Night Potty Training - Salt Lake City,UT

Updated on March 30, 2009
T.C. asks from Saratoga Springs, UT
14 answers

I have a three and a half year old that has almost been potty trained for a year now. She does really well during the day, however she is still soaking thew a diaper every night. I have tried to set up a chart for her to earn something. I have tried putting her to bed with no diaper, and even tried waking her up to go to the bathroom during the night. None of these ideas have worked- I got sick of cleaning the bedding every day. I know she really wants to keep her diaper dry, she just doesn't seem to be able to control it at night. She also doesn't go to the bathroom a ton during the day so I don't think it is an issue with a tiny bladder. Is there anything you have done to help your children make it threw the night dry? Do I need to talk to a doctor? Thank you for your help.

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M.N.

answers from Denver on

have you tried the cool alerts for night time. I did that for the day time to see how she reacted. it scared her at first but it worked especially at night.We also worked on having to hold it for a little to try and build the tolerance. I hope this helps and gl

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J.P.

answers from Salt Lake City on

My son had this problem until he was 13. The doctors always said he would grow out of it, but a few days before he turned 13 I was told that a chiropractor could help. I took him right away, and it solved the problem. He never had anothr accident again. He actually saw the chiro. a couple of times a week for about a month. He told me that my son pinched a nerve that told the brain to hold the bladder, when that was corrected, no more accidents. Your daughter is not too young to be seen.

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J.B.

answers from Provo on

My daughter is 3 1/2 and she's been day potty trained since she was 2. About a month ago, I got really sick of buying pullups and always changing her super full pullups in the morning. I can't stand the smell of Pee. Anyway, I asked her if she was ready to be a "Big Girl" and wear panties to bed and she said yes. She averaged an accident a week in the first 3 weeks, but all last week and this week...NO ACCIDENTS! He bedroom is next to the bathroom so I tell her I will leave the light on in the bathroom for her and I just shut the door most of the way so she can sleep. I never angry towards my daughter when she woke up from having an accident as it takes a while to get her used to recognizing she has to go to the bathroom. I would always just tell her that she needed to do better or we would have to start wearing baby diapers again.

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L.P.

answers from Denver on

T. I would cut off the liquids a few hours before bedtime. I started doing that for my son in anticipation of potty training and it has helped. He wakes up dry almost everyday since doing that. Before I would let him drink all the way up to bed time and he woke up soaked every time. So now no liquids after 6:00 since he goes down at 8:00 try that maybe it will help. Good luck!

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C.C.

answers from Salt Lake City on

Most children can't wake up for the reflexes of night potty training until they are at least 5 years old. I think it's amazing that at 3.5 she's been potty trained for a year. Have you tried different pull ups? specifically the good nights? perhaps it is the diaper you are using that is causing the soak through? you wouldn't have to change the bedding as much, and won't give your daughter a self esteem issue about the potty training. Interestingly enough my sisters and I were discussing this today and 2 have had pediatricians tell them that it is not uncommon for children to wet the bed up to the age of 10 and that they won't do anything to help the child unless it is a self esteem issue or they are still having issues during the day which would suggest a bladder problem. Kids sleep so soundly they don't feel that urge to go to the bathroom that early. Count your blessings you are already day trained! your daughter will be ready when it is the right timing, I personally wouldn't push the issue to much with her because you don't want her to feel bad about herself if she wakes up wet. Good luck.

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L.G.

answers from Denver on

The easiest thing. Stop any nighttime bottles/drinking for around two hours before bedtime. Make sure to potty before going to bed. Thats how we adapted, still use a pullup until there is a few weeks of dry nights. This method worked for both of my children. Now age 8.5 and 5 years old. Good luck

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D.K.

answers from Denver on

Kids have no control over how deeply they sleep and night time training can take mos after the day is done.
First cut off liquids two hours before bedtime, have her go pee before she goes to bed. Do wake her up before you go to bed to go pee again. Put her in night time pullups and give it some time. Night time is one thing they have no control over and 3 1/2 is still young. Her bladder has to be able to handle it all night too, it isn't mental but physical for night time. It is normal for this to happen, just give it time. As far as not peeing much during the day, she should be going 6 to 8 times a day for her to be well hydrated. A sign of her having issues is not peeing much, or yellow colored urine. Urine should almost be clear if they are well hydrated.
I don't think that you need to take her to the Dr at all. She just needs some time for her brain and body to get on the same page.

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J.M.

answers from Denver on

Check out www.3daypottytraining.com we just trained our 22 month old boy, night and all. It cost 24 dollars but you get a mentor with great advice who will definitely get you where you want to be.

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J.S.

answers from Fort Collins on

Have you ever thought about taking your child in for a spinal checkup? Your child could have a subluxation (fancy term for a vertebrae that is out of alignment) that is pinching on a nerve or the surrounding muscle tissues that control the bladder. Most chiropractors would do a free consultation and exam (which is very non-invasive) -it might be worth it, just to see what condition your child's body is in.

