Potty Trained During the Day, but Not Night

Kids potty train through the night WAY after they potty train in the day. Girls will often make the change about 6 months after being dry all day, but boys are commonly in pull-ups at night until they are 4 or 5. There is nothing you can do to change whether or not he stays dry at night, so you should stop trying. When he is ready, he will just be dry every night. When he is dry for a week in a row, then you can try underwear at night again. He is not forgetting to come tell you, he is peeing in his sleep without ever waking up or knowing what he did. You have to be very careful not to make him feel guilty about something he has absolutely no control over.

My son turned three in August and has the same problem. He sees a urologist for kidney issues. I asked her about being potty trained through the night and she laughed. She said he's perfectly normal and most kids aren't dry at it night until four or even five! He wears a pull up at night and is dry about half the time. My sister in law's daughter is the same age and they've tried reward charts, limiting fluids in the evening, and going potty before bed. She just isn't ready either. You really can't force it!

Hi A.. My son will be 4 in January. He was potty trained little before he turned three. I read many books on potty training while I was working with his. I am happy to hear that he is doing great during the day. As for night, I learned that he does not have much choice. His kidney needs to mature in order for him to hold pee. This varies on each child. So I believe that he has not forgoten to tell you or his dad. I think his body is not ready to be that state yet. After I ready that, I just kept diper on him at night. After a while, I noticed that his diaper has been dry. I still put diaper for another week or so. After that, I put udnerwear on him. This took place pretty quickly for him. I know with my friend daughter, it took her close to 4 or 5 month. My daughter had a dry diaper even as a baby so she was quick not to wet her diaper after she was potty trained. It took her about one month to complete the whole process. It is work for mommies and daddies, but more you relaxed about whole thing, child will feel OK and not becoming anxious about toiletting. Good luck.

Thanks for asking the question, as the answers were educational for me!

What I wanted to add is that when you make up the bed for the night, do it twice in advance: waterproof pad, sheet, waterproof pad, sheet. That way when you have to wake up in the middle of the night to clean up and make a change, you can just yank the top 2 layers off and put your sweetie right back to bed.

I would just put a pull-up on him at night. If you don't want to do that for some reason, then I would wake him and have him go potty. I think he is too young to wake up, find his way to the bathroom and go back to bed on his own. Also, little ones can be sleeping too hard to wake up. So, the damage is done before anyone can even consider going to the bathroom! Make sure he goes potty before bed and put a protective cover on the mattress. I hope this helps! S.

I think most kids are supposed to be able to stay dry through the night by the time they are 3, but not all can. Give him some time, if he doesn't start to improve maybe you should mention it to your pediatrician. But really, some kids just take longer than others to stay dry at night. Try not to worry just yet. And no, don't be hard on him. It's not his fault.

My daughter potty trained in the day around 2 years, she refused to wear any kind of diaper or pull up at night soon after that. So I just had extra underwear and pj bottoms ready and a pad under her (wool works great, and a cloth diaper on top). It took her about six months to learn. I read that it could take at least 6 months to a year for them to learn to be aware at night that they have to pee.

I also have the tiny potty in her room at night when she wakes up restless and kicking (she doesn't say she has to pee) I know she has to pee and just put her on her little potty right next to the bed and she falls back asleep immediately after going.

I do have a nephew who's 4.5 who still wears a pull up at night, though he rarely goes in them now he doesn't like to wake up wet if he does go in his sleep.

He is most likely just not physically ready to hold it all night long yet. We put our son in an overnite diaper for at least 6 months after he was completely day time potty trained. Then once we noticed he was waking up dry we took them off. We would cut out liquids after 6 pm or so and then get him up before we went to bed (10:30 or 11) and make him go again (that took some training to get him to wake up into a state of being able to stand and go, but it worked!). After 6 months or so of that, now he goes through the night without wetting his bed. So many of my friends kids still wear overnite diapers (5 and 6 year olds) so I wouldn't push it too hard if his body isn't ready for it and don't feel like he's behind, all kids move along at their own pace.

During my research on the subject I learned that the human body starts producing a hormone that sends the message to the kidneys not to produce urine during sleep cycles. The age that this starts happening is different for everyone. Some people never start producing it, they just learn to get up and go the bathroom half asleep. I would keep him in pull ups until he gets old enough to learn how to master the half asleep go to the bathroom skill. Right now sleep/getting back to sleep should be more important for him than disappointing mom:)

It is very common for 3-4 yos to still be in Pull Ups at night. My advice is to use Pull Ups until he is waking dry. Then he can wear underwear to bed. Not a big deal - very common, I promise.

Some kids get the hang of it right away.. staying dry at night or are able to wake up and go.. but some kids bodies are not ready and they are sound sleepers not he childs fault at all.. my husband was a sound sleeper as a child and it is heritatary and my daughter still wears a pull up at night.. she just turned 6.. you are in a different situation he is still young and doing such a great job during the day:) I wouldn't wake him up since it causes upset(it did with my daugther too) so I would put him in a pull up at night and go from there.. the best pull ups that don't leak are Goodnites made for night time only. My daughter's doctor didn't seem concerend at her 5 year check up that she still was in a pull up.. For us if it is still a problem when she is 7 we will go for other options.
Best of luck,
lenc

A.,

Give it some time. After a child has been potty trained for daytime, it usually takes at least six months for them to figure out how to stay dry at night too. It took us around 2 years to completely potty train my son, although we had two major setbacks during that time.

One thing that may help you is to have him go right before he hops into bed, and then again as soon as he hops out in the morning. We made that part of the routine and stood firm. There were times when he tried telling us he didn't have to go, but we still encouraged him to **try**.

Good luck,
Melissa

Don't feel bad. My son is 4, and he is the same way. I put him in pull-ups at night, and sometimes he wakes me up, sometimes he doesn't. Some kids take longer to learn to wake up when they have to go at night. I suggest just getting some pull-ups, and when he starts waking up at night, you can put him back in underwear.

take him to bathroom just before bed and before u go to bed and when you get up in the middel of the night for a bathroom run get him up to he will start going on his own this wil take time but it works

Most young children can't wake themselves up enough to realize they need to go to the bathroom - they simply sleep too soundly.

My DD potty trained right after she turned 2, but didn't decide she was ready for night time until 2 months ago (she'll be 4 in January). She hasn't wet at all since.

I say, put the diapers back on at night and see when he's ready.

He's still too young. My son just turned 4 and has been potty trained for almost one year, never has accidents what so ever but he's never woke up at night to go pee either. For naps, he's okay to wear underwear but for sleeping at night, we always just put him in pull up. He is for the most part always dry, but not always. I figure until he starts waking up at night, I'm not going to be washing his bedding every day and getting up with a wet child, etc.
I know some parents actually wake their kids in the middle of the night to take them to the potty. I will not do that as I'm not getting up to do it, plus I think my son would be upset. He does not like to be woken up. My husband and I are not the least bit worried about his night time wearing of pull ups. He'll soon grow out of needing it and will wake on his own.
Just give your son some times. If he's still having accidents during the day once in a while, he's not ready to move to the next step at night. You don't want him to continually fail, etc. I would not be harder on him. I think it'll back fire and you might have more potty problems to deal with than you have now.
Good luck to you and your family.