peterhutch asked:


Bed-wetting is very common in younger kids, in fact, it is so common that it is even considered normal before age 5,” Greene says. “Nighttime dryness is the last part of toilet learning that kids achieve,” he adds. At ages 6 and below, bed-wetting only needs to be addressed if the child is feeling really bad about himself as a result, he says.

When one of your children is a bed wetter, it can be a very sensitive topic. You want your child to know it’s just a part of growing up and that there’s nothing wrong with them. You have to ***** down on siblings who like to give them a hard time.

“As adults, when the bladder gets full, it sends a signal to brain to wake up or you start dreaming about water or going to bathroom and then you wake up, but for kids the signal isn’t quite strong enough to get them awake,” Greene says.

Bed-wetting can be both uncomfortable and embarrassing for a child. Thankfully, almost all kids outgrow it in time. But chances are you will feel compelled to do something while you wait. What follows are the best bed-wetting remedies currently available—other than time.

Many children with bed-wetting will improve with time and for reasons that are not understood. It is important to tell your child that it is a temporary condition. Many children who wet the bed do not feel very good about themselves.

Sometimes parents can place blame on their children who bed-wet, either knowingly or unknowingly. It is important to be patient with a child who bed-wets. A child does not wet the bed on purpose.

In all children, the development of bladder function control and night-time urine production is a slow process, so most children are affected up to the age of three. In fact, bed-wetting is quite common up to the age of eight. In most cases there’s a delay in the development of the normal pathways of bladder function control within the brain and nervous system, which eventually mature.

Primary nocturnal enuresis is the most common form of bedwetting and is experienced by over five million children in the US alone. While many people attribute bedwetting to behavioral problems or stress, the truth of the matter is that bedwetting is often an inherited trait.

Chronic bed-wetting is thought to be related to (1) a physically and/or neurologically immature bladder and/or (2) a deep sleeping pattern. Apparently these children often sleep so deeply that they are not aware of the message the bladder sends to the brain saying it is full. It is presumed that bed-wetting is an inherited condition. Usually a parent, aunt, uncle, grandparent or other family member(s) will have had the condition. Also, children with attention deficit disorder, learning disabilities or allergies seem to be more likely to be bed-wetters than children in the general population.

Don’t blame the child or punish them, but take practical steps, such as putting a waterproof sheet on the bed. An enuresis alarm can help condition the child into getting up at night to pass urine. These can be purchased from ERIC (see below) or borrowed from a local enuresis clinic. However, one in three children relapse after a few months.

Ending the bedwetting is not the only objective of a proper correction. The enuretic(bedwetter) has the opportunity to sleep better and more normal as the result of a proper correction. This enables them to have a better quality of life and can enhance their self-esteem and self-image.

Bedwetting usually resolves itself by the age of about seven or slightly later. About 1 in 7 children aged five, and 1 in 20 children aged ten wet the bed. It is more common in boys than girls.

Bedwetting can also affect children older than six or seven. With advice from your GP, parents can try various techniques to sort out the problem. It’s very important not to punish the child or make them worried about the bedwetting.



Melissa

Amanda asked:


I am 19 years old and I was always a good student, and I still am. When I was about 13 i realized that no matter how many times i read something I couldn’t remember it. And it showed as I got into high school as I had poor test scores, but I could always right great papers, busy work, etc. I asked my parents about it and my mother always told me not to worry about it and it was normal. Well now I am in college and the same things are effecting me, but I don’t have busy work to help my grades out. I find that my grades are suffering and no matter how much or different ways I present information to myself it doesn’t stick. I was talking to professor and they started asking me questions because they were generally concerned with my grades, and I suggested I might get looked at for a learning disability or something. I figured it couldn’t hurt, but I am not sure of where to go for the diagnosis test. I know children can go to places like Sylvan, can adults go there too? Or are there different places to go? I mean I am still kind of considered a child in some instances.

Norma

Paula Williams asked:


Every organization understands the value of ongoing education and training. We all want to have a staff of professionals who continue to grow and improve themselves in their specialty, to learn the ropes of their industry, and to learn about your company and your customers.

Active adult learners make the best employees. But many managers and trainers fail to recognize the fact that adults learn very differently than children and younger adults who are in the formal school system.

The Solution

This article is a comparison and discussion of the concepts of andragogy, meaning “the art and science of helping adults to learn”. . . contrasted with pedagogy, the art and science of helping children to learn. There is some discussion about whether androgogy is a theory of learning, a theory of teaching, or a set of assumptions. Despite the controversy, androgogy is a workable concept and an excellent “conversation-piece” to describe many of the issues with adult education and ways it can and should be different from the education of children. What follows are five of the key factors that define androgogy and differentiate it from pedagogy, together with illustrations or examples of how they might be used by an instructor.

