Bedwetting Training for Six-Year-Old

RK wants to know if her 6 year old daughter, who has never had a dry night, should try a bedwetting alarm. She mentioned her daughter's wetting to her pediatrician at her last check-up, but she offered no suggestions to stop the wetting.

Her daughter is beginning to be embarrassed by wearing disposable pants at night, especially since her 4 year old sibling is dry. Her daughter seems to sleep very soundly and is never aware of when the wetting is occurring. Mom has memories of wetting herself until 9 or 10 and would like to help her daughter become dry before that age.

RK, your daughter sounds like a perfect candidate for a bedwetting alarm. A bedwetting alarm can be described to her as "a reminder so that you and mommy know when you need to wake up and go to the bathroom.

I often choose a wireless alarm like the Rodger wireless for a child your daughter's age. The Rodger alarm comes with comfortable underwear with the sensor threads sewn in. Your daughter simply puts on the "special underwear and snaps on the transmitter when It's time for bed. There are no wires and nothing to attach to her shirt. She can easily put it on all by herself.

When moisture is sensed in the underwear, the wireless receiver sounds. You should plug this into the wall across the room from her bed. She will need to get out of bed to turn it off. And while she is up, she should walk to the bathroom.

You may need to go to her room and remind her what to do in the beginning. Help her get out of bed and turn the alarm receiver off by simply pushing the blinking red light on the front of it. After she goes to the bathroom, put on the other pair of underwear and go back to bed.

The alarm comes with two pair of underwear and you can get extras if she wets several times a night. My book, "Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness, describes in detail what you can expect each step of the way when using an alarm. I recommend it, not only because I wrote it, but because knowing what to expect when using a bedwetting alarm greatly contributes to a successful outcome.

The other items you'll need are some mattress overlays. These are quilted, washable, waterproof pads that lie on top of the sheet. Because your daughter will no longer wear a disposable pant at night once she begins using her alarm, make the middle of the night clean-up as easy as possible. You can simply remove the wet overlay and replace it with a clean one, enabling your daughter to quickly go back to a clean bed. In the morning, you have an overlay or two to wash, which is much easier than two sets of sheets.

The Rodger Treatment Kit has everything that you need to begin: an alarm, two overlays and my book (and saves you money over buying these things separately).