How it works:
The instructions included with most bed wetting alarms are woefully inadequate, so the alarm will work only on the easy cases, like kids who are just ready to get dry anyway, or kids who just need a placebo to fix their problem. But we keep hearing about families who have been using the alarm for months or years with no success. With better instructions the alarm may have a child waking up easily in a week, and having frequent dry nights in three weeks with success in 10-12 weeks.
GOOD: your alarm and my ebook– free Best: your alarm with my coaching – $325
Choosing a bed wetting alarm
Bed wetting alarms have changed and become more reliable and effective in 2024. The old mat-type alarms are expensive, obsolete, and only work for kids who already have light sleep. The problem is that the mat alarms don’t react to a few drops of moisture; the child has lost most of the bladder pressure before it sounds. And he soaked the sheets! Modern alarms work fast to keep the wet spot down to a small spot on the underwear. If you have the expensive mat alarm, you can upgrade for as little as $30 on Amazon. The new ones are small, comfortable, and easy to use in many different ways.
Wired alarms can be very effective, and inexpensive. Some of them last only a month or so but can be returned then, and replaced in a few days. The better ones like WetStop and Malem cost more but are reliable. Don’t be concerned about discomfort; the process is meant to lighten sleep so a little discomfort might actually help! Lead the wire down through a shirt. In some cases a child will rip it off while sleeping, then cover the sensor with double undies.Priced as low as $25, available on Amazon. In Australia at https://www.theparentinggarden.com.au/ or Ebay; in NZ on Ebay or Trademe
Third generation bed wetting alarms are smaller and may even have a reminder function to drink water during the day, as the watch pictured. This type are actually wet-diaper alarms but work well, especially for sleepovers and camping on vibration-only. For older kids remove the armband and place the receiver on a glass dish nearby, to triple the sound level. For kids age 4-6 Mom can carry the receiver in her pocket so it won’t scare the child. Find it on Amazon or Ebay, by its image. No particular brand name but they are all the same product, about $30
This one has no brand name, all the same under various sellers. Loud sound and vibration, with a small clip to the underwear and a wireless buzzer. Clip it on the underwear, onto a mini-pad, or onto a patch of paper towel in the underwear. 10% failure rate after one month but quickly returned and replaced, about $50 (Even the $300 mat alarms break down)
The best alarm available at the moment is the DryEasy Wireless Pro, closely followed by the older model DryEasy Plus which has a short wire. With these alarms that have variable tones and volume, chose a loud sound and stick with it. There is an element of aversion therapy, and waking treatment is Pavlovian, so changing sounds is unhelpful. These alarms cost $50-$60 in the U.S. Found on Amazon or Ebay.
Instructions for use
The alarm is meant to wake a child when they wet, then wake before they wet to bladder pressure alone, and later to wake before the alarm. At that time they are creating the ‘dry night hormone’ that adults do.
Think of bed wetting this way: either the bladder signal is too weak or the sleep is too deep to feel it. Causes of deep sleep include pain, anxiety, bad mood, poor bladder tone and misunderstandings.
Most of these conditions are cured with water gulping. That’s a story for another day, and if you need help to overcome all of the causes including these plus motivation and persistence, I can teach both parents and child how to beat bed wetting with CBT – cognitive behavioral therapy. A one-hour session costs $150 and gives you the instructions, training, video lessons and motivation for your child to fix bed wetting fast.
If you’ve “tried everything” – waking, restricting water, drugs – then your and your child too need a reset. A 90-minute teaching and training session on Zoom with Coach Peter will teach the all-natural ways to end bed wetting. It’s fast, fun and easy and the only medicine is water. You will get alarm instructions, motivation for the child, understanding of the causes, and we will teach the child the new habits they need to be their best for the rest of their life. The success rate is over 90% with an average of six weeks to dry. Contact us to talk about it, or buy now. We will set up a session usually within a few days. peter@drykids.ca Learn more: home page