FRIDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- For countless generations, parents have been trying to get toddlers to pee in the toilet. Now, Belgian researchers think they have come up with a 21st century solution -- electronics.

Researchers at the University of Antwerp are working with a diaper alarm that alerts grown-ups, especially day care attendants, when tots do their business in their diapers. The alarm emits a pleasant musical sound when wet and does not harm the kids.

The theory behind the study comes straight out of the annals of behavioral and biofeedback psychology. By responding faster to dirty diapers, attendants can give appropriate encouragement and help children focus on bladder control more efficiently, said Jean-Jacques Wyndaele, study co-author and professor of urology at the University of Antwerp.

The technique had not been tested among healthy toddlers, although alarms have been used successfully to help older children overcome bedwetting problems and teach mentally retarded children to use the toilet, Wyndaele said.

"There's overall very little research in this area," he said. "We wanted to see if this would work."

The team picked 39 healthy youngsters at several Belgian day care centers. The kids, who were 18 to 30 months old, were chosen for their relative maturity and readiness to begin toilet training.

Training started as soon as the children arrived at day care and continued throughout the day for three weeks. Special diapers made by the researchers consisted of a light alarm box attached to a self-adhesive strip in the diaper. When the strip got wet, the diaper emitted a ringing sound, and the child was taken to the potty and encouraged to finish.

Researchers rewarded their tiny test subjects if they completed their business on the toilet.

All children wore the same type diapers, but only about half wore diapers connected to the alarm box.

The alarm plus positive reinforcement seemed to work. Children wearing the alarmed diapers achieved independent bladder control nearly 52 percent of the time, researchers said. That was significantly better than the others' 8.3 percent, according to the study, published in Neurology and Urodynamics. What's more, the effects seemed to last at least two weeks beyond the test period.

One of the key advantages of the wetting alarm diaper-training method is that the child and the caregiver are immediately informed of leakage, Wyndaele said. The alarm itself distracts the child and strengthens the awareness of bladder behavior. By bringing the child to a bathroom at that moment, further reinforcement is given.

Wyndaele said the technique could be especially useful in Europe and the United States, where a large percentage of children regularly attend day care.

"The participation in the toilet-training process of the day care providers is thus valuable because they are often among the first to recognize when a child is developmentally ready to be toilet trained," he added.

And though intrigued by the study, two pediatricians in New York expressed some doubt that the Belgian method is better than the tried-and-true methods used by so many moms.

"I'm just not sure," said Dr. Marc Childs, who practices in Brewster, N.Y. "I usually find that toilet training works if you make the child think it's his need, not yours. My advice is, don't make diaper changing particularly enjoyable and reinforce others in your family when they go to the bathroom. He'll eventually get the message."

Dr. Peter Richel said that he did not see a downside to the alarm method, but would like to see more data.

"It's interesting and harmless, but the study is too small," said Richel, chief of pediatrics at Northern Westchester Hospital Center in Mount Kisco, N.Y. "Still, my philosophy is that if it doesn't cause the patient harm, then give it a shot."

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more on toilet training  .

FRIDAY, June 19 (HealthDay News) -- A school-based prevention program begun in the early grades can reduce rates of substance abuse, violence and early sexual activity, says a U.S. study.

The study included students at 20 public elementary schools in Hawaii with below-average standardized test scores and diverse student populations. About 55 percent of the students at the schools received free or reduced-price lunches.

Some of the schools were randomly selected to implement an intervention program called Positive Action (PA), consisting of daily 15- to 20-minute interactive lessons on topics such as responsible self-management, getting along with others and self-improvement. The program was given to students for about one hour a week beginning in the first or second grade.

By the time students reached fifth grade, those exposed to the PA program were about half as likely to report engaging in problem behaviors as those who weren't exposed to the program. The study appears online and in the August print issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

"This study demonstrates that a comprehensive, school-wide social and character development program can have a substantial impact on reducing problem behaviors of public health importance in elementary school-age youth," principal investigator Dr. Brian Flay of Oregon State University said in a news release from the U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse.

He said a follow-up study is planned to examine whether the positive effects of the program continue as children grow older.

"This study provides compelling evidence that intervening with young children is a promising approach to preventing drug use and other problem behaviors," Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the institute, said in the news release. The agency supported the study.

"The fact that an intervention beginning in the first grade produced a significant effect on children's behavior in the fifth grade strengthens the case for initiating prevention programs in elementary school, before most children have begun to engage in problem behaviors," Volkow said.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more about children's behavior  .

THURSDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- Job stress during early pregnancy increases the risk of low infant birth weight, a new study finds.

Dutch researchers analyzed responses from 8,266 pregnant women who filled out a questionnaire on employment and working conditions.

The study found that a work week of 32 hours or more and high job strain during the first trimester had an impact on an infant's birth weight. A combination of high job stress and a long work week was associated with the greatest birth-weight reduction and the highest risk of delivering a small-for-gestational-age baby.

"Although pregnant women typically reduce their working hours or workloads at the end of the pregnancy, our results suggest that reducing job strain and working hours in the initial stages of pregnancy may be beneficial among women with stressful full-time jobs," the researchers concluded.

The study appears online June 18 and in the August print issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

More information

The March of Dimes has more about low birth weight  .

THURSDAY, June 18 (HealthDay News) -- Teen children who live with alcohol-abusing fathers are at higher risk for alcohol or drug abuse themselves, a U.S. government study released Thursday shows.

The analysis of data gathered from more than 11,000 fathers and 9,500 father-child pairs between 2002 and 2007 found the rate of past-year alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was: 38.8 percent among those who lived with a father who abused alcohol; 33.2 percent among those whose father drank but didn't have a drinking disorder; and 21.1 percent among those whose father hadn't used alcohol in the past year.

Among the fathers living with teens, more than 68 percent used alcohol but didn't have a drinking problem, 24.2 percent didn't have alcohol in the past year, and about 8 percent met the clinical definition of having an alcohol use disorder, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) study showed.

It also found that the rates of illicit drug use among adolescents was: just over 24 percent for those who lived with fathers with drinking disorders; 18.4 percent for those whose fathers drank but didn't have a drinking disorder; and 14 percent for those whose fathers abstained from alcohol.

"Father's Day provides another opportunity to point out the important role fathers play in influencing their children's attitudes and behavior regarding alcohol and substance use," Eric Broderick, SAMHSA acting administrator, said in an agency news release. "This study highlights the continuing need to educate fathers, mothers and other role models about the profound impact their drinking behavior can have on their children."

More information

The Nemours Foundation has more about children and alcohol  .