need tips for night time potty training

ERICA - posted on 08/04/2011

i can u keep ur child dry

Faridah - posted on 03/17/2011

me too my son also 3yrs old. he is fully potty trained at my house, however by baby sitter don't want to take a risk in order to fully potty trainning at her home. i need some tip to achive that mission...thanks.

Alesia - posted on 01/06/2010

My girl has to have her milk before her bedtime. And before this I had to change the bedsheets more than 4 times a week! I used to wait till she sleeps very soundly before getting her to wear the diaper. Each time I'll get busted; she would wake up suddenly wailing that she doesn't want to wear the diaper. So in the end I just have to get used to changing bedsheets and the sleepless night until 2 weeks ago, I decided to wake her up half way through her sleep (I didn't want to do this initially because the first time I tried she wouldn't go back to her sleep and we would end up watching the telly from 1 to 5 in the morning!) luckily this time it works. I have been having a clean and dry bed ever since and not to mention more restful nights :)

Nkeiru Vivien - posted on 12/25/2009

I don't think you should expect him to be dry at nite yet. My son was dry during the day from the age of 2. Then a month later, I started the nights without any diapers. I would wake him up about twice during the nites. He is 31/4 now. I wake him up only once during the nite. Sometimes, he wake up by himself asking to wee wee. And once in while he would wet the bed. A friend of mine stopped givin her son liquids from 7 pm and it worked for her. He stays dry throughout the nite and she doesnt wake up to take him to the bathroom. So just keep trying different things,

Chris - posted on 12/23/2009

Don't worry about it, just have him wear a pull-up for a while longer. Little people's level of REM sleep is much deeper than adults. There are not tips for this type of "potty training" you need to let him get the best sleep and let his little bladder develop at the proper time.P.S. I'm an RN whose daughter has been to the pediatric urologist for UTI's this potty trainng info is not just from me, but also is what th Dr. told me.

Carole Ann - posted on 12/22/2009

no more drinks after 5pm....i know it's hard but you can do it....it worked with my daugther...and make them go before bed too....

Angela - posted on 12/21/2009

Don't let him have a drink after 6pm. A small sip of water when he brushes his teeth before bed.Put him on the potty before bed, lift him before you go to bed round about 11pm and he will automatically go on the potty, don't speak to him other than tell him to have a wee otherwise he will wake up fully and you may have trouble getting him back to sleep. Put him on the potty again round about 6 or 7 am, this worked with my girls, all 3 of them were dry overnight within two weeks. Good luck and i hope this helps.

Veronica - posted on 12/20/2009

Thank you to everyone for your suggestions.

Amy - posted on 12/20/2009

Hi There, Just wondering if you have enough info to help solve this Temp problem with your son, If not, I feel i may be able to help u Veronica. xxx

Rachel - posted on 12/20/2009

We have a daughter who is 4 and a 1/2 and until just a few months ago, we were getting her up at 11 to take her to the bathroom and then right back to sleep. Once when we were out of town, we realized that she had gone the whole night without an accident and we had forgotten to take her. She has been dry in the night from then on. Our pediatrician was not upset about us taking her to the bathroom. He was more concerned about her "winning" the potty training and not feeling defeated in the morning when she woke up.

Heather - posted on 12/20/2009

My son is 5 years old and I cannot let him drink anything past 6 or 6:30 in the evening and he goes to bed at 7:30-8pm. He has been potty trained since age 3 1/2 and still if he drinks near bed time or drinks a lot around 5:30-6pm he will surely wet the bed.

Michelle - posted on 12/20/2009

I'm not a potty training expert, but I believe it is more than normal for your child to have accidents overnight. Every child is different, and at some point, it will just click and he'll start waking up dry. Punishing a child for something he has no control over won't help. He'll get there! Stay positive!

Ruth - posted on 12/20/2009

What's the stress?!! A lot of children are not even potty trained in the day by then. I believe we end up putting too much pressure on children too soon. What does it matter if they have a nappy/pull-up on for bed? I have two very happy, bright and sociable children aged 5 and 7 who are both still in pull-ups at night. It doesn't bother them. When it does we'll work together to get them out of it. In the meantime I don't have the stress of wet bedclothes and no stress for them of being told off for wetting either. My daughter had poor bladder control in the day and often wet until the age of 5. I think your doctor is right - they have to be physically and emotionally ready and that comes at different ages.

