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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

Original poster

Night time potty training. Did you do this?

31 replies

LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 07:30

If you night time trained your child rather than just waited for them to be dry please share your experiences with me.

Did you lift? What are people's opinions on this?

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dementedpixie · 31/05/2025 10:40

You cant really train for nighttime as its part hormone related and part being able to wake with the sensation of a full bladder

I waited for dry morning nappies and that happened with both of mine around age 3.

Slightyamusedandsilly · 31/05/2025 10:46

dementedpixie · 31/05/2025 10:40

You cant really train for nighttime as its part hormone related and part being able to wake with the sensation of a full bladder

I waited for dry morning nappies and that happened with both of mine around age 3.

Mostly this. Except dry nappies were much earlier, around 1 1/2.

But to avoid accidents, after a lot of drink etc, I did a waking/walking visit to the loo just before I went to bed. Stopped accidents in the night.

HairOfFineStraw · 31/05/2025 11:00

Waited it out. 4.5 boy

Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 11:07

When people say waited for dry nights what do you mean?

Ds has been having them since he was two. He's had a whole week dry recently. But he is not consistently dry.

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Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 11:07

He's 4 and a half now

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Didntask · 31/05/2025 11:10

Nope. Night time dryness is physiological. Lifting might stop wet beds, but it's not teaching the child to respond to the sensation of a full bladder when asleep. Ds was dry before he was 3 in the day, but in pull ups at night until he was around 7. Didn't bother either one of us one bit. I'm wasn't willing to deal with pissy sheets in the middle of the night or let my child lay in his own urine for any amount of time when it would come naturally at some point.

Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 11:12

Slightyamusedandsilly · 31/05/2025 10:46

Mostly this. Except dry nappies were much earlier, around 1 1/2.

But to avoid accidents, after a lot of drink etc, I did a waking/walking visit to the loo just before I went to bed. Stopped accidents in the night.

Edited
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I think we may need to do this. It's doing my head in because when he wees in the night it wakes him up! We've had broken sleep most of the time since we potty trained him. He slept through most of the time before then. He generally goes about 10 hours before weeing so he has to be producing the hormone.

I just keep reading that we shouldn't lift them. So I haven't so far

OP posts:
Slightyamusedandsilly · 31/05/2025 11:43

LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 11:12

I think we may need to do this. It's doing my head in because when he wees in the night it wakes him up! We've had broken sleep most of the time since we potty trained him. He slept through most of the time before then. He generally goes about 10 hours before weeing so he has to be producing the hormone.

I just keep reading that we shouldn't lift them. So I haven't so far

Show quote history

I wasn't aware lifting was bad? But it worked for us. There was the very occasional accident in the night after nappies were stopped, but I honestly think they were literally because of a large drink too near to bedtime. And going to the loo at 11ish stopped them.

I'm not sure getting caught up in whatever the current parenting advice says is sensible. I think tempering it according to your child and your family is better (other than stuff for safety of course, like babies sleeping on their backs). It's all very culturally different and potty training here is VERY different to potty training (elimination communication) of babies in Asia for example.

dementedpixie · 31/05/2025 11:51

If you do take them to the toilet before you go to bed you should wake them enough to know what's happening or you're just teaching them to pee in their sleep anyway

Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 17:35

Didntask · 31/05/2025 11:10

Nope. Night time dryness is physiological. Lifting might stop wet beds, but it's not teaching the child to respond to the sensation of a full bladder when asleep. Ds was dry before he was 3 in the day, but in pull ups at night until he was around 7. Didn't bother either one of us one bit. I'm wasn't willing to deal with pissy sheets in the middle of the night or let my child lay in his own urine for any amount of time when it would come naturally at some point.

@Slightyamusedandsilly this is the prevailing view on lifting currently and is on the eric website. And it does definitely make sense. But I think that's why you can end up waiting til they're 7 for them to be dry at night as 12 hours is a long time to not need a wee for. I guess you're basically waiting until they need a bit less sleep so they can last the night.

Which is totally fine if it doesn't bother you like for @Didntask . But being woken in the night the majority of nights for nearly 2 years is bothering me.

I agree with you that it probably is better to ignore much of the prevailing parenting narrative and do what works for your family though. Advice is changing all the time isn't it? I think I will try lifting. You're right people do different things all over the world.

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PersephoneParlormaid · 31/05/2025 17:36

I had one who was still wetting the bed at 6/7 so started lifting, and yes it worked

drspouse · 31/05/2025 17:58

DD was under the continence nurse for ages. She said it's a mixture of bladder capacity, knowing when you need to go and sleeping lightly enough to wake.
We did lift at our bedtime, which decreased the number of days of a wet bed, and also used an alarm, so she learned to associate the feeling of being wet with waking up. It helped - I don't believe all children magically become dry overnight all at once with no help. Some might!

