Alarm reminder

[kmw68]

Hello i am thinking of getting my 9 yr old son a watch with alarm reminders to assist him to remember to use the loo, (severe constipation/overflow problems and refusing to use the loo to even try) really hoping that it may encourage him more than my nagging as he gets very cross and has meltdowns so in the end is not relaxed to even try! I had a look on the Eric site but they are way out of my price range. Has anyone used this system with success and what watch did you use? Are there just as good cheaper alternative watches than the one advertised on Eric. Many thanks.

[fuzzalert]

Hi there

Not sure what alarm Eric sell or how much it is but I bought my sons”WobL watch” from Amazon for £30. Worth every penny! I set it to hourly vibrate alarms so it didn’t make a noise at school and just made the teacher aware he’d be wearing a watch for this purpose. Pretty sure it was from a healthcare provider

Definitely recommend attaching a name label or wrong his name on the strap as they tend to take watches off for P.E. and this is not something you want to lose!

Good luck!!

[Laundrymaid]

Hello kmw68,

I brought my then 11 year old daughter a WobL watch last year on her specialists recommendation. It was to get her back into a routine of going the loo after years of constipation left her prone to 'wee' accidents and use of oxybutinin left her with recurring UTI's. She loved the watch and it looked sporty but the first watch stopped working after she wore it playing with water. We didn't replace immediately but when things started to turn to custard we got her a new one. She wore that for a few weeks but the novelty wore off and she would leave it at home!

That said, a few weeks of wear may well be enough for some kids to adopt the routine. It maybe a bit harder with an older child - they like to dig their heels in. What I would say to you is to, is sell it to your son as him taking control of his situation. I think that older children with bowel/continence issues feel that they have no control over their body and often become non compliant of treatment and even live in complete denial of what is happening to them. We need to empower them!

Shop around online, we paid about $60NZD (£25?) but be careful if it is not waterproof and because they vibrate, they chew through batteries faster than normal watches.

Best of luck to you and your son.

The Laundryymaid xx

[mummynev]

Are you in the UK? If so it may be worth asking your paediatric continence service as they may have some Wobl watches that they could loan out.

[kmw68 in reply to mummynev]

Hi yes i'm Dorset based, i had never heard of these watches until i came on here, no one on the medical side of things have ever suggested this as a option. they are more about award charts and a stricter routine. The reward charts don't motivate him enough to want to do things and we just end up in a battle with trying stricter rules. thanks.

[mummynev in reply to kmw68]

It can be really frustrating and the service you receive seems to differ dramatically depending on where you live. We used to live in the South West not a million miles from you and had a lovely paed continence nurse who seemed to be firefighting on her own with little or no support from the paediatricians/hospital - I still cringe when I remember the doctor who announced that she didn't believe in using medication and told my embarrassed almost 10 year old that in her opinion children under 10 didn't get embarrassed when they wet and soiled themselves!

3 years ago we moved to the NW and the service couldn't be more different. We have a fantastic community nurse and great hospital nurse and consultants (our boy has bowel & bladder problems, now 13 years old) who don't belittle him and work with us to manage his condition.

Our son's condition is part of our life these days, unfortunately he hasn't grown out of his issues although many do, however it is managable through the use of daily Peristeen irrigation (organised quickly and easily by our lovely community nurse),meds,timed toileting & the ongoing support of school and the great medical team we have been lucky enough to be assigned to.

Sorry to have waffled on but I wish you all the best with your son and hope that he has a good medical team looking after him.

Ps. We bought my son an inexpensive digital watch as he got older and set alarms on that to help him remember to go to the loo.