Bedwetting alarm method

How does the bedwetting alarm method and bedwetting alarm training work?

The bedwetting alarm is a method mainly used for children to become potty trained at night. The alarm that goes off during urination ensures that children at some point make the connection between a full bladder and having to go to the bathroom themselves. Initially, the alarm will cause the child to startle, wake up and tighten the sphincter of the bladder. The behavior is then learned during this time.

When the bedwetting alarm training is followed for a few weeks, the child will make a connection between the alarm and a full bladder. Because the behavior is taught to go to the bathroom, when the bladder is full, the child will wake up and go to the bathroom by himself. This process is called classical conditioning.

The bedwetting alarm method is based on operant and classical conditioning. Operant conditioning is a process in which human behavior changes as a result of consequences of that behavior. In the case of the bedwetting method, the consequence of bedwetting is that the alarm goes off. This is something a child would rather avoid, because it is not nice to be woken up in the middle of the night.... Through the bedwetting alarm training, the child better recognizes the full bladder, but also starts to do his/her best to avoid being woken up by the alarm.

It is important to reward a child on dry nights. This will increase the effectiveness of the bedwetting alarm training.

The Dryly® bedwetting alarm method.

This method is an effective way to address bedwetting but how does the bedwetting method work? Your child puts on special Dryly® underwear before bed that, via a transmitter, is connected to our mobile app and to the receiver hidden in Wizzu (panda toy). For older children, the receiver can be used separately. Both the panda, and the mobile app work as an alarm. Wizzu for your child and the mobile app for you, as a parent. This gives you insight into when and how often your child pees each night.

So you know exactly when your child wets the bed and that you can help your child continue peeing in the toilet! As soon as the underwear gets wet, both alarms go off. Thus, this bedwetting alarm training trains your child to wake up to a full bladder. The bedwetting alarm method is proven successful because the bedwetting alarm training subconsciously creates recognition of the problem and the will to solve it.

The support as a parent to your child with bedwetting problems is crucial to the success of the bedwetting training. That's why we provide insight into your child's behavior through the mobile app. Wizzu is proudly central to this bedwetting method and should really become the friend, supporting your child in the process of becoming dry.

Before you start the bedwetting alarm training from Dryly®, set up the mobile app together with your child. This is fun and motivating for your child because Wizzu plays the lead role in the app. You enter your child's name, age and gender so the app can best help you in the process of getting dry.

Next, explain to your child the purpose of the bedwetting alarm training. On the first night, have him/her practice taking the pants on and off and turning the Dryly® Receiver (in Wizzu (panda toy). Together with urologists, we have developed a special bedwetting alarm training ritual before your child goes to bed.

• The Dryly® ritual is very important, the app helps you with this. Follow the instructions on the app and get a good start for the night!
• When the panda goes off at night, go to your child's bedroom and turn on the light. Wait until your child turns off the sound and goes to the bathroom by himself. Give compliments when this goes well, both at the time and the next morning.
• If it takes longer than three minutes for your child to turn off the panda, gently wake him/her up. Let your child go to the bathroom without praising him/her. Pay no attention to being wet. Your child's intention is still to wake up to the sound of Wizzu (and not the parents).
• If your child wakes up because of the panda, it counts as a successful night. For this, your child receives points in the mobile app. With these points, he/she can buy fun gadgets for Wizzu.
• The bedwetting training through our Dryly® bedwetting app will not solve the bedwetting problem all at once, but the idea is to create a positive trend, where the child wets the bed less and less often.

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Bedwetting and deep sleep

Bedwetting children are often deep sleepers and therefore have difficulty waking up. If this is the case with your child, he or she may not wake up to the sound the first time. In this case, wake your child quietly so that habituation occurs. After one to four weeks, you will notice that the sleep becomes less and less deep and your child wakes up more easily!

History of the bedwetting alarm method

The bedwetting method was accidentally discovered around 1920. An Austrian pediatrician, Meinhard von Pfaundler, he was looking for a way to let the nursing staff know when a child had wet the bed. He found it annoying if the children lay in a wet bed for a long time and wanted to help both the children and the nursing staff with that. He developed a device that would sound an alarm if a child had a wet bed. Coincidentally, they also found that the children who used this method were more likely to be potty trained. It later turned out that this bedwetting alarm training was a resounding success.

It was not until the 1930s that the effectiveness of the bedwetting alarm method against bedwetting was researched by two psychologists. Here, through an empirical test with thirty children between the ages of 3 and 13, it was shown that bedwetting training was an effective remedy. It was also found that the average duration of a bedwetting training program is a maximum of three months. This is still true today and if after three months children are not potty trained at night with the use of the bedwetting method and bedwetting training it is a good idea to see your doctor.

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