Potty Training at Night - Kuna,ID

Updated on May 29, 2007
L.B. asks from Kuna, ID
17 answers

I have a three year old little girl who is completely potty trained during the day but wears pullups to bed at night and I don't know how to break that "cycle". I have tried the reward system which is how we managed to get her potty trained in the first place. We also don't give her drinks after a certain time to try to avoid the "accidents". I'm not sure if she even realizes when she's doing it at night because she seems to feel bad about it when she wakes up and notices that she went in her pull up. Any suggestions or ideas? Thanks.

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D.C.

answers from Iowa City on

When my daughter was 3 and potty training, it helped her to not wear anything. She would have accidents in her panties or pull-ups, but when not wearing any clothes on her bottom really helped her not have accidents, even at night.

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K.H.

answers from Grand Forks on

Hi L.:
My 3 y/o son was potty trained for a year before going the night without a pull up. I waited until he went the night without wetting his pull up, consistently for a couple of days before deciding to be brave and let him go without. He has been doing good for two months now, he did however have an accident last night, thankfully he knew that he had to go and had gotten out of bed to go but not soon enough and just couldint hold it long enough to get to the bathroom so all i had to do was change him. Otherwise he does wake up and wakes me up when he has to go in the middle of the night. I dont think that the reward system applies in this case because she is asleep and doesint realize what is going on. When you do begin to let her go with out there may be accidents but dont run back to the pull up because it would be a step back. Just wait until she consistently goes dry at night and you will know when she is ready. Good Luck
K.

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T.P.

answers from Omaha on

The inforamation read and classes i have taken say that it could be atleast 5 or more before a child is fully potty trained at night.
try to reassure her so she doesn't feel bad about it. that it's ok. reassure her that she will get it and it's ok that right now she is still learning. make a big deal about the fact that at her age she is potty trained so well during the day. don't make the night time pull ups an issue at all with her.

this is what i had sent out after our one class we took. maybe some of it might help in a small way or you could call the institue for ideas. or visit the sites they gave us

**even though this class was basically about potty training,,, the Institute-that put on the class- also deals with many different children issues-listed below- so they may be a place anyone could keep in their memory banks incase it's needed.. but some good information on potty training.. Or you can pass this along to others you may know who could use the information as well.

we went to this toilet training and sleep issue class a few weeks ago..and I emailed this to a friend after her and I got talking about it for her son who just turned 3..so I sent this to her and realized that others may benefit from the information as well.
so here ya go..

this class was thru the Munroe-Meyer Institute pediatric psychology thru children's. Brett Kuhn phd did the class.
contact numbers ###-###-#### 800-696-3937
munroe-meyer deals with academic/school problems,,, adjustment(death/divorce), anxiety/fears, attention & behavior problems, feeding/eating problems,, habits(thumb sucking example),,, sleep problems, toileting.

Toilet training readiness skills:
at least 20 months old or preferably 24 mo
pick up objects, lower and raise paints, and walk from room to room
staying dry for several hours at a time.
urinating only 4-6 times a day
completely emptying the bladder each time.

toilet training:
bladder and bowel awareness-making a face or assuming a special posture like squatting, or going to a certain location
language readiness-understands toileting words like 'wet' 'dry' 'pants' 'bathroom'
instructional readiness-understands simple instructions, such as come hear please, and sit down
-complies with 6-10 instructions
-likes to imitate
toilet training:
procedures-
make sure both you and your child are ready
get rid of diapers during day- don't go back to them even if you go on errands. prepare for accidents, bring along a change of clothes.
increase fluids(eating salty food will make them thirsty and a little caffeine will make them go,, both good things for this)
scheduled/prompted toilet sits(set goals low to ensure success)
(atleast 5 sits a day no less than 3 a day, 15-20 mins after major meals, schedule during high frequency likely times)
dry pants check every 15 mins with high praises when dry(this is done with out diapers on. with underpants - kind of hard if naked..lol)
expect accidents
use positive practice procedure after every accident(this is after each accident , have them go sit on the potty at least 10 times as a 'practice run' from where the accident happened to the potty)
praises/reinforce every time any part completed correctly. (4 positive reinforcements to 1 negative)


the class also went over sleep issues.. but that's too long to type up..lol
but here are a few links to the sleep t hings if you want to take a look at them in the event you have any problems with that..
resources they listed to us:
http://www.aasmnet.org/
http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site/c.huIXKjM0IxF/b.24171...
http://www.sleepeducation.com/
http://www.babycenter.com/

