Share your progress

I just returned from the annual National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners (NAPNAP) meeting. It is very encouraging to me to hear the feedback from nurse practitioners all over the country. I heard many success stories about children who had been bedwetting for years who got dry within a few weeks while using the alarm. I heard many NPs remark that they used to recommend, "don't worry, he'll grow out of it. After seeing frustrated families come back the next year, with their child still bedwetting, many have changed their recommendations. Primary care providers are beginning to realize that using a bedwetting alarm as the first line of treatment in children who are 5-1/2 or 6 years old is a very effective and prudent treatment. There is no reason to wait until 8 or 10 years to begin using an alarm. Especially in families where one of the parents has a history of wetting until 10 or 12, using a bedwetting alarm to stop bedwetting at 6 or 7 will save years of laundry and buying pull-ups.

If your child has used a bedwetting alarm, be sure to mention his or her success to your primary care provider. The next time a family mentions a concern about bedwetting; they will remember your story and make an appropriate recommendation.