A bed wetting alarm is a very effective device to use when helping children overcome nocturnal enuresis. Bedwetting is very embarrassing to children and if not handled sensitively, it can have psychological effects, such as making them feel ashamed of fearful. Alarms for bed wetting help to treat the problem rather than just mask the symptoms to make it appear as if the bed-wetting problem has been resolved. A bed wetting alarm is a device to be used along with another method of treatment. Parents should be aware that this device on its own will not cure bed wetting.
A bedwetting alarm is a moisture detection system, which is worn with underpants designed for moisture. These can be the pull-ups as advertised on TV for children of all ages or regular underpants. If you use regular underpants with the bed wetting alarm, you should have liners on the mattress because it does take some time before these alarms start to work. You should not expect a miracle to occur the very first night your child wears the bedwetting alarm. There are many different kinds of bedwetting alarms so it’s important to choose the one that is right for your child.
There are signs that will tell you if a bed wetting alarm will be good for you. First and foremost is the price. This must fit within your budget and of course it must be comfortable for the child. Most of the bedwetting alarms have some method of attaching them to the nightclothes, preferably the underpants. You should carefully inspect it to make sure that there are no sharp edges which will dig into the child and prevent him/her from getting a good night’s sleep. If the bedwetting alarm is not comfortable, it will not be effective.
Bedwetting alarms use batteries as power, so there won’t be any wires in which your child can become entangled. You do need to make sure that the replacement batteries are a reasonable price and keep a stock of them on hand. Once the sensor on the bed wetting alarm does detect moisture it will emit a sound to wake the child. You do have to experiment with the sound to make sure that it will wake the child without waking up anyone else in the house, if that is what you want. Once the alarm goes off and the child gets up to the bathroom, a bedwetting alarm needs to be reset. Therefore you will probably have to teach the child to reset this or tell him/her to wake you so that you can do it for him/her.
Another factor you have to take into consideration when using a bed wetting alarm is the level of moisture that you want it to detect. If you set it too low, even sweating during the night might set the alarm off and if you set it too high, then the child might have actually wet the bed before it goes off. You need a bedwetting alarm that will not slip out of place as your child tosses and turns during the night. Bedwetting alarms also have to be durable so that if the child drops them, they do not break easily. A bed wetting alarm must be loud enough to wake the child or it will not be effective.