Bedwetting affects around 6 million children, and each year, some will outgrow it without treatment, but others struggle with the embarrassing issue for years. Specialists have noticed that children struggle with this issue for many reasons, including that they make more urine than their bladder can hold overnight and they sleep extremely soundly. As families try a number of treatments this becomes stressful for both the parents and the child, which sometimes makes it worse. Using music to soothe them in addition to the vibrating sounds of a bedwetting alarm makes for a successful plan.
Easing Stress in Bedwetting Children
As children become older, they often become stressed or anxious that they still are wetting the bed. Try to discuss things with your child without making him or her feeling more embarrassed. After you deem that they do not have a medical issue causing these problems, it’s time to begin.
First, try to calm your child before bedtime. Instead of a drink of water or warm milk, reading stories or listening to music, especially soothing and quiet music slows down their breathing and lowers their blood pressure. Playing it and telling them to close their eyes will reduce their levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. While stress isn’t the only factor in bedwetting, it does play a part so this is an important first step.
Bedwetting Alarm
If traditional methods do not work, specialists are now recommending a bedwetting alarm. The alarm is used to arouse even the deepest of sleepers. With repeated use, children lessen bedwetting up to 80 to 90% of the time. The lightweight alarm clips easily to your child’s pajama top, and the moisture sensor is attached closely to your child’s underwear, where the wetness would first occur.
If you choose sounds, your child will hear eight random sounds repeatedly to rouse them from their deep sleep. They are delivered at a high volume so they will hear them through their sleep. If either you or your child is apprehensive that strange sounds will scare him as he awakes from a deep sleep, many of the alarms, many alarms offer popular melodies as a choice instead of a loud sound. Some of the more expensive ones even allow you to record a message in your own voice. You may have to play around and see which option works best for your child.
The bedwetting alarm comes with volume control so you can adjust it as needed to awake your child. In addition, it also lights up on the front, which makes finding accidents easier and finding the way to the bathroom in the dark simpler.
When you try this, aim to have at least a month or two, and realize everyone’s sleep will be disturbed so this project might be best over summer break or a long holiday from school. As you begin, every time you hear the alarm, go into your child’s room and make sure they’ve awoken, otherwise you’ll have to shake them awake yourself. At the beginning, it seem like you’re almost sleepwalking them to the bathroom, cleaning up accidents, rinsing off the pad, and resetting the alarm. However over time, they’ll awaken easier, and have fewer accidents. It takes a good month to break the habit, and for best results, the bedwetting alarm should be used for several more months to prevent future occurences.