You’re ready to start the Time to be Dry program! Do you continue the medications or stop them? It depends on the medication. The ultimate goal is to get kids dry and OFF of medications. The three most common bedwetting medicines are ditropan (oxybutynin), desmopressin (DDAVP) and Imipramine (tofranil). If your child is on a … Read moreBedwetting Medicines
Sleep is a huge issue for kids today. If you want your child to participate in any evening activities you often have to choose between a healthy home cooked meal or going to bed on time. I understand the struggle, “feed them in the car en route, send them to bed hungry, or go to … Read moreSleep Quantity
Think for a moment about the location of your bladder and the location of your rectum. Your rectum is where stool is held moments before you have a bowel movement. If your child’s bladder is trying to fill and there is a rectum full of stool, they have a high chance that they will wet … Read moreBladder and Bowel
If your child wets the bed you absolutely need to have a conversation with their teacher. Back to school night is a great opportunity to find out about the teacher’s bathroom policies and hydration policies AND your child’s habits. The conversation with your child should go like this: “How many times do you pee at … Read moreBack to School Night
It is important to make sure your child is drinking during the day. It may even be more important than fluid restricting at night. I want you to truly track your child’s fluid intake for one day. If they are not meeting their goal explain to them their 4 pm goal. Measure it out in … Read moreIs your child drinking enough during the day?
A bedwetting alarm is a type of therapy that trains the brain to notice the signals from the bladder. Parents often mistakenly think that a cell phone alarm is the same principle. It’s not. It’s important to the child to be woken up as soon as their bladder starts to empty. It seem counterintuitive that … Read moreHow to use a bedwetting alarm correctly
Here are the power struggles you’ll have a difficult time winning: forcing your child to eat, drink, sleep, pee or poop at your whim. However, there are a couple techniques you can try to help them adhere to the medical advice they were given. Avoiding power struggles. Don’t start power struggles with opening them up … Read moreGetting your Child to Listen to Medical Advice
Problems with school bathrooms can start as early as preschool. There are many daycare/preschool programs that have peculiar bathroom set ups. They will have 3 little toilets in one room with no dividers or privacy for the child. It’s very common for kids as young as preschool to start holding their bowel movements because of … Read moreThe Problem with School Bathrooms
Setting a phone alarm throughout the night. I’ve had families that have their child set a phone alarm every 2 hours to go pee. This method is exhausting and doesn’t train the brain to respond to the signal of their bladder filling. Most families also find that without helping their child throughout the night the … Read moreBedwetting “Cures” that don’t work
This is a question that comes up all of the time. Are pull ups prolonging bedwetting? If we had stopped the pull ups, would they have grown out of it already? The only time I recommend stopping pull ups is if a child answers yes to one of these questions I ask them. Do you … Read moreWhen do you stop Pull Ups?