4 Steps to Dry: Video Course
Bed wetting isn’t very complicated, it happens when sleep is too deep to feel a weak bladder signal. Adults will get a bladder signal an hour or so after bedtime, and think “I’m having a nice dream here, I don’t want to wake up.” This thought triggers a hormone called Vasopressin that tells the kidneys to stop making urine for the night. So how can kids learn to do this?
Bed wetters go into deep sleep for two or three hours; they need a wave of light sleep to create that hormone. And they need a nice strong bladder signal. The manual and videos will show you how to use an alarm to create light waves in the sleep, and how to use bladder toning to fix the signal.
Start by reading the 4Steps ebook – it’s a PDF that opens in your browser. Then watch the videos with your child. All this takes about one hour, and it’s an hour that can change a child’s life for the better.
To see a video full screen, first click on it to begin play then click on the icon in bottom right corner of the video. To stop it click anywhere in the video, and click on the bottom right icon to reduce the size.
DryKids Manual opens in new tab, print from your browser
How to choose and use a bed wetting alarm
There have been greatly improved alarms available in 2024; we recommend a wireless style. With a small clip in the underwear and a buzzing box at bed side, it is a great improvement over the obsolete and expensive mat style alarms. Various types are about $50. See them here: https://drykids.info/bed-wetting/how-to-use-a-bed-wetting-alarm
Of course wired alarms like the WetStop and Malem are next best.
We do not recommend old-fashioned mat alarms like Therapee because they are too slow in detecting urine.
Download the Diary
A Word doc that helps you keep track of your child’s progress: click to download and print.
Dr. Kushnir’s little video is a very good lesson on bladder control, to teach ages 4-12
Lessons for Teachers
WEE: hydration checker
Water is the only medicine for bed wetting. It tones the bladder, lightens sleep, and keeps bowels happy.
- How to prepare with changes to diet and toning
- How to wake the child
- How to develop the new sleep patterns
Step 2
Addressing small bladder, urgency, and constipation
The next video explains the most common causes of bed wetting, or actuallly the causes of deep sleep. To end bed wetting you must reverse the things that cause poor sleep, then tone the bladder to get a stronger signal to penetrate the sleep.
Put it all together: the DryKids night time drill
A bed wetting alarm is an important part of any ‘getting to dry’ program because it helps you to identify and change sleep patterns.
- How to prepare
- How to wake the child
- How to develop the new sleep patterns
One remedy that I’ve added since making the video above, is to use a mantra, something like self hypnotism, just before falling asleep. So at bedtime the child does three things: drink a big glass of water, do the two practice runs, then lie down and while breathing deeply, think “I want to be dry, I’m going to hear the buzzer,” over and over.
Generally anything will go through your system in 90 minutes or so. Some of these foods will bother the stomach or kidneys if eaten in the 90 minutes before bed. Milk, yoghurt, citrus…
Click the chart to open and print in your browser. “NH” means they didn’t hear the buzzer, common at first. BB means beating the buzzer – waking before it sounds.
It’s best to help your child draw up this chart to get them involved. Every evening they tick off the times they did the chore, and at the end of the week they deserve a small reward.
Once a child is dry at night for 14 nights you can start to taper off the alarm and exercises. It has to be done carefully and completely lest the problem come back in a few months
See this chart in your manual or ebook above.
Summary: 4 Steps to Dry
- Prepare by ‘water gulping ‘ – urinate and drink water every two-three hours
- Avoid milk & citrus products in the evening
- Practice getting up twice – wake with washcloth – splash face – say a mantra like “I want to be dry, I’m going to hear the buzzer” before sleep.
- At first the alarm only wakes Mom. She wakes the child with a wet cloth. Later, he will hear it. Soon he will anticipate it and go before the buzzer sounds. Finally, he will decide to sleep through the night.
IMPORTANT: once the child is dry for 14 nights, go to using the buzzer every second night for two weeks, then every third night.. if you don’t phase out slowly the bed wetting might come back later.
RECURRENCE: if the child wets again at any time, just do the other steps – water gulping and practice – without a buzzer.
Questions? Contact Me