The Most Important Thing When Using a Bedwetting Alarm

After working with thousands of children who have used a bedwetting alarm to get dry in the nighttime, I have learned some important points to share with you.

The Most Important Thing

The most important thing for parents to understand is that most children do not hear the alarm and jump out of bed the first night. In fact, most children sleep right through the loud sound. THIS IS NORMAL! In the beginning, the alarm is for the parents! You should be positioned so that you hear the alarm, go to your child's room, and make sure they turn off the alarm and walk to the bathroom.

If you cannot hear the alarm from your room, use a baby monitor or get a second receiver if using a wireless alarm. Leave your doors open and a night light on in the bathroom and/or hallway.

Responding to the alarm independently is a learned behavior. Until your child independently gets out of bed in response to the alarm, your job is to make sure he or she does that. Don't worry if they do not remember getting up to the alarm in the morning. Learning can still take place. The earlier in the sleep cycle the alarm sounds, the less likely they are to remember it in the morning.

Over the first couple weeks of using the alarm, you will begin to see some changes. Having urine left to empty in the toilet, wetting less frequently per night and beginning to respond to the sound are things you may see.

Second Most Important Thing

Every child begins by having a large wet spot in the bed. Even if the alarm detects one drop of urine, the bladder releases all of the urine very quickly, soaking everything. Parents are often concerned that the alarm didn't sound quickly enough. This is not why the bed is soaked! Your child's full bladder has been used to letting all the urine come flooding out. It has done this for many years. It takes some time for the alarm sound to trigger the brain-bladder connection to quickly stop the flow of urine. Over the first few weeks, you will see smaller wet spots in the bed and more urine left to empty in the toilet.

Third Most Important Thing

Progress takes time! Learning this behavior can take a few weeks to a few months. The average child takes 12-16 weeks. Don't give up prematurely! The first 2 weeks are tough. It gets easier. Some families make it through these tough weeks, only to quit and think they weren't successful. If they would have kept at it, they would have begun to see progress.

It's hard to predict how long it will take each individual child. Use the alarm until 14 consecutive dry nights are achieved. The relapse rate is very low after stopping the alarm if you do this.