My nearly 9 year old has good nights and bad nights. I try to control her fluid intake, get her to go to the toilet before she goes to sleep but we still have to rely on pull-ups. She does sleep walk to the toilet often, which is great, but when I have gone in to wake her and take her to the toilet, she gets very angry with me (she doesn't remember it the next day!) and I am not sure that this is the answer - she needs to wake herself up! Where could I get the alarm from? This sounds like a great idea, and would help train her to wake up! It is good that it does not bother her too much, she has no problem wearing one around her friends, but I was a bed wetter and it restricted me going on school camp as I got older ( I finished when I was about 11 or 12) and I want to knock this on the head as early as possible so that she too can enjoy things like that.
Hi – conditioning alarms are the preferred approach to treating children’s bedwetting, with approximately 75% of children achieving nighttime continence after their use. It’s good idea to stop waking her at night – this often results in disrupted sleep, coupled with tears and frustration, and rarely results in children learning to wake on their own. There are two main types of alarms. One is a body alarm with a small sensor that can be worn inside your daughter’s pyjamas – many parents prefer these as children can continue to wear their absorbent pants throughout the training process. The second type of alarm is a bell and pad alarm that is placed like a mat over the bottom sheet. This is connected to an alarm box placed at the end of the bed. Some alarms have different settings that allow you to vary the sound – sometimes a louder alarm will raise a particularly deep sleeper. Others include a vibration option while others can even be programmed so that children wake up to the sound of a voice recording rather than an alarm (Malem Recordable Alarm). Before purchasing an alarm it is important that you speak with a continence specialist who will be able to advise you which one is best for your daughter. The success of the alarm is highly dependent on how motivated children are to become dry, correct instruction, as well as the level of support you receive so do not try to go it alone. In the meantime, continue to be supportive, clearly her positive attitude and lack of embarrassment has a lot to do with how you have managed her bedwetting up until this point. All the best!
Regards,
Dr Cathrine
Comments
Be the first to post a comment
Add a comment