My 9 year old daughter needs a bedtime bathroom alarm to let her know when to get to the bathroom. Our doctor says this is the best way to teach her how to stay dry at night. We are frustrated because she sleeps so soundly and she soaks a pull-up every night. What do you recommend?

Bedtime bathroom alarms, better known as bedwetting alarms, do speed up that process of getting to dryness. For girls in her age group, we recommend the Malem Ultimate Wearable Bedwetting Alarm or the Rodger Wireless Bedwetting Alarm. Read a description of these alarms and why they are well suited to your daughter.

Bedwetting alarms sense wetness and sound exactly when your daughter needs to go to the bathroom. Some parents worry that this is “too late” and the wetting has already happened. This is how behavioral conditioning works. The brain begins to make the association between the sound/vibration and the bladder emptying. Over a few nights or weeks, the urine flow is quickly stopped at the sound of the alarm. This allows the remaining urine in the bladder to be emptied into the toilet, instead of the bed.

Your “sound sleeping” daughter will begin to be aware of what a full bladder feels like and what to do next. Using a bedwetting alarm is much different than setting an alarm clock or walking her to the bathroom when you go to bed. She actually learns the proper response so she can begin to do it independently. The average child takes 8-12 weeks to get to dryness so it is important to be patient. Having dry nights is well worth the effort, though.