My daughter (2 years old) is ready to begin potty training. I plan on following a method that I used with my son (which worked GREAT!). Basically, when you start, you don't go back. Throw the diapers away and never reintroduce... even at night. This is where the problem lies. I trained my son when he turned three, so he was already in a bed. My daughter is in a crib, and I plan on leaving her there for as long as she'll stay. Does anyone have any input as to how we can go diaper free, when she will not have the ability to get out of her crib in the middle of the night? Thanks!
Pediatricians say that children should not be expected to stay dry through the night until even age 6. I don't see any problem with only using diapers at night.
There's nothing wrong with putting her in a pullup at night... better to get a good night's sleep, I think, than to have her wake everyone up to go to the bathroom. When my daughter was 2 1/2, we potty trained her during the day, but let her have a pullup at night. After about 8 months, she told us she didn't want to wear a pullup at night and we took it away, and no accidents (knock on wood). Try to not give her liquids too close to bedtime, I guess.
I had this same dilemma. I did however use the diapers at night though because i would have felt horrible if she had an accident in the middle of the night which was completely not her fault. Also, the bladders of 2 year olds are usually not developed enough to hold it that long.
Hi H.,
Is your daughter currently waking up with a dry diaper? If not, she's not ready for the night without a diaper. Ideal toilet training for children is not waking up at night to pee, it's going the night without the need to empty their bladder. And with no access to a toilet, that's your daughter's only option. There really is nothing wrong with a diaper at night for a child who isn't dry yet. However, there's also nothing wrong with leaving the crib rail down for her to climb out if you feel she can do this during the night without getting hurt. Personally, I wouldn't want a 2 year old wandering around out of bed in the night and I would never have been looking to get up in the middle of the night to take a toddler to the bathroom, but everyone's different
Good luck in finding the right approach for you.
Dear H.,
I agree with you totally on your whole potty training philosophy, however if she is still waking with a wet diaper in the morning that could be an issue. My kids are now 24 and 19 and they didn't have pull ups then so I went right for the cloth training pants with no problems. I recommend this method to all of my parents at my preschool I think pull ups are a glorified diaper and are so confusing. Both of my children were two when I trained them however we still had to use a diaper at night. Trust me it did not hinder the process during the day at all they were both trained in a weeks time. I know you are concerned about completely going diaper free but her little bladder may not be able to go the entire night without an accident. I think you should still go ahead with your plan and if necessary just use a diaper at night and explain to her that they are only for night time. If she is waking up dry then you should have no problem with not using diapers in the evening because she must have great bladder control for her age (mine didn't) so being in the crib shouldn't matter if she is staying dry. Good luck!!!
You shouldn't start the training until she has atleast a toddler bed if she is going to learn she needs to feel like a big girl cause thats what you are and mommy doesn't sleep in a crib so when your ready to get rid of the crib then try
This will take a lot of extra effort on your part by having her in the crib, but IMO it is doable. Start by observing your daughter's night time elimination patterns. If she is dry for most of the night and only has a large morning pee, I would start by setting your alarm clock a little earlier and take her to the potty before she fully wakes up for a few weeks, so she can re-learn the sensation of being dry when she wakes up. If she is still eliminating late at night, take her to the potty about 1-2 hours after she falls asleep (especially if she is wiggling around in her bed a lot)--you do not need to wake her up to do this, just sit her on the potty and talk quietly to her until she relaxes and pees. Once you (both) get used to a routine, then it shouldn't really cause any major sleep disruption.
I have been doing this since my daughter was a couple of weeks old and she has been "nighttrained" since she was about 6 months old with the occasional accident--usually due to allergic reactions or sheer exhaustion ;-) We co-sleep on a futon, so now my daughter takes herself to the bathroom in the early morning waking everyone up on the way :D, but before she could undress herself planned nighttime potty trips worked very well for keeping our bed dry at night.
Good luck.
I am curious as to why you think your daughter is ready for potty training, but not a toddler bed? Maybe two is a bit early for potty training if you still want her in a crib? This is not a judgment...only a question. I just think if you're daughter is READY as you say, then you might consider giving her the freedom to use the potty day and night as well.
Hi H.,
Honestly, I think you're setting her up for failure with a very unfair situation. She has to wake herself up when the urge hits, then rely on you to hear her cry or call in the middle of the night, and get to her and her to the bathroom immediately. This is expecting a tremendous amount from a 2 year old who's just starting training. What about a more reasonable approach that puts her in control but doesn't punish her for things (like your response time) that are out of her control? The last of my five is 2 1/2, and also still in her crib (not giving that up til she insists!). She has been potty trained since just before 2, but I still put her in a pull up at night since I don't always hear her right away (and she has never wet or soiled it). If you want her to feel the consequences of not asking to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, put the pull up on over her underwear so she gets wet but the crib doesn't (much easier change for you at 2 am too). Girls tend to be much easier to potty train than boys, so I don't think you need to be quite so rigid with it. What's most important is that she feel in control of the process, and that she's not feeling punished when she does everything right but things she can't control get in her way and she ends up wet or soiled anyway. You can use the same pull up for many nights running if she's keeping it clean, so you can still cross them off your shopping list.
Good luck with everything!
