My pediatrician recommended a bedwetting alarm for my 8-year-old daughter who still wears disposable pants and wakes up wet every morning. How does a bedwetting alarm work?   Is it different than setting an alarm clock every night? Research demonstrates that using a bedwetting alarm is the most effective cure for bedwetting, so your pediatrician’s recommendation is the right one. Right now, your daughter sleeps through the entire wetting episode. She has no idea when she is wetting.  You also have no idea when she is wetting.  It’s difficult to change a behavior when you ar ..read more

My son is looking at sleep away camps for the summer.  He still has two or three wet nights a week.  How long does it take using a bedwetting alarm to become reliably dry? Each child varies, but the average time to get to dryness is around 10-12 weeks.  Dryness is defined as 14 consecutive nights without wetting.  Your son can either learn to wake up before the alarm sounds or “hold it” until morning.  On his current dry nights, he most likely is holding it until morning.   The missing piece for him is learning to wake up on the nights that his bladder cannot ..read more

Constipation as a cause of or contributing factor in bedwetting and daytime wetting should not be overlooked.  Constipation is the Number 1 source of belly pain for kids and is often something parents are surprised to discover. A visit to the ER for abdominal pain and an X-ray that demonstrates constipation identifies this common problem.  Constipation not only causes abdominal pain but is a common cause of daytime accidents, urinary tract infections and even bedwetting. X-ray for Diagnosis You don’t have to wait for abdominal pain to present before treating your child for constipati ..read more

As a review of 2023, I want to re-post the most popular blog posts.  Parents continue to search for effective ways to help their child become dry at night.  Understanding bedwetting, its causes and treatment with a bedwetting alarm continue to be searched for information.                                         THE TOP 3 POSTS FROM 2023 6 Things You Didn’t Know About Bedwetting This post helps dispel myths about bedwetting so parents can be well-informed when it’s time to treat bedwett ..read more

Getting Rid of Urine Smell Anyone with kids, or pets for that matter, knows that the smell of urine can be tough to get rid of. The key to removing urine, whether it is human or pet, is to use an enzyme based product.  The enzyme binds with the protein component of the urine so that it can be removed.  Cleansers without this feature simply mask the odor but do not permanently remove it. Fresh Stains Odorzyme is a fresh smelling enzyme based cleaner.  This cleaner can simply be sprayed on the spot to saturate it and be allowed to dry.  It can be used on fresh stains to neutr ..read more

Helping your child begin to use a bedwetting alarm is not easy!  But it does get easier after the first few weeks. What to Expect in the Beginning Your child will most likely sleep through the loud sound.  That is normal.  Go to your child’s room and wake them when you hear the alarm sound.  Make sure they get out of bed and walk to the bathroom, even if they have a large wet spot in the bed.  One of the first signs of progress is urine left to empty in the toilet when they get to the bathroom. Help them back to bed and put on the other clean pair of underwear.  R ..read more

Getting back into the groove of a new school year can be very exciting but may also come with some unanticipated events as well.  Some children who have become dry over the summer begin to have some accidents once school starts. And some children who are doing great with responding to their bedwetting alarm begin to have larger wet spots or begin sleeping through the loud sound. Why does this happen? What can you do? Different Schedule Going back to school is physically and emotionally draining until a routine is established.  Any change, even good ones, can cause increased wetting ..read more

1. It’s not laziness In my experience, kids with bedwetting aren’t wetting because of laziness.  They truly are not interpreting signals from the bladder that indicate it is time to wake up and get to the bathroom.  Many kids feel a real loss of control when dealing with bedwetting.  They may start each night with the best intentions and wake up each morning soaked.  “I will try to get up and go to the bathroom” changes to “Oh, no, I wet again”.  After experiencing this night after night, many just give up or act like they don’t care.  Parents interpret this as la ..read more

Bedwetting does happen at summer camp!  Since bedwetting affects about 5% of school aged children, chances are that at least one or two children in each 20 person cabin will worry about waking up wet.  What can you do to help? Communicate with Camp Counselors Make sure your child knows that he or she is not alone and most camps are very helpful in discreetly handling any wetting episodes.  Double voiding (urinating two times) in the hour before going to sleep is helpful. In some cases, you can make arrangements with the camp counselor to continue a lifting routine if this is use ..read more

“My son will be 10 next month and is still wetting the bed. We bought an inexpensive wearable sound alarm around 3 years ago and tried it then. He hated it and has convinced himself that it won't work. Will an alarm work in someone his age? How do I convince him to try this solution?  I wake him every night to go to the bathroom, but sometimes that doesn't work.” I think you can begin by discussing how his body has matured and changed in the last 3 years.  His response to a bedwetting alarm will most likely be very different from what you observed when he was 7 years old.  Sound ..read more