Need Advice on Potty Training for Nighttime

I'd say: Why do they feel the need to be potty trained at night when they are wearing a diaper?

I'd take 'em out of the diapers. My oldest son had a number of night-time accidents at first. His matress is covered in plastic and he only had a small pillow (not the standard twin sized one - because they take MUCH longer to wash and dry!) I had a "back-up bed" set up for him - with clean sheets and pjs. I also kept the heater turned up a bit at night - so he didn't need more than a sheet and light blanket comforter to stay warm. When he wet the bed in the middle of the night, he would get out of the wet things and settle himself into the back-up bed without waking me up. In the morning he would help me strip the bed and put the soiled items in the washing machine. The accidents got fewer and fewer - and now he wakes up anytime he needs to go to the bathroom no matter what time it is!

Try to get him to drink more during the day so he isn't drinking as much at night. If he does need a drink at night, make it very cold ice water so he won't drink as much but will feel more refreshed. I know it is hard to cut off a child from water, but if they are getting enough to drink during the day, then just tell them "night time is for sleeping, daytime is for drinking".

Boys are much harder to potty train at night and unfortunately, it is more something they have to grow into (or out of). You can get them up at night as much as you please, but you are training yourself, not them. My nephews were almost 10 before they were dry at night... and even then, it took a training alarm to motivate them to get up when they had to go. Bedwetting tends to run in the family, so ask your husband (or his mom) if he wet the bed and until what age.

I had a stepson who had that issue for a very long time. Wouldn't go to sleep overs or anything, to embarrased. We took him to a urologist who helped with medication and a sensor he wore to bed at night that alerted him if he became at all damp. He then woke and went to the bathroom. Part of the reason is he slept like the dead and was not easily rousable.

S.,

I have a 4 1/2 year old that I'm STILL potty training, both day and night. What seems to be helping us is let him drink as much as he wants during the day (within reason), but about 1 1/2-2 hours before bed, he's cut off for the night. As of right now he's had more dry nights than days. But we're getting there.

Hope this helps,
Melissa

YEAY!!!! I'm not alone. I have 2 boys 12 and 4 and a half. My 12 yr old was a dream potty trainer, he just decided one day at 3 and a half and never really wet the bed at all. My younger one however, easy as pie during the day to train again at 3 and a half, we are still having problems for naps and night time. I've done the no drink 2 hrs before thing and that doesn't help at all. He wears night time diapers and lots of times leaks through those. I couldn't do what a previous poster said about take them out of diapers at night, I just couldn't do that to him or myself. Most of the time he sleeps through his "leaking" I can't imagine him sleeping through an entire wet bed yuck. I'm going to have to start looking things up on the net I guess. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, but you are not alone.
W.

Michelle has some great input. My son self trained, one day decided no more diapers took it off, stayed dry and that was that. Get's himself up to go and climbs right back into bed.

My daughter not so. I have to get her up 2-3 times a night and sometimes that's not enough. However, my daughter is working w/my genetics and I was a late bedwetter and so was my nephew.

However, I told her when she turned 3 no more pull ups. There have been many a night I wish I hadn't said that, but I was tired of the expense and putting them in the landfill.

She's been out of pull ups for 15 months and she's just starting to wake up around 5:30 am if she needs to go potty. I'm hoping this is a sign of good things ahead.

Have you spoke w/your pediatrician? Sometimes there is a medical cause for enuresis.

It certainly sounds like the 3 y/o is ready. I'd take him out of dipes at least and save that expense. Then I'd start getting up to take your 5 y/o to potty at least twice and see if that will click for him.

Best of luck!
C. WAHM to 4 y/o virtual twins
Owner: www.BeHappierAtHome.com

Hi S.,

I'm glad to hear that I'm not alone. I have 4 kids, my second and third both have bed wetting problems one is 11(boy)and almost 6 (girl)
Although I'm convinced that my son will just have to "grow out of this" i have tried a few things that have actually worked pretty well for my daughter. I started this on my son first, but then thought if i was going to all this effort, i should do both.

First i recommend to cut down the water. Liquid should be cut out 2 hours before bed (i do allow a sip of water before bed) Also i don't know what your diet is like, but nothing sugar or with sugar after 4pm. Also i found a schedule that worked for mine at the time, and woke them up during the night (YES!! it is very exhausting) I was getting mine up every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Eventually my daughter would be able to skip one of the wakings and eventually down to known. We still have the occasional accident, but nothing like before.
Now if anyone has advice for my 11year old that would be great. He is a really hard sleeper and dysfunctional waking up at night. My friend had a son that finally out grew it at 15. But it really is getting "old"

I hope that this might help you.

My oldest is a boy, now 6 1/2, was potty trained at 27 months, but I didn't worry about nightime. Factoring in that my husband and I were both bed wetters, which is hereditary, I knew he would soon grow out of it.

When he was about 4, we cut off water after 7 pm, and woke him up in the middle of night to go pee. Soon after, he stopped having wet pullups. Yes, he asked for a drink of water every night when he got into bed, but my answer was ALWAYS the same "Not before bed. You don't want to wet the bed. When you wake up, you can have something to drink right away." I would get up first thing in the morning to get him something to drink, as promised.

Now he's 6 1/2, he has water before bed, hasn't had an accident in as long as I can recall, and if he does need to get up, he does by himself. My year-long tough bedttime routine TAUGHT HIM to control his water intake before bedtime and to listen to his bladder even when he's asleep.

If you REALLY want to get rid of the nighttime diapers/pullups, YOU have to take away water, AND have a cut-off time for drinks, AND make him go pee before getting into bed, AND have a routine of waking him up to go pee in the middle of the night.

If YOU don't stick to it, you will not accomplish what you're trying to do. Potty training in every aspect, is all about being tough and sticking to it!

YOU CAN DO IT!