My 4 yr old has been potty trained completely for about the past 9 mos but we are having a really hard time getting the potty down at night. I make him go before bed and I got in and wake him when I go to bed to see if he need to go which normally is a no. Probably 5 times a week we have a wet bed either in the middle of the night or in the morning. How did you solve this?
Nightly regression can take place for different reasons. Sometimes it is as simple as being a deep sleeper or extremely exhausted. Other times, it can be due to a daytime stressor. Is there any issue (with a teacher, another student) at preschool, with a friend, or changes in the family? If this might be a reason, soothing the child emotionally can help.
Best wishes!
It can take up to age 6 for children to be night trained. And it's perfectly normal. Day trained and night trained are vastly different and can not be compared. The body has to be physically capable of holding the urine all night or the child being able to wake to go. The body also secretes a hormone that assists in all this as well. All of that has to work together so how do you solve this? You use pull-ups or diapers at night to avoid having to deal with an upset and wet child and you changing sheets in the middle of the night. When their body is ready it's ready. And if the sheets are wet 5 times per week his body just isn't ready.
If at age 6 your son is still wetting at night then it's time to make sure everything is medically sound and possible look into the night trainers that have a sensor that clips to the pajamas to alert the child if they begin to wet.
He's still little.
Don't ask in the middle of the night if her has to go, just put him on the toilet.
Get him into some night time pullups and put a mattress protector on his bed.
You can try no drinks after dinner, always go before bed and at midnite, which I'm sure you do, but in reallity his bladder is still growing. He can't help it.
I had a bed wetter until 12 and we finally went the medication route. We tried everything, even the alarm, nothing worked for mine until we started the meds. I'm not pushing meds on a 4 yr old. Most likely he will grow out of it by 6 or so.
Do you have a liquid cut off time?
There are pros and cons to this... it can work as long as he is not a deep sleeper. Deep sleeping can stop him from having to "feel" the urge to go. If he is a deep sleeper, try giving him extra to drink before bed, maybe he doesn't have enough in his bladder to really alert his brain to the fact that he has to go. I know when I really have to go there is no way I can go back to sleep.
Just a thought. Maybe ask the pediatrician.
Use a water proof bed pad, directly under him.
Thereby making it easier on you, for cleaning up...the bedding.
I have 4 of them that I got from Amazon.
Works like a charm.
I put them directly under my kids, when they go to bed.
Next, full night time dryness, does not occur until even 7 years old, per our Pediatrician.
This is normal.
Boys can be later.
It is a BIOLOGICAL attainment... their nerves/brain/bladder/hormone connections and capacity.
Its not 'his' fault.
Not even some adults can not pee, all night and have to get up.
For a mere 4 year old, they cannot always, yet, at-will... wake up to go pee... he is still very young.
It has NOTHING to do with daytime pottying ability.
These are 2 separate, mastery stages.
My son, is almost 4.... and he is in night time diapers, and is not dry all night. My daughter, was already 5 years old when SHE was able to then use underwear at night... and on her own, 'recognize' the need to wake up in the middle of the night to go pee.
Per my Daughter's Teachers from Preschool and Kindergarten and 1st grade... these things are normal and happens... but they said the parents will not admit it... but will tell her, the Teacher. And some kids, still do have daytime pee accidents still, at these ages. Normal.
all the best,
Susan
My oldest son was not dry at night until he was almost 5. My second son is 3.5 and isn't anywhere near being dry at night and has been potty trained for a year. I wouldn't push it too much, because he's still little. We use pull ups and good nights at night for just that reason. If you really want him trained at night, cut off liquids and get him up several times during the night and take him to the bathroom. Eventually he will get it. Good luck!
My daughter is 2 and has mastered the potty training. ( Don't ask me how, it was a complete blessing!) But I have learned that even though at nite time, I get "no, i don't have to go potty." if you put them in there on the toilet, they almost ALWAYS go. when you wake him up before you go to bed, even if he says he doesn't have to go, i would still take him in there.
Also, my daughter goes to bed between 8-9, and she gets nothing to drink after 7 accept a sip.
It is common for a little boy to wet the bed until he is about 9 years old. Both of my boys stopped around 8 years old. I have protected plastic lined fitted sheet so that the mattress is protected. I also have stock their sheets so if it happens in the middle of the night, I have clean ones to put one right away. You could try giving him no liquids at a cetain time before going to bed and cut down on soda if he dinks a lot of that. I give the boys a bath before bed too and on routine they go to the bathoom before they get into the tub.
Good Luck!
Annie—
Hi, I’m Dr. W. from the GoodNites NiteLite Panel. Mamapedia is partnering with GoodNites through September and your question is definitely relevant to what I talk about on the NiteLite Panel and the question often comes up in my pediatric practice.
Potty training is a skill that children learn. Some a little later, some sooner. In order for them to be successful, a lot of factors have to come together. They need to be ready developmentally, both in mind and body. Every child is different, and this maturity is hard to predict exactly. It sounds like your son has accomplished this important milestone.
Staying dry at night sometimes happens at about the same time as potty-training success, sometimes not. Because bedwetting happens when the child is asleep, controlling the process is not a skill that can be learned in the same way as potty training.
Almost always, bedwetting isn’t about behavior—it’s about sleep. The child is sleeping so deeply that he doesn’t hear the alarm that his bladder is sending. As the child gets older and the sleep cycle changes, they will sense this message and wake up if needed. There are many different techniques that people have tried to help kids do this that might work. But no method works for everyone, and some kids won’t consistently be dry at night for years after they are fully potty trained. The GoodNites web page (www.goodnites.com) is a great resource, with both expert advice and a lot of information and discussion on this topic from parents about things they have tried with their own children.
At his age, some boys are dry at night, but many are not. Being patient and supportive is always going to be helpful to him. He'll be dry when he's ready.
Hope this helps and best wishes from W. N. and everybody at the GoodNites team.
It sounds like his body is just not ready. I wish there was a better answer to this, but I completely understand. My oldest daughter was trained at 2, and just was able to stay dry at night at the beginning of summer. She's almost 7. It seemed to take forever, but sometimes when I would push her, or was waking her up every night, it just seemed pointless because we just couldn't 'solve' the problem.
