Children & Bladder Control

For children with bladder control problems, the solution might be a simple wristwatch.

Many children suffer from bladder control problems, which can be a social embarrassment for them and a frustration for their parents. Part of the conventional treatment for this is a type of bladder training, called “urotherapy,” is a kind of behavior modification that tries to regulate drinking habits and establishes set bathroom breaks. It's an effective therapy for some, but often times children forget about their scheduled bathroom breaks, resulting in the dreaded “accident”.

But new research is showing a simple wristwatch might be the answer for some. 60% of children who failed the initial urotherapy—improved when they were given wristwatches programmed to remind them about bathroom breaks during the day. Unfortunately, none of them showed any improvement in their nighttime bed wetting habits. The researchers involved in the study say this difference between success rates of daytime versus nighttime “accidents” shows how important bathroom break reminders, like the wristwatch, are to getting at least the daytime part of the bladder control problems solved.