Night Time Potty Training - Norfolk,MA

You cannot potty train at night. This is a purely physical thing. I dealt with it for years and tried everything. My son was potty trained during the day at 18 months, but needed pullups until age 8! I personally do not believe limiting liquids helps. Pullups are awesome because they allow the child's nervous and muscular systems to develop in their own time. Our doctor, who has been a doctor for many years, always told us to wait because the nerves that cause the sensation needed to awaken someone from sleep were not developed enough. We kept trying things because we always thought there was something we could do, but he was definitely right. It is not worth putting yourself and your son through this. Before pull-ups, it was such a major hassle for any family who had to deal with this, but with pull-ups, you can allow your child to develop physically at his own pace. Remember: He is a asleep. This is not any kind of behavoiral issue and it's not a reflection on anything you are doing (or are not doing). I will say that my son has ADHD and I have talked with several other ADHD moms whose kids have this problem. These kids have a tough time going to sleep, but when they do, they sleep so soundly that nothing wakes them. On nights I did wake him, he was so out of it he tried to urinate in the tub. I have seen him in bed with an alarm blasting by his ear (from a wet underware alarm we tried), soaking wet and dead asleep! After that night, I just gave up, and we were all much happier. If your son is a super sound sleeper, be glad he's sleeping well and hang in there! It will work out!! I would suggest that you have him deal with his own pullups (throw them away in a designated trash can each morning) and keep him clean (we did this with quick showers in the am.)

Please, please don't wake your child up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. So many parents grossly underestimate how important solid sleep is to a child's health and development. Interrupting a child's sleep can lead to all kinds of behavior problems (and interrupting your sleep is most likely not making you too happy either). It is perfectly normal for a child who is trained during the day to be unable to stay dry at night even until he is 6, 7 and in some cases 8 years old. Please ask your pediatrician if you want confirmation of this information, but I have four children and I've done my research on this subject. My suggestion is to put him in a diaper at night and get some sleep. Don't fret. Your son will not being going to college in a diaper or even pull-ups!

Why does he need to be potty trained at night? Many kids are just not ready yet. If he needs to get up 2+ times a night to pee- he's not getting the uninterrupted stretches of sleep he needs for proper brain development.
My 6 year old still uses a pull up at night. I was concerned at first- but my pediatrician says it's perfectly normal and that her sleep is much more important than wether she's in a pull up or not. There is a reason why they make night time diapers for 10 y/os. Children often grow faster than their bladders. When their bodies are ready they will automatically stop having accidents at night.
Placing importance on a dry night will only increase the stress level for many children- who can not physically control the wetting.
Every once in a while I have a doubt and wish she was dry all night- but then I remind myself how well she does in school, how well she sleeps at night and how the two are directly connected.
She needs her sleep more than I need her to go without a pull up!
Just relax. Your son is only 4 years old! If he needs to pee that often at night- he's just not ready to stay dry all night.
-S.

We do absolutely no drinks after dinner which in our home is early and it works wonderful. I purchased a few books on this and it really isn't a problem until the child is older there is nothing wrong w/ bed wetting at 4 I would make the bed and put a water proof cover over it and then make the bed again that way if he does wet you just peel back the layers instead of making a bed during the night. I did read in the books I purchased that waking a child to go doesn't teach their body to hold it or to have that signal sent to the brain that they need to go pee but if its working I guess keep it up although most children grow out of bedwetting on their own.

Hi S.,
We limited our son's liquids after 4pm. He had only sips of water when he was thirsty, and a very little bit of milk with dinner. As you say, nothing to drink after dinner.

However, he was MUCH OLDER than four. He was six, seven, and almost eight when we took this approach because he was full-on wetting his bed every single night. I'm talking changing the sheets every single day with a sopping wet pair of sheets. So I really think your son is completely on track. I would listen to what the others say and not wake him up to go to the bathroom. If he wakes up on his own to go, then help him.

If you're wondering, our son's problem went away, as if by magic, a bit after he turned eight. His bladder must have suddenly matured. Our pediatrician kept telling us this would happen but we were very skeptical. In the end he was right.

Hi S.,

I gave up on hoping he'd get through the night dry and just kept my son in diapers at night with a rubber pad under his sheets. His bladder finally grew large enough so that he could sleep through the night without wetting the bed. At age 6 he is now able to get himself out of bed to use the toilet when needed.

Sounds like what you are doing is fine.

: ) Maureen