12 answers

Potty Training at Night Time

My 2 1/2 year old daughter is potty trained during the day and does very well with this. The problem is that we are still having accidents at nap time and during the night. I was wondering what we could do to train her at these times. I am a first time mom and have no clue as to where to begin this training process. I would love for all suggestions on how to get this going. We have cut back on the juice or milk at nite and when she does not have anything to drink or goes pee pee before bed she sometimes will wake up dry. She will still have accidents some too. Nap time is better, she will most of the time have no accidents at all. I am just at a loss of ideas and in need of really getting this done and so is she. She gets really upset if she has an accident, I tell her it is ok but she still is upset. So I would love any help anyone has. Thank you all so much.

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So What Happened?™

I just want to thank all of you for the help and support. I will try the things you all have suggested. I do not get on to her if she wakes with an accident because she already is freaking out about it. I know it takes time, just wondering if there was anything special I needed to do at night time. Thanks again and please keep the suggestions coming.

Featured Answers

Have had three girls...the tricks that we found work...
1. no liquid after 6pm
2. Wake her up before YOU go to bed and take her half asleep to the bathroom. THIS IS KEY! She may not be able to hold from 7pm-6am, but chances are much better she can hold from 7pm-10pm you take her... then she only holds from 10pm-6am. This also helps her to understand she will need to get up herself if she has to pee.
3. Read stories to her while she sits on the potty before nap. She will be relaxed and may get rid of that tiny bit of pee before nap. Let her pick 3-5 books, so she will be there a while.
4. Buy smaller wet pads to throw in the wash, rather than having to do sheets and the full rubber sheet. Then you won't be as bummed out about the accidents.
Hope it helps!
(#2 IS THE MOST IMPORTANT)

More Answers

I agree with Brenda L. My daughter was night trained at the same time she was day trained, around 2 years...but for my son, it was a little past 4 years. I never restricted their nighttime drinking. In fact, my DS is thirsty a lot, and he often keeps a bottle of water by his bed and drinks some DURING the night. Still no wetting the bed, once he was ready.

~A.

I just got finished "training" my daughter at night time. It's a pain!-haha!! This is what I did... Just put her in panties. She will have accidents... every night... for about 2 weeks. Just change the sheets, take her to the bathroom, reitterate that if she needs to tee-tee to call for you and you will come and help her to the bathroom. Don't get upset b/c she's probably aready upset about it. After about 2 weeks of that... no more!!- YEY! Good luck!

Congratulations on such successful training thus far! You're doing great. Now the bad news: The fact is, no matter what you do, everything depends on the child and her own physiology. A child will night train when she is ready and not a moment before, regardless of the many things you're doing to speed the process. This milestone is affected by, of all things, you, her parents. If one (or both) of you night trained late then you can bet she's going to as well. We are still trying to night train my 33 month old. This comes several years after my oldest child night trained - I kid you not - at 2 months old! So, it was quite an unpleasant switch. We've tried everything: no liquids two hours before bed. Potty time before bed. Waking her up when we go to bed to potty. Setting an alarm for ourselves so we'd wake up and take her to the potty in the middle of the night. Taking her to the potty as soon as we woke up. We were literally taking her to the bathroom 4 times between 8:30p.m. and 5:00 a.m. -- All to no avail! I was washing her sheets every single day. The simple fact is, my husband has a small-ish bladder and unfortunately so does my daughter. He trained between 4 and 5 and most likely so will she.

The best things you can do are this: invest in a plastic bed sheet if you have not already. Buy night time pull-ups. Continue to limit liquids before bed. Continue to take her to the potty regularly. And, above all, do not get upset with her if she has an accident.

You're doing a fantastic job, keep up the good work!

What I did with my daughter's is I put pull-ups on them when they laid down for a nap or for the night. I told them the pull-ups were their nighttime panties in case they had an accident. I also took them to the potty everytime right before they fell asleep. If I seen them start nodding off I just simply said "Let's go potty real quick so you don't have an accident." Every child is different though from their personality to the eating and potty training. My three year old still has accident every so often. I just let her know that its okay that everyone has accidents once in a while, even me. I hope that helped a little bit. Good luck and God bless.

Why is it so important to be dry at night. MANY kids aren't dry at night until 3, 4, or 5 years old. MANY kids sleep in a pull-up at night. I have found it is very little about "training" and that it just happens when the body is ready. It has much to do with how soundly they sleep, bladder size, and bladder control muscles - things kids have NO control over. She should not feel badly if she wets in her sleep. You just need to tell her "sometimes that happens, soon your body will be ready to wait all night" Put her panties on and start the day.

There really is not much you can do except make sure she goes right before she goes to bed. She will start waking up dry in time. She is still very young. :)

Wow! You guys are doing great. All this at 2 1/2!

I don't know the methods, but I do know of a device she can wear that beeps. You can find it at onesteapahead.com. They seem ok, though they just took nearly a week to ship all of our babyproofing order!

Anyway, I do now remember reading about this in the Sears Discipline Book (they cover all of the usual infancy, toddlerhood and young childhood issues, not just discipline). You might wnat to check out a copy from the library or just get it at amazon.com.

Happy Sunday! Even if it's an hour later than you think ;)

L.

Have had three girls...the tricks that we found work...
1. no liquid after 6pm
2. Wake her up before YOU go to bed and take her half asleep to the bathroom. THIS IS KEY! She may not be able to hold from 7pm-6am, but chances are much better she can hold from 7pm-10pm you take her... then she only holds from 10pm-6am. This also helps her to understand she will need to get up herself if she has to pee.
3. Read stories to her while she sits on the potty before nap. She will be relaxed and may get rid of that tiny bit of pee before nap. Let her pick 3-5 books, so she will be there a while.
4. Buy smaller wet pads to throw in the wash, rather than having to do sheets and the full rubber sheet. Then you won't be as bummed out about the accidents.
Hope it helps!
(#2 IS THE MOST IMPORTANT)

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