn’t manufacture such a wide variety of products. Wearing the most effective type of diapers to bed whether pin-on diapers and plastic pants,tape-on disposables,or other products makes the user feel more in control of the situation and helps the person feel more self-confident. This in turn will improve the bed-wetter’s self-esteem.

  I wanted to clarify where I stood on this issue. I was under the impression that some people might think that I’m callous because of my stance on this subject. Nothing could be further from the truth. I look forward to any comments regarding this or any of my other articles. It’s good to have constructive dialogues in this area.. Many people have preconceived ideas concerning this matter and I hope my writings might make some individuals reconsider some of their basic preconceptions on this topic. We as a society have overcome many of our prejudices and have matured where many issues are concerned. For example there is less stigma surrounding mental illness and other diseases. Hopefully in time there will be less of a stigma surrounding using diapers to manage bed-wetting with older children,adolescents,teenagers,and adults.