Munroe-meyer assessed Bella when she was about 6 months to see if she needed any therapy for being premature but she didn't.

they also referenced this book Toddler owners manual by Brett Kuhn and Joe Borgenicht
book

a few other potty things they talked about was starting the boys sitting to urinate instead of sitting because that can lead to issues with not wanting to or being able to sit to have a bowel movement. the dad should also sit to urinate in front of the child.
if there has been past issues with constipation and the child is afraid to sit on the potty to go,, you may have to take very small baby steps with getting them back comfortable with the potty. like just having them sit on the potty with a diaper on with a timer for only 5 seconds at a time at first.. then increase it a few seconds etc. very small baby steps. lol

it was a very informative and good class

T.

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C.W.

answers from Boise on

Hi L.,

You know, I wouldn't worry too much about the accidents at night. Chances are, if she feels bad about it in the morning it really is just an accident. She may be sleeping so soundly that she doesn't wake up to go. My daughter did the same thing for a long time. It's great that she's potty trained during the day! Just be happy for that and don't stress HER out too much about the night time thing. A lot more kids than we realize just don't know when they need to go at night because they sleep so soundly. Hope this helps!!

Kindest Regards,

C.

m/o Zoe 10 years old (dx medulloblastoma brain tumor w/multiple surgeries, radiation, chemotherapy and relapses all starting in 2005....) and currently 6 weeks preggo!

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T.T.

answers from Denver on

Don't sweat it. Most kids don't have mature enough bladders to make it all night until they are 5 and sometimes older than that. My son is almost 4 and he still wears a pull up at night. It's no big deal. Let her know it's okay at night, that when she's a little older her body will be ready so she can wear just underwear at night. Don't make her feel bad, she can't help it. If it goes on past 6 years old, talk to your doctor about it because some kids have a problem with bed wetting and need some medical help with it. But at 3, it's no big deal at all.

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A.B.

answers from Boise on

We just went through this very same thing with our son. He is almost four now and just started going all night without wetting the bed. He was in pull ups at night for a long time and I agree with what a lot of others have said about waiting until their pull ups are pretty dry when they wake up before you go to real underwear. Once we did decide to go without the pull-up we had to change the sheets in the middle of the night a couple times, but I usually wake him up to go to the bathroom before I go to bed. At fist I would wake him up one more time during the night after I went to sleep, but after a while he said he didn't have to go, so I let him stay asleep. He has been doing really well and we haven't had an accident in a while. I also agree with what others have said about different kids being ready at different ages. All kids mature at different times, so your daughter might not be ready now, or she might, you never know until you try! Either way, its totally normal and nothing to worry about. Just keep doing what you are doing and be supportive of her no matter what! Your doing great! Good luck!

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K.P.

answers from Fargo on

Last fall, my yougest child was potty trained and had a period of accidents at night for several months. One thing that we did was to always make sure she had a folded up towel to sleep on. It seemed like just putting it down on the bed helped her learn how to listen to her body and wake up if she needs to go.

The transition out of pull-ups at night is a big one. Your daughter is learning a great new skill. Good for you for being supportive.

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J.W.

answers from Omaha on

L.,
We had 2 kids that went through this. One boy and one girl. The doctor said that sometimes the bladders take a little bit longer to mature and that it was not a worry. My son was 5 when he stopped. We borrowed an alarm from my friend that you attached to their underwear and it buzzed when it sensed any sort of wetness. He wore it for 2 nights and never wet again.
We tried this with my daughter when she was 4 and she slept right through the buzzer. Again I went to our doctor and he said that she was too young to do this. He said that it may be until she turns 5 or 6 that the wetting will stop. So don't worry too much about it. Eventually it will stop. Good luck.