4kids3pets · 31/05/2025 18:04

Our singles now 4 and twins 3 have all been dry at night since 2.5 no nappies...Once they were using toilet and dry all day then started putting them on the toilet before I went to sleep, basically walking them half asleep and walking them and then straight on the minute I heard them wake up in mornings. They mostly go alone in morning when they wake now occasionally I have to remind youngest twin but it's great no nappies cost a fortune lol

4kids3pets · 31/05/2025 18:04

Oh but don't forget to put a waterproof under sheet on bed just incase 😁

TeddyBeans · 31/05/2025 18:06

DS was almost 7 before he was reliably dry at night. He went for about a year being woken up at 10.30 for a wee and then lasting until morning and then we just went for it at the start of the Easter holiday and he cracked it immediately. Probably could have done it sooner but I'd rather not be up changing sheets at 2am so didn't risk it

cherrytree12345 · 31/05/2025 18:08

With both my DDs I would get them to use the toilet just before bed, then I would go into them as I was going to bed to lift them to use the toilet by which time the bed was saturated. After a few night of this (with both of them) I gave up and continued with nappies until they were dry by themselves

Pinty · 31/05/2025 18:10

You can't train at night. Some children take a lot longer to have the hormone that allows them to be dry overnight. Lifting won't actually make them dry but it will interrupt their sleep.
Some children are dry at night at 2 some not until they are 9 .and some need medication .
How old is the child?

holjam · 31/05/2025 18:13

We waited till dc was dry every morning for at least a week and then removed nighttime nappy. Dc 1 was 3 when he was fully trained and dc 2 was closer to 4. It’s a hormonal thing that can’t really be trained.

Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 21:59

cherrytree12345 · 31/05/2025 18:08

With both my DDs I would get them to use the toilet just before bed, then I would go into them as I was going to bed to lift them to use the toilet by which time the bed was saturated. After a few night of this (with both of them) I gave up and continued with nappies until they were dry by themselves

Ds is dry at night sometimes for 11/12 hrs. Is often dry for 10 hours and sometimes for only more like 6. He's well passed the weeing constantly stage. I know this because this our second try of no nappies at night.

He's actually got up twice independently and wee'd on a potty in his room this week as well which is amazing. But he just isn't consistently dry for long enough to last from like 7:45 when he might go for his last wee untill about 7 in the morning when he's usually ready to get up. It has happened though. He had a whole week of dry nappies every morning recently, hence this second attempt.

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Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 22:04

Pinty · 31/05/2025 18:10

You can't train at night. Some children take a lot longer to have the hormone that allows them to be dry overnight. Lifting won't actually make them dry but it will interrupt their sleep.
Some children are dry at night at 2 some not until they are 9 .and some need medication .
How old is the child?

He's 4 and a half. Please take a look at my reply to @cherrytree12345 to see where we're at with this. I'm wondering really if it's worth persevering?

It seems like a lot of people whose kids have been dry at night young have been lifting them. This perhaps what we need to do we haven't done that yet.

I'm also wondering if nappies being so absorbent is hindering his development as he has got up on his own in the night and done a wee on a potty this week? I've ordered some large cloth training pants to try for night times.

OP posts:
Original poster
LGBirmingham · 31/05/2025 22:14

Also thanks everyone for all the replies. This has been so helpful and reassuring. Those who do lift how do you do it? Is it a bit like a 'dream feed' but for wees?

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ApparentlyIsMyCircusAndMyMonkeys · 31/05/2025 22:25

We’re doing this now with our 5yr old - we wake him and carry or help him walk to the bathroom and he stands to do a wee. We Stand behind him in case he falls backwards but hasn’t actually done that - just worry he might as he’s still half asleep! Then carry or help him walk back to bed and he’s fast asleep again straight away. He’s a really deep sleeper and it’s been hit and miss even with lifting him - he went over a week with no issues then wet the bed every night for a week, now back on managing to stay dry after lifting again. He’s probably not got the hormone kicked in yet but it was seeming to really get him down to still be in pull ups and not managing to get through the night completely dry, so we’re committed to lifting now and don’t find it any hassle for us to do on way to bed.

Slightyamusedandsilly · 01/06/2025 00:44

Waking for a wee literally becomes routine too. When we started it, at times it was hard to wake DC. After a week or so, I'd say 'Wee time' and they'd wake and get out of bed and walk to the loo with me automatically.

mondaytosunday · 01/06/2025 03:54

I just made sure he’d gone for a wee before bed and he did wear nappies overnight. He was potty trained in about a week day time and the following week he started being dry at night too. I didn’t lift him or anything. He was two and a half.

mathanxiety · 01/06/2025 05:34

I never lifted mine. They were trained between 2.5 and coming up to 3. I used dry nights as the cue to start potty training, so I'm not in the same boat as you.

I always restricted drinks after 6pm and once potty training started no nappies were ever used again. The thinking here was on again off again with nappies would just end up confusing the trainee.