5 Steps to Help Your Child Stop Wetting the Bed (Giveaway)

My son has been struggling with bed wetting and staying dry for two years now.

Seeing him start off his morning disappointed because of the previous night’s activities is upsetting, and having to restrict dairy and juice after lunchtime has become more of a battle than it needs to be. Night time diapers are a bit pricey and not always affordable and the older your kids get, there is not really a solution for helping with those bed wetting issues.

We were recently introduced to the Dry Me Alarm, a product that is clinically proven to cure most bedwetting children in 8-12 weeks without the need for medication. Parents have to get up in the night when the alarm goes off to make sure their child does too.

Clinical studies show that the Dry Me Alarm has resulted in 70-80 percent of children being dry one year after using it for at least 3-6 months.

What Causes a Child to Wet the Bed

Factors like deep sleep, high urine production during sleep, food sensitivities, constipation, and even stress or anxiety can affect how well your child stays dry during the night. Special needs can also add some additional obstacles in nighttime training, which is an added challenge we’re working with, but both typical children and special needs children can be affected equally.

5 Steps to Help Your Child Stop Wetting the Bed

Understand Your Goal
This can be especially important when considering a special needs child. Sensory issues may not be conducive to using a wearable alarm. Never fear, there are other types of non-wearable alarms – think wireless or pad type. Set reasonable expectations. Though considering curative, bedwetting alarms do not solve things overnight. Prepare your child (and yourself) before even getting started, so everyone knows what to expect.

Double Voiding Before Bedtime
Have your child use the toilet before starting his usual bedtime routine, and again before the lights go out, even if he doesn’t feel like he has to go.

Responding to the Alarm
Parental response is critical, especially in the beginning. Your child will most likely need help waking up and may not even hear the alarm. Don’t turn it off until his feet are on the floor, and if necessary, go to the bathroom with him to help with jammies and cleanup.

Tracking Progress
Mercer includes handy Weekly Progress Charts in the back of Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness. Columns to note the date and things like nighttime cooperation, whether or not nights were dry, and spaces for jotting down contributing factors and other comments can really help when looking at the big picture.

Create an Incentive System
Little kids love seeing stickers on a chart, and it can really motivate them to be involved in the process on a daily basis. Older kids and teenagers may prefer to work toward a mutually agreed upon reward every week or two. And, while bedwetting is out of a child’s control initially, his level of cooperation and effort is not. That being said, learning a new skill can take a long time, which can seem like eons for younger kids. Having a reward system in place reminds kids that their hard work is appreciated and acknowledged, and keeping charts on display in a child’s room or their bathroom can reinforce this.

How to Use the Alarm

When you first start using an alarm, let your child “test” it with you, so they know what to expect. Our son helped open up the packaging, and dipped the sensor in a glass of water so we could all hear what kinds of sounds we could expect to hear in the night.

A common myth is that the alarm will wake the entire house, an obvious problem when considering a good night’s sleep for siblings. Most alarms are 80 to 90 decibels, measured from the position of your child’s shoulder. It’s loud, but not outrageously loud. Our son did fidget with his alarm quite a bit, just because he is not fond of anything on his clothing, but most children won’t mind.

We haven’t had the alarm long enough to share long-term results, but already, we’ve had an entire week of waking up dry. That’s pretty huge and has give my son a huge confidence boost. The alarm does scare him — it seems really loud when the rest of the house is so quiet — and my husband and I have really had to hustle to get the whole bathroom-going coordinated, but it’s been worth it considering his progress so far.

Buy it
The Bedwetting Store offers an unparalleled collection of bedwetting supplies, including waterproof bedding, vibrating watches and the Dry-Me Alarm and Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness book covered here. Parents can also find valuable information on treating nighttime and daytime wetting.

Enter to Win

One winner will receive (1) Dry-Me Bedwetting Alarm and (1) Seven Steps to Nighttime Dryness book by Renee Mercer, CPNP. Use the Rafflecopter form to enter this giveaway. New to Rafflecopter? Watch this 45-second video on how to enter!

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I thank Renee Mercer and the Bedwetting Store for sponsoring this post, and for sharing tools with me that can lead to a permanent solution for nocturnal enuresis with the proper parental guidance and supports in place. Written by Pilar Clark.

Tagged as: bed wetting, Children, nighttime, sleep issues

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