To expect a £120 bedwetting alarm to work

[Eboblah]

Recently bought a v expensive Rodgers bedwetting alarm for DS8 and he's now wet the bed 3 nights running and the alarm hasn't gone off. He's waking up around 6 soaked through and no alarm sounds until he takes off pants and holds near alarm sensor. Everything seems to be set up correctly - green light on receiver thing, and alarm goes off when tested, just not when he wees. Anyone got any ideas what I'm doing wrong? Or is it just faulty? Possibly pants not tight enough, could this be an issue?

I've never heard of one. Could you put the sensor closer to him maybe? Is it designed to go off when they start to wet the bed so they wake and go to the toilet?

I tried all kinds of alarms and had the same experience. My dd didn't completely stop wetting until she was ready..at age 10!

I bought two cheap ones, around £30 and they worked.. As in, they went off when they were meant to and DS did improve. Are you clipping the sensor to the right part of his pants?

Please don't use these. I as a child (in the unenlightened early 80s) was given one for bedwetting. It entirely acts on shaming the child, the noise has stayed with me. An 8 year old is still young enough to not fully realise the urge in their sleep and some never release enough of the hormone to avoid going a full 10 or so hours. YABU to use this device.

Bedwetting is hormonal. You can't train a child to not do it. This seems cruel.

Does your child use a nightlight? We found the nightlight to be the problem, soon as we turned that off and he slept in the dark the bed wetting stopped. He has a lamp by the side of his bed now which he can turn on if he wakes up

I've been thinking of getting one of these (no shaming intended, it'll be to get the bedding changed before it can soak more than necessary and help see whether dc is wetting in sleep or when awake)

ERIC org says they can be effective: www.eric.org.uk/bedwetting-alarms

OP is it possible the alarm is going off but he's just not waking up?

It entirely acts on shaming the child, the noise has stayed with me og I feel your pain.

I had one in the mid 90s...that's sound was horrendous and just made my sister torment me more about the whole thing .
Very traumatic waking up to an alarm like that in the dead of night. I dont think I completely stopped til I was 11 or 12. Very stressful for all involved but I didn't stop til my body was able to. Alarms and charts and tests only made me feel more ashamed than actually waking up wet.

It made me go to bed so stressed and worried every night knowing my parents spent so much time thinking about it and getting devices,tests etc.
Horrible to worry as a child like that last thing at night I still feel sad for myself when I think back.

One of my lads wet the bed, pretty much every night until he was about 14. We (or he) just quietly changed the bedding every morning. Became part of the routine.
My friend took a different tack and dragged her DS around GPs, health visitors and paediatricians but I couldn't be doing with all that and didnt want him to think it was a bigger issue than it was.
He just stopped one day when his bladder started to work properly.
Just give your DC lots of reassurance OP. Let them know it's just one of those things and that they arent a problem.

An ex of mine had an alarm. It went off every night without fail. And he slept through it every night without fail.

He eventually stopped when he was about 15.

My sister said the same thing about her daughter's expensive alarm, and they gave up using it shortly after.

Surely an alarm is guaranteed to stress out the poor child?

As has been said, becoming dry at night is hormonal. My two older ones weren't reliably dry at night until 8 & 9, and that's not unusually late. Our approach was to stay calm and reassuring, have a change of pyjamas and sheets nearby, and make as little fuss as possible.

It's been a few years since we used it, but I seem to remember playing around with the best place to plug in the bell bit so it was close enough for the sensor to trigger. Set it all up during the day and drip a bit of water on the front of the pants, I'm sure it only took a few drops to trigger it.

Anyone got any ideas what I'm doing wrong?

Putting an alarm on your son to punish him for something out of his control. That's what you're doing wrong

It’s not a punishment fgs!

ERIC recommended a great bed wetting alarm for DS who was 8 at the time and had asked for help to stop bed wetting. It was around £30 and clips to PJ shoulder and pants. It worked within about a fortnight he had stopped wetting - except for the occasional lapse.

@Della1

It’s not a punishment fgs!

I would definitely view being woken up by an alarm when I'm in a deep sleep as punishment

@Eboblah
We’ve been seeing the continence service with my son, I’ve PMd you and am happy to chat and share what we learned

They do work with some children and means they can go on sleepovers, school trips without having to wear pull-ups or wetting the bed.
Didn’t work for DS3, he just slept through the alarm and it woke the rest of us up!

The alarm isn’t to punish them, it’s too alert them (and the parents) that they need to change PJs/bedsheets so the child isn’t laying in his urine all night.

It absolutely isn't a punishment and my son had no problem understanding the idea of it and why it would be a benefit.

Poor kid!

@RunningFromInsanity

The alarm isn’t to punish them, it’s too alert them (and the parents) that they need to change PJs/bedsheets so the child isn’t laying in his urine all night.

How about just using pull ups, or something similar, until the child is hormonally ready to be dry throughout the night?