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D.L.

answers from Billings on

She's still little enough that her peeing at night isn't a big deal. I have a 4 year old that is day trained, but not night trained. It takes some kids longer for that "wake up" part of their brain to mature enough to wake them up instead of peeing in their sleep. If you're really concerned, call your doctor, but like one of the other comments said- they probably won't do anything to intervene until your child is 10 or older. (I was one of those really late ones, and have memories of that 'wet sensor alarm' going off in the night. Yikes, that thing was scary! I wouldn't do that to a little kid, ever. It was bad enough for me, and I was around age 10. Basically it's a device that helps train the brain to wake up before you pee.)

To minimize laundry, get one of those waterproof flannel pad things that they have for cribs, and put it on top of her sheet. Limit fluids at bedtime, and try a nighttime pullup - I found that pullups for nighttime seem to prevent leaks better than diapers do with the older toddlers.

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K.D.

answers from Provo on

She might be too young for night training. Some kids sleep deeper than others. I had accidents at night until I was almost 10 and it wasn't because I wasn't trying or because my mom wasn't trying hard enough. I just couldn't wake up to go. I have a son the same age as your daughter. He is a heavy sleeper like I am. So we've delayed night training. When he keeps it dry I congratulate him and we talk about keeping it dry or getting up to go at night when he needs to. But I keep it light -- because added pressure isn't going to help him sleep lighter. Instead of having to deal with his pull-up each morning, I have taught him to deal with it. He's in charge of his potty habits and when he can keep it dry through the night that will be great.
As for soaking through a diaper each night -- use the nightime ones. They are amazing.

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C.E.

answers from Provo on

I remember when I was 3 and still wetting the bed. Even though my parents were reminding me every night before bed to get up to go to the bathroom, I didn't think it really mattered, until one day my mom was almost in tears because of my bedwetting. I think a lot of her frustration was the extra laundry. And possibly feeling like a failure. Anyway, when I realized how it affected my mom I decided to try harder. I remember not being so sure that I could do it because I would dream about going to the toilet and then the next moment I was soaked because I couldn't tell in my dreams that it wasn't real. But I finally really wanted to try and I even accepted the bribe that my mom had offered of a gum that I actually didn't like just so my mom could feel like she was being successful! It didn't take me long to succeed in training myself to wake up if I started to dream about water or peeing and I had rare accidents after that. What I have learned from this is that if my kids show that they understand the importance of waking up to pee but they aren't doing it, perhaps they're not mature enough yet, but they will get there. So they wear pullups at night so that I don't get overwhelmed with laundry. If they don't seem to understand the importance of only peeing in the toilet, I try to explain it another way. At 4, my first son peed always in the toilet, but would not poop in it. We had tried so many things! I was full of frustrations and worries over this, especially because I wanted him to go to preschool. I ended up unintentionally guilting him into using the toilet-- I was recovering from surgery and struggling to get down on his level to clean him up one day and crying. It finally hit him how hard it was on me for him to not use the toilet and from that day on he always used it. My second son has been motivated to use the toilet since he was 2. He decided on his own that he was finished with diapers and then decided that he was finished with pull ups. I disagreed because he was still wetting himself all day. So for a while we had to take him to the toilet every hour, and sometimes it was a fight. When he was 3 and still wetting the bed at times even though my husband would take him to the toilet in the middle of the night and he was getting up sometimes on his own, I figured he just wasn't mature enough yet to wake himself every time and I put him back in pullups at night just to save myself the laundry. So anyway, try teaching her to wake herself up and go to the toilet if she has a dream about water or toilets. And take extra measures to avoid the extra laundry until she figures it out. Good luck! :)

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J.N.

answers from Salt Lake City on

She just needs time to let her little body mature enough to go all night. Look at it this way - she doesn't go more than 3-4 hours between trips to the potty during the day, right? So why would we expect her to do that at night, especially when she's so young. Her nervous system is probably not ready to wake her up when she needs to go, and her bladder not big enough to go all night. Let her sleep with a diaper, or look into the big kids night time underwear as she gets a bit older. Don't make her feel ashamed or anything. In fact, don't even mention it to her, just put her in a diaper at bedtime. Some kids don't get the night time dryness down until they're 7 or so.

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C.P.

answers from Provo on

It just takes some kids longer than others. It really is not a big deal. My friend had a son that wet his bed until he was 12 and the doctor told her that some kids have different sleep habits etc... I know it is a big inconvenience for you, but she is trying. Most little girls have high expectations for themselves and she is probably pretty embarassed. Just keep everything on a low key and minimize the stress. In a mommy's special way just let her know that you guys can work through it. You might mention it to the doctor and get his suggestions. Maybe just cut off her liquids a couple of hours before bedtime and see how that works.

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