I saw NBCs report on Kids Sleeping through Smoke Alarms, and was not surprised. In Jeff Rosen’s investigative report, 3 boys, ages 9,8 and 4, were told that a fire alarm would be going off that night and their reaction would be recorded to see how they would react in a real fire. All 3 children slept through the loud alarm. They stayed asleep until their parents went in and woke them up. In the follow-up Dateline report last night, a researcher from Ohio’s Nationwide Children’s Hospital stated that children sleep differently from adults; that they spend more time in deep sleep so it’s harder for them to awaken in the case of an emergency. He reported that a smoke detector that records parent’s voices is being researched but the results will not be available for a year.

A bedwetting alarm that records parent’s voices is already available. The Malem Recordable Bedwetting Alarm plays a 10-second “user recorded” message when it senses wetness. Families have reported that recording their voice saying their child’s name and giving instructions has worked when other things have failed. This alarm also features a choice of 8 pre-recorded sounds and vibration, giving families all the options for alerting their child.

The reports’ conclusions are not surprising to me because most parents report that their children sleep through the loud sound of any bedwetting alarm initially. Parents can’t believe that their child doesn’t wake instantly and are often concerned that a bedwetting alarm won’t work for them. We know that children respond best to their own parents and we recommend that all parents respond to the bedwetting alarm’s sound by going to their child’s room, waking them and reminding them what to do next. Over time, children often do learn to respond more independently. So, using an alarm with a recorded message or parents going to the room to do the waking are important in the beginning.