When should I stop using the bedwetting alarm?
All children take a different length of time to respond to the bedwetting alarm treatment. Some children see results after activating the alarm just a handful of times, whilst others may take a few months to learn to control their bladder overnight.
Consecutive Dry Nights
We recommend keeping the alarm on until 14 consecutive dry nights have been achieved. Using a progress chart will help you to keep track of this. When your child has achieved these 2 weeks of dry nights, they should be congratulated as they are now “officially” dry at night! Why not reward them for this huge achievement with a Dry Nights Certificate?
Overlearning
Instead of removing the alarm when 14 dry nights have been achieved, you may wish to try overlearning. This process has been shown to further improve the long-term success of bedwetting alarms. Overlearning consists of increasing your child’s fluid intake before bedtime, to increase the strength of their bladder overnight. Keep wearing the alarm alongside this increase in fluids until 14 consecutive dry nights have been achieved again. You can find out more about overlearning here.
Relapse
After 14 dry nights have been achieved, make sure the alarm is clean and dry, remove the batteries, and store it carefully in a safe place. Occasionally a child may relapse and experience a wet night, even after they have been dry for some time. If this happens, simply start wearing the alarm again until 14 dry nights have been achieved. Often just 1 night with the alarm alerting them to a wetting incident “reminds” them how to stay dry overnight.
