Posts Tagged ‘toileting’

Potty Alarms for Kids

Monday, May 10th, 2010

“I have a son who is 4yrs and 3 mo old and we are not making any headway in toilet training. He seems to be too pre-occupied with playing, occasionally he does tell us when he has to pee. He informs us of stooling after it has occurred. Would the alarm help speed up the toilet training process? Have you used it on any children for toilet training?”

I have used a moisture sensing alarm for children who need some help putting together the feeling that happens before wetting occurs with the actual wetting episode. No matter how often the parent or teacher checks their pull-up, they inevitably wet the minute they pull the pants back up. The type of alarm that I commonly use is the Malem recordable alarm, because the parent can record a message, such as “You need to go to the bathroom now”, which is triggered by the first sign of wetness. (This alarm also makes 8 different pre-recorded sounds that you can choose from). Initially, you can reward cooperation, that is going to the potty when the alarm sounds. Then you can begin using the reward for “beating the alarm”, going potty before the alarm is triggered. If your son isn’t frightened by sounds, you could also use a less expensive Malem auditory alarm, which just makes one loud sound at the onset of wetting. (You would have to role play what the sound means a few times so he could make that association). I recommend that he wear regular underwear when using the alarm. The small sensor is fastened to the outside of his underwear where you expect the first drops of moisture to appear.

Training of stool continence is often a separate experience, especially in boys. If you train him to sit when urinating, letting go of stool might be easier. Sitting long enough, playing a game or looking at books is important for bowel training. If you see him posturing before having a BM, encourage him to sit on the potty.

Bed Wetting Problem

Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

RA writes, I hope you can help with my son’s bedwetting problem. My almost 10 year old boy is a major bedwetter and I mean he wets 3-4 times per night. He has been seeing a urologist and the biofeedback determines he is not an efficient voider during the day- he does not empty his bladder completely. So all this urine builds up all day long and he wets at night. He is supposed to be doing kegel type exercises. We have tried the alarm for six months and it does not help. He was on medication for nighttime but it made no difference. He is a heavy sleeper and we end up getting up. He double voids before bed and we limit liquids. What else can we do? I am at my wits end! I feel he will be 16 before this ends!

Bedwetting can be so frustrating at times. It sounds like you have explored many avenues to get your son to dryness. Since it sounds like his daytime voiding is inefficient, working on that a little more may help. Did the urologist recommend a timed voiding program in the daytime? The kids wear a vibratory wristwatch that discreetly reminds them to go to the bathroom about every 2 hours, even if they don’t feel like it. If he hasn’t tried this yet, it may help to empty his bladder more efficiently during the day. I use the Vibrowatch for my patients because it can be set to precise times. I like to set times that do not require the kids to leave the middle of class, and allow them to start the bus ride home at the end of the day with an empty bladder. Taking a water bottle to school helps to assure that they are adequately hydrated during the day and not thirsty late in the day. Once he’s done this for a few months, he could restart the alarm at night.

School Wetting

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

EP writes about her 7 year old daughter who will be starting 2nd grade soon. In first grade, there were times that she waited until the last minute and didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. This resulted in wet pants, sometimes requiring a complete change of clothes. She has been checked out by her doctor and there does not seem to be any associated problems. Mom wonders what she can do to prevent this from happening this school year.

Urologists around the country agree that this can be a common and frustrating problem that is best handled by frequent urination on a regular basis. Emptying the bladder regularly eliminates the urgent messages that sometimes result in urine leakage. The difficulty arises when children get busy with other activities and lose track of time. Telling a child to go potty every 2 or 3 hours is a hard concept to grasp. Even remembering to go to the bathroom before lunch or recess can be difficult. A discreet vibrating wrist watch is a reliable tool for providing a reminder to go to the bathroom.

We carry several vibrating wrist watches that are perfect for this purpose. Our top selling watch is the Vibrowatch. Up to 12 specific times can be programmed to coordinate with your daughter’s schedule. The watch vibrates for about 20 seconds and is difficult to ignore. It comes in several different colors and has a durable plastic band. Vibrating watches are generally a little larger than time telling watches to accommodate the larger battery.

Starting the new school year off with a reminder watch is likely to eliminate many of the embarrassing accidents she had last year. You can consult her teacher about the best toileting times and make sure she has free access to the bathroom when her watch reminds her to go.

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