Interrupting alarm use

Happy Valentine's Day and President's Day weekend! Today I'm responding to SP who writes that they are going out of town for the three day weekend and she wants to know what her son should do about using the alarm while they are visiting relatives.

Her son is 9 and he has been using the Malem Ultimate alarm for a month. While he is not completely dry yet, he is responding quickly to the alarm and has been having a few dry nights. SP worries that not using the alarm for 3 nights will cause a setback in his progress. His cousins are about his age and none of them know about his wetting problem. In the past, he has worn disposable pants when he visits.

First, congratulations to your son on his great progress. The results that you've mentioned are perfect for this stage of using the alarm. If the visit was scheduled for a few months from now, he would be dry. In the interim, if sleep over invitations come up, he can temporarily wear disposables and get back to alarm use when he returns home. He'll be excited to see some dry pants on some of those visits. Even with a few nights of no alarm use, when he resumes it, he will continue to have progress. If it was an interruption of a few weeks, it would resemble starting over.

Occasionally a long interruption will be necessary in a family. Just know that even if this occurs, restarting the alarm consistently will provide renewed progress. On some occasions, a family's out-of-town sleeping arrangements will be private. If this is the case, taking the alarm along is recommended. Using an overlay over the sheet would prevent any wetness on the mattress.

After your son has achieved 14 consecutive nights of dryness, followed by 14 nights of using the alarm every other night, he can discontinue alarm use. More weeks of dryness translate to more confidence about sleepover situations. You might do a trial sleepover in which he invites a friend to your home. He will begin to see that he can stay dry in any situation.