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J.H.

answers from Boise on

I had a similar problem with my 3 year old little girl. Then we just started making her wear panties to bed and of course she had a few accidents, but she is doing really well now. She wakes up if she has to go and if she doesn't she just continues sleeping. We even left town this past weekend and she slept in a new bed and did great!!! I make her go potty before bed and she doesn't very much to drink before she goes. That helps. I think she was just ready. Of course each child is different and you will know when she is ready. Continue with the pull ups until she goes a few nights without going potty in her pull ups then try panties and explain to her that if she has to go that you will help her in the night.
I hope this helps.

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A.R.

answers from Omaha on

A coworker of mine put his daughter in big girl panties right after diapers and she never wet them. She was 2. My sons were 5 and 6 when they were finally potty trained.
Her mind has to kick in to the fact that it needs to get up. She just might not be ready. Go without pull ups a couple of nights. Have additional sheets ready though so you don't have to stay up too long. Her mind will WAKE up to the fact that at night it needs to wake her up. But I really think she is just not ready yet.

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J.O.

answers from Omaha on

I am potty training my little girl right now too and I just decided to try it without a pull up one night and she kept her panties dry. She went from soaking her pull up every night to keeping her panties dry for four nights in a row.. When she did start having an occasional accident my boyfriend suggested I get her up to go to the bathroom before I go to bed at night (haven't tried that idea yet). I was just really amazed that taking the pull up away made that big of a difference in her night time dryness. Hope you find something that works for your daughter I know it can be a little frustrating at times.

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D.S.

answers from Billings on

Don't worry she will stop wetting the bed soon. I stopped around five or six. My sister was such a heavy sleeper that she would randomly wet the bed all the way up to age 12. There were other factors with my sis. She started having seizures at 14 and has epilespy. (how ever you spell it) Before she was 14 she told she would have mini seizures, like everything goes black and the doctors said she could have been having them at night...who knows. Anyways don't worry so much your duaghter is only three.

Danett "D." Scott
Billngs, Montana

www.alwaysfollowyourdream.com

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S.P.

answers from Great Falls on

It takes time. She may have not have the ability to help the accidents at night. What I did with my oldest was take him to the bathroom before I went to bed. That cut down on the accidents. Make sure she goes first thing in the morning. Good luck!!!

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D.T.

answers from Cheyenne on

It has been several years since we went through this very issue with my oldest daughter. Only years later we discovered that there is sometimes a developmental issue that produces this condition, it has to do with communication between the bladder and the brain. If only we had known then, it would have saved us all from a lot of frustration. It might be worth asking your pediatrician about that. I hope I have helped in some small way? Take care and best of luck to you and your daughter!

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A.B.

answers from Lincoln on

I think that your daughter will know when she is ready to go with out a pull up. When my daughter was ready it was a fight to get her to talk about wearing one. And she would say I think that I am ready to wear big girl panties to bed. When she has an accident just change the sheets and put her back in bed still in big girl panties!! After a few nights she will have the confidence to go all night. I know that it will be a lot of laundry for a week or so, but it will be worth it.

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J.O.

answers from Boise on

Your daughter just isn't ready yet my kids are all potty trained by 2 but the night time comes a little slower about a year after the day potty training they stop wetting at night I'm not sure if your daughter is newly potty trained or not but give it time when her body is ready it will do what it needs to do and you will have dry nights.

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N.V.

answers from Omaha on

I agree with the others...she is too young! My son is almost four and has hardly stayed dry a night in his life. They simply aren't ready. I have twin nephews that are nine and still have a hard time staying dry. Most doctors won't even talk to you about it until they are five or six. Reassure her that it is OK, and wait until she is older to try again. And don't worry about it...it is totally normal!!

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