If you’ve followed the Pee Papers, my chronicles of our recent issues with my six-year-old, you’ll know that we’ve implemented some new strategies.

We are on Night 3, Day 2 of “The Solution” and it has restored balance to our home. No stress. No fuss. No consequences. And, though we’ve said all along we’re not focusing on nighttime enuresis at all, the beautiful by-product of this solution is that our daughter is much more attuned to her body and is waking by herself to get up during the night (the timer is restricted to daytime use only).

My daughter is proud of herself, though we’ve been keeping the praise low-key. The smells have almost been completely eradicated, so my asthma has not been triggered by the issue. And, overall, the quality of our time together has improved because the peeing has become a “non-issue.”

When my daughter hears the timer, she matter-of-factly goes to the bathroom. The beeper on the timer is loud enough so that it can be heard from just about anywhere in our single-story home. At the same time, it’s pretty much just a reminder for her to potty, and that’s that, rather than a big production.

She’s not in charge of the timer, therefore, there’s no novelty in playing with it, or continuing to pee so that she can continue to play with it. We don’t make any comment about it (though her youngest brother initially would yell through the house for her!). And, very randomly throughout the day, I might give her a “thumb’s up” sign when she rejoins us after going.

So far, we are extremely satisfied with this solution because it’s non-punitive, doesn’t give her attention (whether positive or negative) and has managed to keep my asthma from being triggered by the smells her urine produced.

We’ve tried several things throughout this ordeal. Some held initial promise, but didn’t stick. Though it may still be too early to tell, it seems like this solution may be the winner.

Photo credit: Stock Xchng