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Original poster

Night time toilet training

18 replies

Alfiesmom15 · 28/05/2019 23:40

How old were you kids when you started the night time toilet training.... my son is 4 and a half.... I decided to try it this weekend (hes fully trained in the day has been for nearly two years and never had a accident) I'm a firm believer that kids do things when they are ready and not by text book or what others can do however he doesnt even wake up when hes wet so I'm pretty certain it's too soon and hes just not ready.... but I'm considering giving one of those alarms a go but then surely they're waking to a sound rather then needing a wee.... shall I leave him in nappies a little long or keep trying?

OP posts:
ShesABelter · 28/05/2019 23:44

All of mine were out nappies by then but some kids are later. First of all we cut down fluid intake slightly after dinner time..Then we started using a pull up. We would get them to use the toilet before bed. Then when we were going to bed we'd rouse them awake slightly and take them though to pee. In the beginning I think I also got up around 2 and done the same for a few days just until their pull up was dry.

If you don't slightly rouse them awake then they learn to pee in their sleep so you want them to be conscious they are peeing.

DramaAlpaca · 28/05/2019 23:55

They are all different. My two older boys weren't reliably dry at night until 8 or 9, but DS3 was dry at night at 2 & a half, pretty much the same time as he was dry by day. I decided to just put him to bed without a nappy, we had one wet bed the first morning but from then on he was dry at night. Probably a fluke, but it worked. Being dry at night is down to hormone production, so the age a child can achieve this will vary. I don't think alarms are recommended until they are 7 or so. It might be worth trying him without a pull up & see what happens.

Thesearmsofmine · 28/05/2019 23:57

It is to do with a hormone rather than training. My two eldest were 5.5 when they stopped wearing a pull up at night. I think it’s pretry common but people just don’t talk about it.

Fannydango · 29/05/2019 00:07

As some PPs have said, you cannot “ teach” night time dryness, it is related to a hormone that causes the body to produce less urine at night AND wakes you up if you’re about to have an accident. It is completely different to daytime dryness.

Even if you could teach it, rousing them to pee in the night is counterintuitive because you’re actually teaching their bodies to get into the habit of NOT holding on to the wee til the morning which is what they’re naturally supposed to do.

Don’t worry about it - loads of kids at my eldest’s school were still in NT pull-ups til yr2/3. You’ll know when they’re ready not to wear them anymore when they’ve had a good few dry nights in a row.

Sparrowlegs248 · 29/05/2019 00:12

Ds1 is not quite 4, he was dry at night after day 4 of potty training, and stayed so for over 6 months. Now though, I have to get him up for a wee most nights or he will wet the bed .

I had thought that this was an issue but have read more and more recently about children being in nappies at night long after they start school. I think I'd rather get him up than put nappies on. He's certainly not keen on nappies.

Youllneverguesswhat · 29/05/2019 01:03

I spent a lot of time taking my DS to the enuresis clinic due to bedwetting which went on till he was 12.

I was also advised not to wake him during the night for the toilet as it trains his body to need the toilet.

The alarm was useless, DS hardly ever woke to it. I did tho.

The tablets were also useless. They would work for maybe 2 or 3 days then stop working.

After many years his consultant changed. The new consultant asked if DS was drinking plenty throughout the day. After realising he wasnt I was advised to encourage him to have regular drinks. He stopped bedwetting almost immediately!!

DD was in pullups till the age of 3, always woke up and they would be wet. One night I ran out and sent her to bed without any on. She woke with a dry bed. She never wore them again and never had any accidents either.

my2bundles · 29/05/2019 09:04

You carnt teach it, it's down to hormones as already said. 4 is still very young and doctors won't be concered untill a child reaches 7 or 8 I left mine in a night time nappy untill he had a month of waking up dry. This was at age 5.

Original poster
Alfiesmom15 · 29/05/2019 09:52

Oh ok then that's made me feel a bit better lol even though I'm a firm believer that they do things in their own time a little part of me was doubting myself and thought he should be dry by now

OP posts:
CasperGutman · 29/05/2019 10:10

It can't be taught. It's not something they can try to do, or that you can encourage from them.

We encouraged ours to sit on the potty in the evening while having a bed time story, and praised them if they had a wee when they got up (to encourage them not to wake and go in their pull-ups first thing) but otherwise we just waited until they were changing out of dry pull-ups every morning for a week or so then dropped the pull-ups without making a big thing out of it. With DS this happened when he was about four-and-a-half. With DD it was when she was three. Neither has ever had more than one or two accidents at night. Your mileage may vary.

my2bundles · 29/05/2019 11:26

Don't doubt yourself. There really is no need to worry at 4.

MakeItRain · 29/05/2019 12:07

My son was 7 when he finally made it through the night. I thought it would never happen. Aged 7 I decided to go for it and bought a couple of washable mattress protectors instead of using nappies. They were great - I would just switch the wet one for a dry one and the mattress stayed dry. Within about 2 weeks he was dry at night so I think removing the nappies helped. (Never used pullups as they just soaked through).

glueandstick · 29/05/2019 12:13

You can’t teach it. But mine was dry 24/7 before three. We did no ‘training’ and just waited until they were ready and doing it themselves.

notso · 29/05/2019 12:28

For three of mine being dry at night at around 2/2.5 was one of the reasons I started potty training. For one however it's just not happening Sad

Jellycat1 · 29/05/2019 12:41

I didn't know night time training was a thing. DS1 was in pull ups and dry for a month before i realised!! So I just stopped putting them on him after that. DS 2 is 3.5 now and still has one at night. He goes to the loo in the morning but doesn't like getting up in the dark. Doesn't bother me how long that carries on.

redwoodmazza · 29/05/2019 12:52

My son said 'No more nappy Momma' one night and so I agreed. He was about 2.5 I think. He was dry from then on! Yay!!!

AndOutComeTheBoobs · 29/05/2019 12:58

I don't.

They stay in nappies at night until they are dry.

Only if they got to 6ish years old would I start to worry.

User24689 · 29/05/2019 13:17

Mine has just come out of night time nappies, she's almost 4. She's been dry in the day for a year.

Our first sign was waking overnight when she usually sleeps through. We realised she was waking when she wet the nappy. We cut fluids for an hour before bed and made sure she went to the toilet immediately before bed. Straight away she slept through again and her nappies were dry in the morning. After a week or so I just stopped putting the nappies on and we haven't looked back.

I totally agree with pp that this is developmental. Don't stress. Apparently it is often later in boys too. A friend of mine has a son only just out of night nappies at almost 7.

TheStakeIsNotThePower · 29/05/2019 13:18

Totally hormonal, training is pointless.

Mine are all late bloomers in that department, earliest was 5 and a half, latest so far was 8. 7 year old still in pull ups. My bank account will be delighted when he is dry!

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