Potty Training - Fort Benning,GA

A friend of mine was told by her doctor that this was really common... that their little bodies are sometimes not physiologically ready to receive the signal to wake up to go potty. She was told that until age 7 or 8 to not worry about it and wear pull ups. Didn't go through it myself... I imagine it's very frustrating. I would probably let it go for a while.

hi A.,
i used a potty alarm with my son, who was six and still wearing a pull up at night..the doctor said that some kids just don't wake up...sleep too soundly, etc...but i bought this thing as a last resort, and it worked..in about three weeks...it was amazing. it hooks onto their underpants, and sounds an alarm when it senses any wetness...stopping them from going in bed, waking them up to get up and go...now he doesn't even get up and go most nights, but he holds it til morning with a few exceptions here and there...definitely worth a try...i got mine from starchild labs online...good luck!

My son is almost 6 1/2 as well as the last advice person. We take our son to the bathroom every night around 11 pm, when we are turning off our light. He is barely aware of it, but we get him out of bed, stand him up, put him in front of the toilet, and help him go, trying to help him so he does not fall down as he is basically asleep, you get the picture. He has never worn pull up with this method. It is not 100% but he usually makes it to the morning dry if we "pee him" late at night. He might wet the bed once a month or 6-8 wks. Again, it is VERY normal for boys to do this, so there is nothing wrong with your son. I know he has friends that wore pull ups this past year. I hope this helps.
C.

Try not to give him juices at night...or even after 4ish pm for that matter. I heard it will help them to not have to go in the night.
Sorry I don't have more to advise on this matter.
good luck,
L.

ps try not to get upset with him because it might only make the matter worse.

Be patient and thankful that he is day trained. Boys can take up to 8 years old to get the whole thing together. His brain and urine reflexes have not communicated yet. Wake him before you go to bed and let it be. He will be all right. Don't make an issue out of it or he will get insecure and you will have big problems. J. Gordon

before you go to sleep take him to the bathroom and always have those nights lights that only light up at night

I really don't knwo if this is relevant or not. My son was potty trained at 2 1/2 and at 4 1/2 was still peeing at night. At the same time he was also having really deep breathing and periods of sleep apnea(Stop breathing while sleeping). It would get worse if he was sick. His tonsils were huge and eventually I took him to an ENT. He suggested his tonsils and adenoids be removed. We went along with the surgery since he was dealing with the sleep apnea. The night after his surgery he didn't pee the bed. And in 3 months has had maybe 3 accidents. I mentioned to the Dr and he said that is one if the benefits for children who have the surgery. Apparently the mind focuses on the urges to use the restroon rather than the difficulty in breathing and such. Like I said earlier I don't know if this pertains to you, but thought I would share just in case.

We experianced exactly the same thing. We in the end had to take away the pullup and start waking our son (also 4 almost 5) before we went to bed. It took a month or so and he started getting up on his own. He still had a few accidents but was dry most nights. It has now been 10 months and he is getting up on his own or making it without getting up at all. I think we just had to force the issue. We never punished or got angry with him. He was simply a VERY sound sleeper and we had to train his body to wake him up. I know it is hard wake up a sleeping child (really hated to so it) but it worked for us. I will be happy to answer any other questions about what we did.
Good Luck!!!!

Put him in underwear at night! He will continue to wet as long as his is in pull-ups! A couple of nights of waking up wet in his underwear and pajamas, and he will discover that it is not very comfortable. I bet in one week or less he will be dry. You might want to layer his bed like this: a waterproof mattress cover, bottom sheet, crib pad, bottom sheet, crib pad, bottom sheet, etc. This works great if you have some crib pads left over from when he was a baby. That way if he wakes up wet, you don't have to make a bed in the middle of the night. Just strip the top layer off and you have a dry bed already made. Of course you will be inconvenienced for a few nights, but it is worth it! Hope this helps!

