Getting Started with a Bedwetting Alarm

You've decided to use a bedwetting alarm, have chosen which type you want to use and now have it in your home.

WHAT NEXT?

Prepare yourself

-The first two weeks are the hardest; it gets easier as your child learns to respond more independently.

-Know that you will need to assist your child in waking to the alarm and getting out of bed to urinate in the toilet.

-Pick a low stress time without a lot of travel plans.

-Avoid walking your child to the toilet when you go to bed; let the alarm pinpoint when the wetting occurs.

-Realize that wetting can occur any time during the sleep cycle, which may not be convenient in your sleep cycle.

-Know that your child will not able to think through what needs to be done when the alarm sounds initially, may be incoherent and may not remember in the morning.

-Make sure you can hear the alarm from your room, if needed, use a baby monitor, or a second receiver for wireless alarms.

Prepare your child

-Get to know your alarm; role play with it while your child is awake.

-Teach your child how to turn the alarm off after it sounds and what to do next.

-Set realistic expectations-the average child takes 10-12 weeks to become consistently dry.

-Expect complete bladder emptying in the bed initially, with little to empty in the toilet.

-Know that signs of improvement include less frequent wetting, smaller spots in bed, urine left to empty in the toilet and more independence with using the alarm.

Prepare your child's room

-Stop using disposables, start using regular underwear or the specialized alarm underwear.

-Do use a waterproof pad on top of the sheet that can be removed and replaced when wetting occurs.

-Make it easy to get out of bed; ie.move to a bottom bunk, or slide the mattress to the floor, move furniture that might be in the way.

-Use a nightlight so you don't have to turn on the big light in the night.

-Have some clean underwear, pajamas and waterproof pads handy for middle of the night use.

-Protect the mattress with a waterproof vinyl cover that stays in place and can be wiped off (this is under the sheet).

Prepare some record keeping system

-Create a progress chart to record time of wetting and size of the wet spot on bed, whether small, medium or large.

-Read "Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness" to guide you through using the alarm. Progress charts are included in the book.

-Records help to monitor progress; children often forget what happened in the beginning and how far they have come.

-Initially, your child cannot control whether they have a wet or dry night so this is not the only thing to be rewarded.

-They can control their cooperation, which includes voiding twice before bed, hooking up the alarm and cooperating to the best of their ability in the night.

-Cooperation can be rewarded if this motivates your child.

-Typical progress is a sporadic dry night, followed by short strings of dry nights, then longer strings of dry nights.

-Wear the alarm until 14 consecutive dry nights are achieved; then every other night for 14 nights.