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While bedwetting affects up to 12% of 6 year olds, it becomes less common as kids get older (2% of 14 year olds, 1% of 16 year olds). When your child is the 1 or 2 out of 100 that continues to wet, you can begin to feel very alone and hopeless.

The good news is that bedwetting alarms work as effectively in teens as they do in younger children. It usually takes teens a little longer to get to complete dryness, but a few extra weeks to change a behavior that has been going on for years is quite manageable. I’ve found that the key to success for teens and older children is to use an alarm that is easy to use and acceptable to them.

The wireless alarms (such as the Rodger and Malem Wireless) are my recommendation for teens. A positive feature of wireless alarms is that your son must get out of bed to turn off the alarm. Since the receiver is located in an outlet or on a dresser, it will continue to sound from that location until it is turned off. Many tech savvy teens quickly disconnect the sensor from alarms that are worn on the shoulder, then roll over and go back to sleep. They rarely remember this is the morning and wonder why their alarm is disconnected but their bed is wet and they don’t remember getting up.

Another reason that wireless alarms are recommended is that there are few steps to attach them. The Rodger alarm comes with two pair of specialized briefs. (More can be purchased). Your teenage son simply puts these on when getting ready for bed. The receiver stays plugged in the wall or on the nightstand. This alarm also has a bedshaker option, which is a vibratory cushion that lies on the bed and vibrates when the alarm sounds. The Malem wireless alarm fastens to underwear he already owns (close fitting, not boxers) and can be an advantage if your family doesn’t do laundry very often. If there is no wetting, the underwear go back in the drawer. If wetting occurred, the underwear is laundered with the sheets.

Even with teens, your role is important initially. Listen for the alarm and make sure that your son is getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom as the correct response. The quicker he learns how to respond to the bedwetting alarm, the more quickly he will be on the road to dryness. If your room is far away, either of the wireless alarms can be ordered with two receivers, one for your son’s room and one for your room.

One last point is to make sure the alarm is worn long enough. Having 14 consecutive nights of dryness is important before beginning to use the alarm every other night for 14 nights. Often, my teen patients are so excited to have 4 or 5 dry nights in a row that they stop their alarm use prematurely. Wet nights begin occurring sporadically and further progress is delayed.

Wireless bedwetting alarms can be used for any age child but they are particularly well-suited for teens. Persistence and patience will help insure success.

It sounds like your son is very motivated to get to dryness. You have pinpointed several reasons why setting an alarm clock to sound at an arbitrary time is not an effective method for helping your son get to dryness. Because you are unable to predict exactly when your son will need to urinate, you are unable to set the clock to alert him precisely at the right time.

Because bedwetting alarms sense wetness, they do not sound until the precise time that wetting is occurring. If he doesn’t wet or need to go to the bathroom that night, the alarm won’t sound. If he needs to go twice, the alarm will alert him twice. This precise timing is what allows the brain and bladder to make that important connection. Your son will begin to be alerted when he is wetting and conditioned to wake up to a full bladder.

Parents often ask, “Isn’t it too late to be alerted if the urine is already coming out?” In the beginning, the bladder may completely empty before your son or you can respond. Over the first few weeks, however, the usual response is that the urine flow stops at the sound of the alarm. Instead of a large wet spot on the bed, the spot is reduced to a quarter sized spot on the underwear. Urine remains in the bladder and can be emptied in the toilet. Ultimately, his brain will alert your son to wake up before urination happens.

According to the article, Sarah wet the bed until she was in high school. One reason that I am so happy to see her story being published is that the more we can openly discuss bedwetting, its embarrassing implications and its resolution, the more families will feel comfortable seeking help. Getting the word out that bedwetters can grow into pretty wonderful people is important. At the Bedwetting Store, we try to offer concrete suggestions, matter-of-fact phone discussions and product reviews that are actual stories from families of bedwetting children.

As a nurse practitioner, I speak with families of bedwetting teens on a weekly, if not daily, basis. These teens often feel hopeless, helpless and that they are destined to be denied sleepovers, camp and college dorm living for the rest of their lives. Developmentally, the incidence of bedwetting decreases as kids get older so that only about 1% of 18 year olds continue to struggle with bedwetting.

That said, it’s also important to know that there are effective steps that can be taken to speed up the whole developmental process. Bedwetting alarms continue to be an effective strategy for teens with bedwetting to learn the behavior of getting up to urinate when their bladder is full. Some teens have half-heartedly tried using a bedwetting alarm at some point in time, perhaps when they were 7 or 8. Because they did not achieve dryness at that time, they assume that this method will not be effective for them. I have had success in my practice with using the wireless alarms for older kids. Both the Rodger wireless and Malem wireless alarms allow the teen to select a sound to alert them when wetting occurs. Picking a tone that is similar to their cell phone ringtone may be helpful. Achieving dryness and getting up as a response to a full bladder is a permanent behavior that can take time to learn, but having a tool to help speed up this whole process is a welcome relief for most teens.

The good news is that bedwetting alarms work as effectively in teens as they do in younger children. It usually takes teens a little longer to get to complete dryness, but a few extra weeks to change a behavior that has been going on for years is quite tolerable. I’ve found that the key to success for teens and older children is to use an alarm that is easy to use and acceptable to them.

The wireless alarms (such as the Rodger and Malem Wireless) are my recommendations for teens for a couple of reasons. One, wearable alarms require that the user wear a shirt so that the alarm unit can be attached. Many teen boys sleep without a shirt so that could be a roadblock to consistent use. Two, many tech savvy teens quickly disconnect the sensor from the wearable alarm unit and roll over and go back to sleep. They rarely remember this is the morning and wonder why their alarm is disconnected but their bed is wet and they don’t remember getting up. A positive feature about the wireless alarms is that the teen must get out of bed to turn off the alarm. Since the receiver is located in an outlet or on a dresser, it will continue to sound from that location until it is turned off.

A third reason why wireless alarms are recommended is that there are few steps to attach them. The Rodger alarm comes with two pair of specialized briefs. (More can be purchased). The teen simply puts these on when getting in bed. The transmitter stays plugged in the wall or on the nightstand. The Malem wireless alarm fastens to underwear he or she already owns (close fitting, not boxers) and can be an advantage if your family doesn’t do laundry very often. If there is no wetting, the underwear go back in the drawer. If wetting occurred, the underwear is laundered with the sheets. I have all my patients sleep on a waterproof, absorbent overlay on top of their sheet. When the alarm sounds, it’s easy to remove the wet overlay and go back to a dry bed.

Even with teens, the parent’s role is important initially. Listen for the alarm and make sure that your son or daughter is getting out of bed and walking to the bathroom as the correct response. The quicker they learn how to respond to the bedwetting alarm, the more quickly they will be on the road to dryness.

One last point is to make sure the alarm is worn long enough. Having 14 consecutive nights of dryness is important before beginning to use the alarm every other night for 14 nights. Often, my teen patients are so excited to have 4 or 5 dry nights in a row that they stop their alarm use prematurely. Wet nights begin occurring sporadically and further progress is delayed.

Wireless bedwetting alarms can be used for any age child but they are particularly well-suited for teens. Persistence and patience will help insure success.