My son will be 3 in November and he just potty trained a few months ago. We went to straight underwear during the day but still using pull ups at night. As long as he was in the pull ups he was not motivated not to wet. I just was not ready for changing sheets every night. But I was told by quite a few people that to truly night train you have to take the pull ups. So we did and he has had a few accidents but over all he is learning to stay dry all night. He went almost 12 hours last night. What we did to make it easier on us is, we layered his bed with sheets and mattress protector pads. We put a sheet on, then a pad, then a sheet, then a pad and then a sheet. So if he has an accident, all we have to do is pull off the sheet and pad and he has a clean, made bed. This is great for middle of the night. Kids really don't like the wet feel and learn to stay dry quicker. Good luck.

Hi A.,
I have the same problem with my daughter. She will be 4 years old in February. She is completely potty trained in the day (even at nap time!), but still wears a pull up at night and it is completely soaked in the mornings. I have tried to entice her with new panties, treats, etc. but nothing seemed to work. Then I decided just to go "cold turkey" and put her to bed in panties, but all that happened was that I had to change the sheets three nights in a row in the middle of the night!!! Not worth it to me! I asked the pediatrician about it a month ago and she said that at this age, it's really not a big deal. She said kids up to ages 5 and 6 still have to wear pull ups at night, especially boys. I have a new baby on the way and totally did not want to be buying diapers for 2 kids. She told me some tips like leaving a night light on the bedroom and bathroom so that they aren't scared to get up, offering incentives if the pull up is dry in the morning like stickers or small treats, stopping all liquids two hours before the child goes to bed (I used to leave a sippy cup of water on her nightstand without realizing it was just making her pee!), and having them go to the potty right before bed time. I don't know if your son sleeps hard, but my daughter sleeps VERY hard and so I think that she just probably doesn't feel it when she has to go. Every now and then (like once a week), I try her again in panties, but she always wets the bed. Anyway, you've probably heard all of that stuff before. Just know that you are not the only one...I know how you feel!

Hello,
My son is 5 and we have the same problem. When we were at the dr.s a few months ago i aske then what to do about it. He told me to just have patience, 15% of kids at age 5 still wet at night cuz their systems are not mature enough yet. Plus my son sleeps so deep he doesn't wake up even if we try going with out a pull up he will not wake up until the morning and then everything stinks! So it is very frustrating especially for me, i have one older son who stopped wearing a pullup between 3 and 4 and I have a daughter who is 2 and COMPLETELY trained, she does not wet at night and gets up if she has to go at night. So I definetly feel your frustration but when his body is ready you'll know. Hope this helps, if you have any other questions or anything email me-

I too had the same problem until a few months ago. I decided since he didn't want to go to the potty in the middle of the night I would put a very small diaper on him and make him put it on himself. After doing this for about two weeks and having his cousin stay over and see him doing this he decided not to wear the diaper anymore and go to the potty before he goes to bed. I also reduced his fluids and cut him off an hour or two before he goes to bed.:-) Good luck!!! They hate to be embarrassed.

Enuresis is what this is called, I believe, and it can last until they are in their teens actually. I had a step-son who peed his bed at night through his teens. I actually worried that he would grow up having to wear a diaper to bed. No doctor was ever able to find out why and the reason is not always findable. But, that said, there are physical and sometimes emotional reasons for a child to urinate without waking at night. He needs to be evaluated by a good pediatrician who has experience in this field. He/she should investigate obvious physical reasons first such as extremely deep sleeping behavior and the reasons for that, and there can be many. Do not want to scare you, but boys, especially, have this problem sometimes. Sometimes it can be "fixed" and sometimes it cannot. I am assuming you already have tried stopping any liquid consumption for the two hours previous to bedtime, waking him up yourself, if possible, at your own bedtime to see if he will get up and use the toilet, etc.

I have heard that boys are harder to potty train and especially at night. My sister used to wake my nephew up before she went to bed for him to go to the bathroom and then she would wake up again around 3am (she would set an alarm) and do the same thing. Eventually, my nephew woke up on his own to go. This is just a suggestion. Not sure if it fits into your schedule.

I was reading on-line for things to help me with my daughter. She is 3 and I didn't have money for pull-ups so I was desperate. I was very tired of waking to change the bed every night. Anyway, what I found was:

1) During the day when they say they have to go don't always immediately take them. Let them hold it for a few minutes. Their bodies can get into a routine of feeling the sensation and almost immediately getting it out. Therefore, that is what it does at night.

