When Ben Sowards’ six-year-old daughter, Valerie, wet her pants at school, he knew he had to do something about it.
In an act of fatherly love, the Utah dad showed up to his daughter’s school last week with a splash of water on his pants, all to make her feel less embarrassed. Thanks to a tweet sent out by his eldest daughter, Lucinda, their story has gone viral.
“My heart kind of just broke,” Sowards told Buzzfeed News. “She looked at me with just the biggest incredulity.”
When he showed up to the office to pick her up, Sowards asked his daughter if he could borrow her backpack.
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“When he arrived to pick her up, he told her, ‘Honey, I need to use your backpack to cover up my accident if we are gonna get out of here,'” Lucinda told Mashable.
Valerie laughed and “snuck out” of school, her sister said, thinking she had gotten away with it.
It’s not the first time Sowards has gone out of his way to ease his kids’ embarrassment or discomfort, either. About four years ago, when Lucinda fell on her face ice skating, her father FaceTimed her sporting a black eye to match hers.
Meet the Sowards
According to Fox 13, Ben and his wife Connie have opened their home to many foster children.
And on Monday, they opened it to four more, bringing the grand total of kids to 11.
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The internet has fallen in love
As the story went viral, many users on social media instantly fell in love with Sowards and his family, calling him everything from “dad of the year” to “a legend.”
Many even included a reference of a scene from Billy Madison.
Why kids may wet the bed or themselves
According to Kid’s Health, daytime wetting can occur when children have a twitchy or “overactive” bladder, a weak outlet valve (which causes them to wet themselves if they laugh or cough) or a urinary tract infection.
The organization adds if your child does wet themselves in public or the bed, be patient and understanding.
“Respond gently if your child is wet even if you feel angry; they do not want it to happen either,” the organization notes on their site.
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They also advise parents to teach their children to relax and take their time when they use the bathroom, while also ensuring they are drinking enough fluids a day.
The Canadian Paediatric Society adds if you’re dealing with bed wetting, especially with children eight and over, their self-esteem may suffer as well.
In this case, doctors can suggest an alarm that goes off while the child wets the bed or prescribe them a common medication called desmopressin acetate.
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