The Real Truths About Night Toilet Training

You shouldn't have to wake him up at night to go to the bathroom. You need to completly cut drinks about 7:30-8. Depending on what time he goes to sleep. My daughter has been trained since she was 2 1/2 (shes 3 now) and I noticed that when she would have drinks right before she would lay down, she would have an accident that night. So I would see if that would help, cause if you have to wake him at night, it may be hard for him to go back to sleep.

Hi J.,
It does sound like he has to pee when he's climbing in your bed at night. I think your instincts are correct! I think if he's "awake" enough to climb in your bed, he may be "awake" enough to take him to the potty.(?)

It may be enough if you just take him to the toilet as soon as he climbs in your bed, and return him to his own bed. Maybe it would take a few weeks, but I'd think he'd eventually, "get it."

I do wake my son to use the toilet at night, between 9:30 and 10:30, before we go to bed, and he makes it through the night that way. He's never, "awake" when we take him, though. He kind of, "zombies" his way through it, but it works!

Good luck!
T

Both of my children have been potty trained at night since the day they were potty trained during the day. My son was almost 3 and my daughter 2.5 when they potty trained.

You should not have to wake your child to use the bathroom during the night. We found that allowing them to wear underwear at night from the beginning helped significantly. We also limit their fluid intake before bed and they MOST definitely are asked to use the restroom before bed. We have maybe had three accidents in bed from each child since they were potty trained and each time it was because we came home from somewhere and they fell asleep on the way home and didn't use the restroom. I am not sure if this helps or not, but I do know that not all children are the same and it could be a hereditary problem as to why he isn't staying dry at night. Our friends son is seven and still wets the bed. The doctor has simply said that he will outgrow it.

I have my girls go twice before they go to sleep. I have decided that when they can no longer go twice they can go once and be done. So they brush their teeth and do "first potty" and then I read them each a book and then "second potty". It means a lot less changing of the sheets in our house, it's not difficult and they both sleep through the night with no accidents the vast majority of the time. My oldest was the worst, she is a very heavy sleeper and just wouldn't wake up. At first she wouldn't wake up at all and would be surprised and dismayed in the morning that she'd wet the bed, later she would wake up only after she'd wet the bed (which means a bath and changing sheets in the middle of the night). We went back to pull-ups at night for a while (around age 4) but she only went backwards and got diaper rash. When I finally had her start going twice before bed the problem improved greatly, I also don't let them drink more than a couple of swallows within an hour or so of bedtime, it is Arizona but I make sure they drink all day and since I don't like getting up to change sheets and give showers in the middle of the night it works. My seven year old gets up now to go potty at night and goes back to sleep on her own. My five year old has a tendency to come into my room and try to climb in bed with me rather than go potty, not sure of the logic here, but I've stopped letting her get in my bed until she's been to the toilet.

My oldest was day trained at 27 months. She was well past her fourth birthday before she was completely and consistently dry at night. There's not much you can do to "train" kids at night. You are waiting on physiological development that doesn't happen for many kids until around 5. Not that for some it doesn't happen earlier. My second was trained day AND night at 27 months.

But back to my oldest, who is also a sleepwalker! First, you're lucky he gets up at all. He's well on his way, in my opinion. You need to physically take him yourself. If he is still asleep, he will not be able to hear your instructions. If he is already wet by the time he gets to you, take him out of pull ups. Get some reusable, cloth training pants. If he gets immediate feedback from being wet, he will more quickly learn to recognize those night time signs. It's a process and takes time. Good luck!

I am training my 4 yr old too. I do what is called a "sleepy pee-pees". I just stand up next to the toilet half asleep and tell him to go. Usually he does, then I just put him back in bed. It's worth a shot!

My experience was the exact opposite of JC's -- my two eldest daughters (the third is not trained yet) were both day trained for well over a year before they stopped wearing a diaper to bed. I didn't even attempt night training until it was very obvious they were ready, that is, that the sleeping diaper was dry every morning for a few weeks straight. My eldest was right around 4, I think, and has never had an accident. My second was past 4-1/2 and she does have accidents if she doesn't use the toilet right before going to bed -- like on the rare occasions she falls asleep outside of bed and is too sleepy and cranky to get her to sit on the toilet.

Our pediatrician said that children are seldom ready to night train as early as they are to day train, and that boys especially sometimes don't develop full night bladder control until well after age 5. To me it was never a big deal to put on a sleeping diaper or pull-up "just in case" since I really, really, REALLY hate having to bathe children, change sheets and do laundry at 3 a.m.

If you don't give him tons to drink before bed, and make sure he goes before he goes to bed, he really should be able to hold it all night. Of course, that said, I have a seven year old who still wets the bed at night about once a month. Usually when he forgets to go before he goes to bed. Or try putting him in pullups (they make them for older kids too!)

When my daughter was 3 1/2 was about the age we started to go without pull-ups at night. We would take her potty before her bedtime and again before we went to bed (about 10:30).We'd just carry her or lead her to the bathroom. Some nights I don't think she ever actually woke up! I do not/did not want to stop liquids... if my kids are thirsty, I want them to drink.

The first couple nights I double folded about 5 beach towels and put them on her bed, so if she did pee during the night, I could just take those off and not have to change the sheets. The wet never went all the way through. She only had 2 accidents that first week and none after that. We kept taking her potty for about the next 6 months before we went to bed.

Now, she's 4 1/2 and gets up on her own if she needs to go potty. If your son comes to your bed, the first thing I'd do is take him potty! If he doesn't stay dry all night after 2 weeks of this, I'd say she still sleeps too soundly to go without a pull-up. Lots of kids aren't nighttime trained until much older.

That said, my son potty trained before he was 2(!?), but I don't expect him to be night trained for quite a while. He's nearly 3 and wakes up with a very soggy diaper every morning!

Hi. Do you live in Gilbert? I do and have an issue with my 5 year old also. I notieced that when I put on pullups he gets up to go to the restroom by himself. I ALSO put on the light in the restroom (a little nightlight) and he finds the toilet easier. It helps but reward my son with goodies (ex: his favorite snack) when he has a DRY diaper. Just wondering if you know any Mom groups out in Gilbert,AZ that have play dates?
Thank you and Good luck.
-M.