The need to know

In a classroom of children, there are some concrete guidelines established by a school board with cultural and demographic information that establish what children should be expected to know by the fifth grade, for example. Adults, on the other hand, may be influenced by the boss or co-workers, or friends and family, or may even be compelled to enroll in some educational programs. For the most part, however, adults determine what they want and need to know for themselves. The largest majority of adults elect to enroll in classes, seek private instruction, or engage in independent learning projects.

It is very important to ensure the course is positioned and marketed appropriately. Perspective learners that select a particular course need to be assured that the course objectives and materials. That would help ensure the adults that enroll have a stronger desire to learn. The instructor should also conduct a short needs analysis (depending on the length and complexity of the course) in the first session to find out WHY each person enrolled and what they expected to learn.

The learners’ self-concept

The self-esteem of children is fragile yet fairly malleable. Most children can be persuaded to take part in various activities using fairly simple methods. Adults, however, sometimes have self-concept issues that interfere with learning. Overcoming a self-developed label, such as “I’m not technical” or “I’ve been out of school too long” can interfere with an adult’s participation or success in a learning endeavor. It is important for the instructor to ferret out these concepts if they are causing problems, and to address them directly. When I encounter a student with a self-concept issue of “I’m not technical, and this assignment is technical, therefore I won’t try it.” I break down a web-development assignment into smaller pieces and go through it on an individual or small group level, using a comfortable and familiar metaphor, such as following a recipe to bake cookies or building a house. (The learners themselves often suggest a good metaphor with some intelligent questioning.) One early success in a course often goes a long way toward resolving this difficulty.

The role of learners’ experience

Children generally have fewer unique experiences to draw knowledge from, partly because they have had less time to accumulate it and partly because children in public school have a similar experiential background. Adults often have rich layers of experience that are very different from one another and that provide excellent, relevant and compelling learning material, if it can be tapped for a course.

I recently attended a process planning workshop hosted by IBM. There were six attendees, all of whom were from related departments at Wells Fargo. In a needs assessment, the instructor hit on an issue that we were having. She scrapped the generic example used in the course materials and used our “case study” instead. She incorporated our example throughout the course as an example. My classmates and I were very motivated by the opportunity to solve a real world problem during the course. The course became much more powerful for us because it was immediately relevant.

Readiness to learn

The curriculum for children is often designed so that courses follow the predicted developmental stage of the child, courses build on each other in sequence. With adults, the instructor cannot make such assumptions. Material taught before the student is ready to begin using it will not be as effective as material that can be used right away. As an example, I was part of a team that delivered software training to a group of people. The training was successful, and got excellent reviews. However, the software that was supposed to be delivered and used at the conclusion of the training was delayed by two months. We were asked to design and deliver a refresher course (at a considerable cost to the company) because the students were not comfortable using the software because of the delay between matriculation and availability.

Readiness to Learn also addresses the potential of learning disabilities and other disabilities. Many adults have disabilities that were not diagnosed when they were children, so this possibility (and eventuality) must be addressed.

Motivation

Children can be motivated to learn nearly any topic by an enthusiastic and supportive teacher. Adults need more specific motivation. As an example, many adults engage in learning activities with anticipation of a better job. By providing placement services, networking opportunities, and marketable certificates; a learning opportunity can better meet that expectation and hence, more effectively motivate students to complete and excel at the program.

It is important for an instructor to understand the concepts of androgogy when teaching adults. In many key factors, there is a significant difference between adult and child learners. By designing courses with the needs and characteristics of adults in mind, an instructor or educator stands a much better chance of success. When designing educational programs for your company, design your training programs for adults.



References:

Charles, S. and Pasupathi, M. (2003).Age Related Patterns of Variability in Self-Descriptions: Implications for Everyday Affective Experience. Psychology and Aging, 18 3 524-536. 

E-Text Merriam, S. et al.

Adult Learning Theories, Principles, and Applications. University of Phoenix, John Wiley and Sons. Llewellyn, G. et al (2002) Home-based Programmes for Parents with Intellectual Disabilities: Lessons from Practice. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disabilities, l 15 4, 341-354.

Principles of Pedagogy and Androgogy, University of Phoenix Material. Retreived December 10, 2003 from https://mycampus.phoenix.edu/secure/resource/resource.asp



Laura