Galilee - posted on 12/20/2009

Hi, my daugter just turned 3. I decided to stop giving her a night time bottle or drink. I find that with her she needs at least 1.5 hrs after a drink & before she goes to bed for her to stay dry. The latest toilet run is just before bed and if she woke up during the night I took her to the loo. I did this about 5 months ago & it worked in 3 days. Best of Luck. The end of nappies are in sight! :)

Tara - posted on 12/20/2009

I am a school teacher as well and I would like to encourage parents to be careful of the reward system. A good rule of thumb is if it is something that is expected, don't reward for it. If your child goes above and beyond.....then reward. I mean there are exceptions to every rule, but children think they should get praise all day long just for doing the right thing.....well....the right thing should be expected. What ever happened to that?

Tara - posted on 12/20/2009

Quoting Kimberly:

Quoting Kris:

What really worked for us was prizes. Every time my son pees or poops, still at 5 years old, he gets something. It was getting expensive, but now he's satisfied with stickers or, if he has a really big poop, he gets a cool tattoo. It keeps him from peeing the bed at night, or getting constipated, if I make him "try" peeing and/or pooping before he goes to bed. He gets a small sticker if he tries and nothing happens, a bigger sticker if he actually pees or poops.

I know everyone has their own methods and I usually try to keep my opinions to myself, but I have to say something here... REALLY????? At 5 you are still rewarding him for going in the potty?  My daughter stopped getting anything more than praise for going after she got comfortable with going (a couple weeks) and she is only two.  As i Kindergarten teacher this just makes me cringe.  I can promise you I DO NOT give my students stickers for going to the potty!  At what age do you think you are going to stop rewarding him for a bodily function?  You are teaching him that EVERYTHING has a price, why can't somethings be done because they need to be, or for the feeling of accomplishment you get at doing a job well?

Tara - posted on 12/20/2009

My best advice is simple. Don't rush it. It will come and I know pull ups are expensive, but this is different for every child. All I can tell you is you can stress and try to figure out how to get him to "do it now" and it is really all developmental. I promise. Just enjoy him, he will get big, stop wetting the bed, and the cute dimples in his hands will be gone. FOCUS on the things that you adore at this stage in life. It will be gone all too soon. Said with a mothers love

Kimberly - posted on 12/19/2009

I haven't personally worried too much about night training with my daughter yet. She's got going in the potty down well enough to not wear diapers during the day where some parents are just starting to try at her age. But, I do try to limit night time liquids and I make sure she sits on the pot right before she goes to bed. When she is physically ready the rest will come, she is only dry at nap time about 50% of the time right now and I don't put her in pull ups for naps so I figure changing sheets once a day is enough for me right now.

A couple of things I thought of though... have you thought about his environment and capabilities. Can he get in and out of his pajamas by himself? (My daughter can't or won't yet.) Can he get in and out of bed and onto the potty by himself, or out of bed and to you to wake you in time? I have actually put a potty chair in my daughter's room to make it more accessible to her in the hopes that this will encourage her to pull down her own pants and go on the potty when she wakes. It hasn't worked yet here, but I'm convinced that these are very important factors in night training. Good Luck!

Kimberly - posted on 12/19/2009

Quoting Kris:

What really worked for us was prizes. Every time my son pees or poops, still at 5 years old, he gets something. It was getting expensive, but now he's satisfied with stickers or, if he has a really big poop, he gets a cool tattoo. It keeps him from peeing the bed at night, or getting constipated, if I make him "try" peeing and/or pooping before he goes to bed. He gets a small sticker if he tries and nothing happens, a bigger sticker if he actually pees or poops.

I know everyone has their own methods and I usually try to keep my opinions to myself, but I have to say something here... REALLY????? At 5 you are still rewarding him for going in the potty?  My daughter stopped getting anything more than praise for going after she got comfortable with going (a couple weeks) and she is only two.  As i Kindergarten teacher this just makes me cringe.  I can promise you I DO NOT give my students stickers for going to the potty!  At what age do you think you are going to stop rewarding him for a bodily function?  You are teaching him that EVERYTHING has a price, why can't somethings be done because they need to be, or for the feeling of accomplishment you get at doing a job well?

Janie - posted on 12/19/2009

Dear V. We all know there are reasons why children are not sensitive to control at night, but the problem might be solved by simply not giving him anything to drink after 5P. Do this for five nights and see if it helps. I insisted on this with my daughter and diapers were gone. When you drink, you have to go... for all of us. I'm sure you're a very good mother. Bless you! Don't forget to reward him in the morning. My daughter got one M+M. Really. She always got verbal praise of being a 'big girl'.

Remember, it's their problem not yours. I always had her help with the clean up and take the wet clothes and sheets to the washing machine so she knew the consequence was to clean it up-not just my job. The 'dry morning happy dance' was popular, too. Encouragement is so good for all of us.

Carrie - posted on 12/19/2009

It is just a waiting game. Eventually it will happen. My daughter is 3 it is a 50/50 chance every night. We did change out her reg. mattress for a air mattress, that way when accidents do happen clean up is simple change of sheets. Good Luck!

