Almost all children master daytime potty training before they learn to stay dry at night. If a child is successfully and regularly using the toilet during the day, it could be time to take off the diaper at night and begin teaching nighttime toilet training.
Preparation for Nighttime Potty Training
Children must be out of their cribs and comfortably sleeping in a toddler bed before attempting nighttime training. They need to have slept in the bed long enough to be familiar with it, and they must be able to easily crawl in and out of bed by themselves.
Getting Children Excited
Parents should work hard in the week prior to beginning nighttime training to get the child excited for wearing big kid underwear at night. Circle the day on the calendar and talk about it frequently.
Underwear or Training Pants?
Some parents prefer to use training pants because kids can pull them up and down like underwear, but if they have an accident it won't require the big production of changing all the bed linens at 3 A.M. Parents using training pants should:
- Buy training pants featuring the child's favorite character, when possible.
- Avoid buying them with the child present. If they are at the store, they will notice that their new "underwear" is located with the diapers and even comes in diaper-like packaging.
- Discard the packaging and present the new "underwear" to the child on the big day.
- Stress how important it is that the child doesn't pee on the princesses, Mickey Mouse, or whatever character is on the "underwear".
- Once the child is consistently staying dry at night, he or she should be allowed to pick out a new style of bona fide underwear to celebrate his or her accomplishment.
Other parents prefer to skip training pants altogether, feeling that they confuse children and send a mixed message as to what they want the child to do. Parents using underwear should remember that:
- Accidents are to be expected while the child is learning.
- To simplify nighttime cleanup, put an extra rubber sheet and fitted sheet under the first set. When accidents occur, parents can whip off the wet sheet and a dry one is already on the bed.
- A vinyl tablecloth can be used instead of a rubber sheet in a pinch.
Wake the Child a Few Times at Night
Chances are that kids will have to learn how to wake up from a deep sleep when their bladder is full, and they will need your help for the first few days or weeks. If a child normally sleeps from 8 P.M. until 7 A.M., good times to wake them would be around 11 P.M. and 4 A.M.
Gently but firmly wake the child up by calling his name and tell him it's time to use the potty. A parent's role is to supervise as the child uses the toilet. Avoid carrying children to the bathroom, pulling their pants down for them, or setting them on the toilet – this deprives them of the chance to practice doing it on their own.
Other Tips to Facilitate Potty Training Success
In addition to waking the child up at night initially, parents need to encourage nighttime potty success in other ways.
- Keep the child's bedroom floor clear of toys at night to allow her to get safely to the bathroom.
- Provide night lights or leave lights on where necessary so children can see what they are doing.
- Make sure there is toilet paper on the roll.
- Make sure that the toilet seat is in the down position to ensure that the child doesn't "fall in."
After a few days or weeks of waking up children, parents should get a feel for when children are ready to try for a dry night without any help from them. If parents want to provide sticker charts or other incentives for staying dry they may, but usually parental praise is enough to motivate small children to keep trying.
Readers might also enjoy reading "Toilet Training in Less Than a Day" and "Does One-Day Potty Training Really Work?"