2) Wake them up about 3 hours after they go to sleep to go pee. This was actually controversial. One website said it was a great idea and the other said then you are teaching poor sleep habits. I did it with great results. I thought having to change her sheets nightly wasn't teaching great sleep habits either.

My daughter will now wake me up when she has to go pee during the night. She doesn't have to go every night so we don't have to wake up every night now. These are just a few things that worked for me! Good luck!!!

A. my son is completely potty trained to. He is 6. He still pees on himself at night. No matter what I have tried I cant get him out of it. I was told by a doctor that children have their own pace at doing devleopmental things and not to rush him. My son is also top in his class, very smart. It is just physically he needs more time to accomplish not peein in the bed at night.

My son was completely potty trained during the day at 3 years old. He is now 6 1/2 and he JUST stopped wearing pull ups. Our dr. says it is normal for boys to be anywhere from 6-8 years old before the nighttime thing "clicks" and they can either wake themselves up or make it through without going until morning.

I'm having the same problem with a four year old girl. I've started getting her up to go before I go to bed, then setting an alarm for three hours later. I get up for that alarm too since it usually startles her. I set the alarm one more time for three hours later but usually we both sleep through that one. It has been somewhat effective. I look forward to seeing what other advice you get. I don't want to buy one of those expensive "pee" detectors so I hope there are other options for us. Good luck!

My son is almost 5 and still wears diapers to bed for the exact same reason (pull ups leak). Our ped says not to worry. However, we are going to the ENT for enlarged anoids and tonsils and having them removed. I have heard that this surgery can help with night time potty training, so I've got my fingers crossed that it will help us.

I wouldn't worry if I were you. However, if you son snores a lot or has any signs of sleep apnea, I would talk to your doctor about that.

Good luck,
K.

This may not be helpful in your situation, when my son went throughthe same thing I used Huggies diapers at night. They made a blue for boys and pink for girls. I was out of blue and he refused to wear the pink. He never had a accident after that. My daughter was the same way. She refused to wear a diaper to bed. Dr. James Dobson told of how he trained his son and so I tried that. First we put a rubber mat over her sheet and a large beach towel. She had to remove the wet things from her bed and change her clothes. Then we went to the bathroom and ran cool water over her hands. Dr. Dobson said his son took 2 weeks. My daughter took 3 days and she was sleeping through the night. The theory is having to teach the unconscience mind not to go.
About me, my children are in college now, 20, 19, and 18.

Hi! My daughter was completely potty trained during the day for years b/f she was at night. My ped said it takes a long time b/f kids are able to hold it that long and that their little bodies can wake them if they have to go. So, we just waited and she continued to wake up in the morning with a really full pull-up. Then at just a few months shy of her 5th birthday she asked not to wear pull-ups anymore at night. So, we nervously said okay and she has done great. There were a few accidents those first couple of weeks but it's been smooth sailing ever since. At almost 4 you've got plenty of time. I say...don't rush him and don't worry.

You may have already done this but do you limit the amount of fluid your son drinks after dinner? That may help but you may want to have him checked out by your Physician. Some boys need to have help learning the sensation at night and right now it may not be a big deal to him. He may not be concerned until he can't spend the night at a friend's house because of and that could be upsetting to him. Is your husband at home now? Could that have anything to do with it? Remember he is only 4 and all he really has control of is his "bodily functions". Just some thoughts, hang in there and remember they change all the time. Just enjoy your kids because they don't stay little for long!

Hi, Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. My son is also completely potty trained during the day but wears the overnight boxers. He will be 4 next month but has been potty trained for quite awhile. I was told that some kids are just deep sleepers. They sleep so deeply that they miss the signal that tells them they need to go. I hope this helps.

take off the pull-ups and put a plastic lining sheet on his bed until he realize he don't like waking up wet. It will not take but a couple of times and he will realize that he doesn't want to be uncomfortable. Also don't give him any liquids 2 hours before going to bed. He will not need to get up in the middle of the night to go the bathroom.