Archive for the ‘Readiness’ Category

Scared of Alarm

Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010

RT writes about her 6 year old daughter who thinks that a bedwetting alarm will scare her. She wonders if we have heard that from other families.

Children are all so different in their response to new situations, new sounds, and new feelings. I want to offer you some tips if the loud sound is a concern to your daughter.

• Describe the bedwetting alarm in a different way, perhaps a bedwetting alert or a bedwetting reminder.
• Let her listen to the sounds, both on-line as well as when you receive it.
• Play with the alarm, turning it on and off many times, so that she can get used to the sound it makes. Have her hold it in her hand and turn it off and on herself.
• Attach the alarm to a dry pair of panties. The alarm is silent. Then attach it to wet panties. Let her observe how the alarm works to let her know in the nighttime that wetting is occurring.

When she uses her bedwetting alarm:

If the loud sound is still a concern, you can offer the turn down the volume (on the wireless alarms) or position the alarm further from her ear (with the wearable models).

Her actual response in the nighttime has to do with the time in her sleep cycle that the alarm sounds. Early wettings, within a couple of hours of going to sleep, are common when first starting an alarm. During this phase of sleep, it’s common for kids (as well as some adults) to be disoriented, possibly combative, say things that don’t make sense, cry or not know the way to the bathroom. Many of the kids have no memory of this in the morning. If she remembers this as being scared, remind her that it’s just a sound and her brain isn’t quite used to that noise yet. After using the alarm for a few nights, her brain begins to figure it out.

In my practice, I see that wetting early in the sleep cycle usually stops after a few weeks. When the wetting takes place later in the sleep cycle, a much different response is observed. Closer to morning, your daughter most likely will know what the sound means, know what to do next or at least be able to reason with you.

Anticipate her nighttime response and reassure her that you will be there to help her if she can’t remember what to do when the alarm sounds. If your reassurance isn’t enough right now, maybe this is not the right time to begin using the alarm. Let her know that you and her bedwetting reminder will be ready to start when she is.

Santa Chuckle

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

I saw a great 9 year old boy last week for treatment for bedwetting. He looked me in the eye and leaned forward on his chair as I explained how his bedwetting alarm would work. He listened to the sound and felt the alarm’s vibration with his hand. As I was finishing up his visit, I noticed a look of questioning with his head tilted and eyes raised. I asked, “Do you have any questions?” He responded in a very serious tone. “I’m worried that my alarm will be going off and it will scare Santa. If he’s scared, he might not drop off my toys and just take them away with him”.

I tried to respond with equal seriousness, but it was everything I could do to keep my chuckles to myself. His parents didn’t say a word. I reassuringly told him,” Bedwetting alarms do not scare Santa. He has heard other boys’ and girls’ bedwetting alarms on his past trips and no one has ever reported to me that they did not receive their presents. Many kids are so excited on Christmas eve that they don’t sleep very well and their alarms don’t even sound.” A look of relief came over his face as he exited my office, his alarm in hand.

Note to myself: I can never predict what obstacles a child might be worried about. Things that adults might consider to be a challenge may not even be a concern to a child. Always ask about questions and concerns, and then answer them as honestly as possible.

Occasional Wetting in Older Boy

Wednesday, October 21st, 2009

KK writes, “My son is 11.5 years old. His father wet the bed until he was approximately 12 years old. The bedwetting has improved, but he still wets about 3-5 nights a week on average. In the last 6 weeks we have stopped using Goodnites, and keep a waterproof cover on the bed. My son can go 4-5 nights without wetting and he does seem to wake up usually as soon as he is wet. My question is, since he usually wakes up when he is wet, will he benefit from the use of an alarm? He has a week long overnight school trip coming in March, and I am really concerned about this.”

I see many older children like your son who are having some dry nights but not dependably dry yet. I use bedwetting alarms with success in these kids. I often use the Rodger wireless alarm because it is so easy to hook up. Your son would just wear the specialized briefs each night. Once the briefs detect even a small amount of moisture, the transmitter causes the receiver plugged into the wall to sound. Your son has to get out of bed to turn the alarm off and can go to the bathroom while he is up. He will be alerted more quickly than he is now so has the opportunity to learn precisely when the wetting is occurring and get up before the flood occurs. Over time, his body will learn to wake him before the wetting occurs. If he starts with this soon, he should be dependably dry before his trip in March.

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