April - posted on 12/19/2009

Hey Veronica,

My son is three and a half years old and is fully potty trained. He was the same way, ok durung the day but still had accidents at night. The only thing I can say is keep using the pull ups at night and eventually he will get it. It just takes time. And try to not give him that much to drink before bed time. Be patient, hel get it. Good luck!

-Ms. April Taylor

Brandi - posted on 12/19/2009

sorry. my daughter was night trained before she was day trained that's part of how I knew she was ready to day train.

Tiffany - posted on 12/19/2009

Don't stress about it right now. He'll grow out of it. My son is 3 1/2 and I just finally stopped putting pull-ups on him at night about 2 months ago. He still has accidents every once in a while, but I try not to make a big deal about it. Just don't give too much liquids at night and make sure they use the bathroom before bed (even if he doesn't think he needs to). Once he stays dry for about a week, I'd take off the pullups and just remind him that if he needs to go potty at night, get up and go. A nightlight that they can carry to the bathroom helps too. Most accidents happen when a child wakes up at night and then falls back asleep (like if they are sick, or something wakes them up), so I try to get him up to use the bathroom if I know he woke up at some point.

Paula - posted on 12/19/2009

My friend is a pharmacist. She tells me that the body needs to produce a certain chemical before it is able to retain urine in the bladder over night. So forget night time untill they are old enough.. We have been putting our 4 year old on the loo last thing at night for a long time now. This seems to work. He stays dry till at least 7 which is time for us all to wake up.

Karyn - posted on 12/19/2009

3 is a bit young, I have 4 kids and 2 out of the 4 have wet the bed at night. My oldest out grew it around 4 and we used a diaper over her underpants and that did it. My youngest is 3 and this time a boy so we are using pull-ups until he is older. If it does not stop before 5 or 6 I may try the potty alarm. Others I know have used it with success. But your child does need to be older before trying the alarm. I think they need to be able to make the choice themselves. The key is they need to want to stop the bed wetting.

I have seen web sites for bed wetter supplies. I like the convalescent home pads I can wash. I just keep one on his bed for accidents. They do work to keep the sheets dry. Good luck

Cheryl - posted on 12/19/2009

I think the best thing that worked for my three kids was to cut drinks to a minimum 2-3 hours before bedtime. Try to get lots of fluids drank during the rest of the day.

Ibidun - posted on 12/19/2009

I think this may have already been said, but you can try to limit fluids after a certain time of night. I have two boys and both were at opposite ends with night potty training....One was a towering fountain, so we would get him up at least once aroung 11:00 or midnight and had to make sure he got up on schedule in the a.m. to go. He just turned 6 and he does have accident every now and then. The other, was the opposite, very good about getting up on his own. Also, we used the plastic training pants at night so if they did have accident it kept the bed dry and it was cheaper than buy pullups. Most of all be patient!

Kris - posted on 12/19/2009

What really worked for us was prizes. Every time my son pees or poops, still at 5 years old, he gets something. It was getting expensive, but now he's satisfied with stickers or, if he has a really big poop, he gets a cool tattoo. It keeps him from peeing the bed at night, or getting constipated, if I make him "try" peeing and/or pooping before he goes to bed. He gets a small sticker if he tries and nothing happens, a bigger sticker if he actually pees or poops.

Barbara - posted on 12/19/2009

that is why i do the sink water running technique so i do not have to wake my kids up! they eventually go pee. i have a little stool in the bathroom i sit on so i can hold them up so they do not wake up!

Barbara - posted on 12/19/2009

Yea also with my daughters I'll wear my underwear around the house, not those thongs but normal underwear, and we'll dance like that and sing. They get so excited that they are wearing underwear like mommy's except my don't have Princesses on them! lol But I get my kids so excited to go underwear shopping too!

Lawanda - posted on 12/19/2009

My 5 yr old has accidents from time to time when i asked her doctor about it he asked me do she drink alot of fluids which she does all day long he also told me to stop her fluid intake about a few hours before she goes to bed now what i do when i see shes getting sleeping or if she fell asleep to early i would physically wake her up i even have to sometimes pick her up and put her on the toilet i hate waking her up out of her sleep its not all the time but it beats washing her bedding almost every other day.

Melanie - posted on 12/19/2009

Hi,



While I can't offer any help I can say that our daughter potty trained the same way. She would still have a wet diaper at night. She is four now and just recently was able to keep a dry diaper over night. I told her that if she kept dry diapers for a week she would be able to wear underwear to bed. I don't know if something finally clicked but she kept a dry diaper for the week and then started wearing underwear and hasn't had any accidents since.



