Need Info on Bedwetting Alarms

Hashem_Yaazor

Tue, Sep 12 2006, 1:35 pm

How old is the child? An older child will probably benefit more from such a device than a 4/5 year old, who will be scared.
I don't know the success rates of such devices, but I know plenty of kids who were embarrassed, and the psychological aspect is very important in healing such issues. If it's an older child who shares a room, I would advise finding other means, as one mother told me her daughter was so embarrassed by it that she unplugged it each night, and that kid of defeated the purpose.

The best thing to do is 1)assure the child that it's not his/her fault...the control will come with time, and you will work with him/her to get it to be better
2)Find the root of the problem. Is the child a deep sleeper? One mother told me a couple months ago that her 6 year old wouldn't want to wake up in the middle of the night because the warmth felt good. Perhaps it's a muscular control problem, in which case some doctors advise karate or other strengthening exercises.
3)Treat it accordingly. One option is to wake up the child right before you go to sleep and have the bathroom be used then. Also limit drinks in the hours before bedtime, and always have the child go to the bathroom right before bed.

In my opinion, alarms are a last resort. They scare the child and can only be helpful if there will be no negative emotional impact and the root of the problem is that the child doesn't recognize the need to go and the result of that need. That's why it's only used for older (perhaps age 8 children) -- all other methods are exhausted before.

That's my two cents.

Chanie

Tue, Sep 12 2006, 1:38 pm

Quote:

I highly recommend the book "Dry All Night" for older bedwetting kids

how old is older? I'm trying to train my almost 4 year old. The first few days few woke up dry. but now he is soaked every morning. I'm thinking of putting him back in pull-ups. I take him to the bathroom before I go to bed.

stem

Tue, Sep 12 2006, 4:35 pm

Its really meant for 6 and up but I read it to my 4.5 year old, and she loves it. The child needs to be mature enough to want to be dry and motivated to do what it takes. The first section of the book addresses the parents and teaches them what their attitude should be. Basically, they stress that it's not the parents' problem, but rather the childs. You put the control of the situation into their hands. I found it very helpful.