Having an issue with 3 year old boy night time potty training!

Carrie - posted on 02/07/2010

Thank you for everyone's input on this subject. We are slowly trying different things. Will repost if we find something that works!

Kristy - posted on 01/29/2010

My son's pediatrican said not to stress about it until he was 5. He is almost 5 now and started staying dry at night right after he turned 4. I won't worry about it.

Lisa - posted on 01/29/2010

to b honest he will learn in time dont force him could make it harder for him just lots of praise wen he does durin the day, and night time will follow in time :)

Nicole - posted on 01/29/2010

NO MORE Diapers or Pull ups if you are using underwear. Switching between underwear and pull ups can confuse them. Maybe he isn't ready if he can't hold it overnight. You could try to wake him up yourself at the same time each night and take him until he learns to take himself. Patience is really what it takes sometimes. What worked for my son may not work for yours, I think potty training is probably one of the hardest parts of being a parent. Just remember you will laugh about mot of it someday.

Trina - posted on 01/29/2010

As with potty training, sometimes the little muscles are just not familiar with the cues. As an adult, and found more in elderly, It can still be hard to isolate specific muscle cues and control them. I am having the same problem with my son, he requires a pull up for bedtime, but instead of showing disappointment, I just tell him accidents happen and to always tell mommy the truth. We cut off drinks, all that jazz, but sometimes he still has pee in the morning. I tell him that when he wears a pull up, if he can wake up to go potty, to go, but if he has an accident, its okay, just keep practicing. I mostly want to ensure in him that his emotional stability is the most important to me, and that he has to always tell me the whole truth to show his trust in me and mine in him. As he is about to turn 4, we are going to try to start introducing underwear in the middle of the night, and see if the wet feeling helps, but I didn't feel that was necessary as it is common for children around 3 to still have a hard time holding it all night, and not have those cues wake them up. Unfortunately, all children are different in this way, and whatever you need to try as a parent to help the process along is what is best for the child. Their emotional stability is the most vulnerable at these ages and when we get angry at them for an accident, it just makes them feel that their natural self is wrong. Sorry for the novel, lol, but I hope it all works out for you! Keep us posted if you try something and it works!

Aleesha - posted on 01/29/2010

My son is about to turn 4 and just started being able to make it all night! Its really a normal thing for them to wet the bed at night..they just arent made to be able to hold it all in! I used pull ups and then started waking my son up about 1 am to go pee....he went in went and always went right back to bed! Hes now getting up all by himself and going in the middle of the night!!! Just be patient and Good luck! No child pees the bed for the rest of their lives!!

Toni - posted on 01/29/2010

My four year old little girl wets the bed. My 3 year old little boy has been potty trained since 2 1/2 and doesnt wet at all. Dont let people tell you that your little boy needs to learn, and please dont punish him for it. My sister wet her pants and the bed until she was 12. I have sopekn to a hadnful of Doctors adn they all tell me the same thing. When children are small their brains somtimes fail to signal the "feeling to go to the restroom." While most children grow out of this, some may have setbacks and some may not grow out of it till they are older. Its not the children being lazy its the brain signals when they are fast asleep they can also fail to recognize because they are sleeping so deep. There is nothing anyone can do about it except for the child and his brain so please do not punish or scold, its not his fault. Your doing a great job keep it up and your patience :-)

Brandy - posted on 01/29/2010

Boys def take longer. I have 3 of them and my oldest at 10 now took FOREVER! lol He still had accidents up until about age 6. I literally had to get him up at night and walk him to the toilet and smack his face a couple of times (not hard lol) to get him to wake up and pee. Try regular underwear and see if being wet wakes him up. My son didnt care he slept right through it and it was more a pain in the butt for me to wash his sheets every night. Some kids just take longer, I wouldnt worry too much about it.

Rebecca - posted on 01/29/2010

i wet the bed until i was about 6 or 7. but not like..alll the time. just occasionally. my mom made us use the bathroom whether we had to or not to empty our bladders before we hit the hay. boys, i understand are a little harder than girls. alls we do is sit ^.^ just be patient with him and have plenty of back-up sheets/mattress pads ready. good luck!!

Amanda - posted on 01/29/2010

we used pullups on my son, and he would pee in them at night. i stopped that and never had an accident. i put a potty in his room. sometimes he would use it.

Monica - posted on 01/29/2010

jennifer, i think that if your son is asking for underwear, you should let him at night!! use a mattress protecter and let him wake himself up when he has accidents.... that's the way he'll learn. Pull ups keep them too dry, so they don't get used to waking up!

Monica - posted on 01/29/2010

*needs lol

Medic - posted on 01/29/2010

Hes three I personally would not stress the issue. Boys take a while longer and will do it in their own time. My son is 3 and has been potty trained during the day and during naps for over a year but just can't make it threw the night. He has told me that he wants to wear underwear at night and I told him that when he goes a week dry he can, but I'm not going to push it. I don't cut off his liquids either because I think that it all goes back to when hes ready.

Monica - posted on 01/29/2010

he need to wet the bed a few times to learn!! keep the matress protecter but don't put pull ups on him!! kids don't like being wet, like anybody, and he'll learn like that!!! Plus the wetting the bed will wake him up so he'll get used to waking up when he has to pee!!
i have a 3 1/2 yr old and he hasn't peed in his bed since he was 2/2 1/2!!!
good luck!! :)

Stephanie - posted on 01/29/2010

I'm having this same issue!