She is a very deep sleeper. I don't know if it is at all related but she also had night terrors. She has recently (finally) outgrown them as well.

Barbara - posted on 12/19/2009

In the middle of the night I carry my youngest daughter who is 2 to the toilet. The whole time she is still sleeping. I stand her up against me by holding her with one hand then with the other hand I take off her underwear. I havethe water running in the sink ruuning so she hears it and sometimes making water running sounds next to her ear. Then she ends up going to the bathroom I wipe her and out her to bed then wash my hands. Usually my daughter's sleep through this and I just put them back to bed. And NO accidnets happen. Because my daughters need a milk bottl to go to sleep at night. This worked with my now 5 year old back then and she was sleeping in underwear before the age of 2. My oldest I tried rushing it on her to be potty trained because my oldest was so young when she was trained. But just had to wait and once she was ready just recently she was completely potty trained in about 2 weeks. But that is what I do and it has worked. Having the water run great trick! Hoped this helps! Also what yo can use to not mess up childs mattress at the pet store they sell puppy pads. I lay these under their bed sheets during the training processes!

Roxanne - posted on 12/19/2009

Don't worry about it! He's only 3! Some boys take longer - their bladder and brain haven't made the connection yet, or they are truly a deep sleeper - ask you son's doctor - he'll tell you the same thing. Sometimes young moms feel pressured into potty training too early. Mom's compare their success of being a mom by comparing themselves to other moms. Not healthy! Let him be 3, take an easy approach, don't stress or he will stress. Help him feel really good about who he is in all things at this point. If he truly can't control himself, for what ever reason, how can it help him to make him try?
You're a good mom! You're trying to make sure your son is on track developmentally and that he is getting what he needs. Pat yourself on the back - good job!

Sheilah - posted on 12/19/2009

my daughter is four and has been day pottty trained for awhile, but nite time is still an issue. I do all of the above, to no avail. she sleeps too sound. she goes to bed at 730 and sleeps till 8 but will wake up at like 300 and has already gone potty in her pants. the ped dr never suggested a sleep study so i went to a different dr. and he said she will be able to control it as she gets older, but to never disapline her for it, that makes it worse. so we just say we will try agoan tomorrow nite. its happening less often now.

Arwen - posted on 12/19/2009

Iv got daughters, I used to lift them twice in the night and stop any dirnks a good hour before bed.

Heidi - posted on 12/19/2009

Night time wetting usually has to do with the child sleeping too deeply not with behavior. I think you need to find a new doctor. It isn't about him being ready. He is physically sleeping too hard and it is not a concious choice. Tell your doctor you want a refferral to a pediatric urologist or you will be finding a new doctor. They are usually willing to help further. If it is truely a sleep issue, they may send you to a neurologist to have a sleep study done. That is how they will know what type of sleep patterens he is having. Good luck and keep asking for answers. If you don't get them switch doctors.

Rhonda - posted on 12/19/2009

dont stress...thats the biggest thing...it will happen.!!

Natasha - posted on 12/19/2009

well what worked for me - was routine, as previous post stated, first stop liquid intake around 6, a waterproof pad is a must (if mattress doesn't already have the protection), wake them every 3/4 hrs to go to the potty, which allows them to get in the happen of not sleepimg thru a potty moment, therefore causing them to wake up in the middle of the night when they feel the urge to go, once at the potty, help little as possible, (they need to be fully alert of what's going on & what they're doing), helping defeats the whole night potty training purpose & they won't understand the concept & most importantly a night light so they're not afraid to go to the bathroom by themselves in the middle of the night...Good Luck!

Jill - posted on 12/19/2009

My son just turned 8 and I've tried everything possible to get him to stop right down to letting him sleep in it (he doesn't care). I even tried waking him up myself to take him to the bathroom and found I was losing too much sleep myself and was making myself exhausted. I even had him washing his own sheets and changing his own bed at one point and he just doesn't care. The doctor said he'll stop when he's ready. It's so frustrating though. I stop his drinking around 6, wake him around 11 and set his alarm clock for 2:30. Sometimes he gets up and goes when the alarm wakes him and sometimes he just shuts it off and goes back to sleep. I've come to the conclusion that he's just plain lazy and will outgrown it someday. Hopefuly, before he starts dating!!! Hahaha.

Michelle - posted on 12/19/2009

My daughter is 4 and still has a problem on occasion. What I do is stop her fluid intake around 6, and get her up at 11 (if she has fallen asleep, some nights thats a struggle) and make her go potty. I think with some children it is something they need to grow out of. The reason I get her up, is to make her realize she has to go potty, instead of putting her in a pull-up which would allow her to be lazy and sleep in it.