By age four years, most children are reliably dry in the day. It's normal for night-time potty training to take longer. Most children learn how to stay dry at night when they are between three and five years old.
Explain to your child what they'll need to do in the night now they no longer have night nappies/pants. Talk about going to the toilet – be encouraging and offer lots of praise and support. Let it be an adventure – let your child feel excited about being grown-up! Try not to apply too much pressure.
McFadden says that between ages 2 and 3 is typical for daytime training. For potty training at night, she says “if they're completely dry during the day or with infrequent accidents and they've gone for a few weeks a month without having a nighttime issue then you can consider that they're ready.”
Don't wake your child up to pee when you go to bed. It doesn't help with bedwetting and will just disrupt your child's sleep. When your child wets the bed, help them wash well in the morning so that there is no smell.
Plenty of children aged three and four years still need a night nappy, and bed-wetting is considered to be normal up to the age of five. One in six five year olds wets the bed either occasionally or regularly. Pull-up disposable nappy pants are an option at night, just until your child is trained.
By the time they are six, only one in 10 children wet the bed, and one in 20 by age 10. Bedwetting can sometimes continue into adolescence. Most children have no lasting problems from bedwetting; however, many will feel embarrassed or ashamed.
Yes, it is normal and expected for your child to keep wearing diapers at night and during naptime while potty training. Daytime training is typically achieved before nighttime training. This is because the ability to control one's bladder overnight is typically not achieved until closer to age 4 or 5, sometimes even 6.
Tips for Nighttime Potty Training Success
Limit drinks one hour before your child's bedtime. Help them use the potty a half-hour before they go to bed—and again right before bedtime. Wake up your child to use the potty before you go to sleep. Tell them to go to the bathroom any time they wake up during the night.
You don't need to wake your baby up to change their nappy at night. But when they wake up for a feed, take the opportunity to change them. Otherwise your baby may wake up again later because they're uncomfortable.
There's no need to wake your baby at night for a nappy change. Instead, just check the nappy when they wake up for night-time feeds or in the morning after sleep.
Use the Bathroom Often
If you're still awake an hour or two after your child's bedtime, think about waking them for a quick bathroom visit. (Or if your child is older, they might be able to set this habit for themselves.) It won't stop bedwetting, but it can reduce the amount of pee that might end up in bed.
Most toddlers urinate four to eight times each day, usually about every two hours or so. Most toddlers have one or two bowel movements each day, some have three, and others skip a day or two in between movements. In general, each child has a regular pattern.
If your child commonly poops right after being put to bed, a bedtime snack or late meal could be the culprit. Your child is simply digesting before settling down to rest. Simply moving dinner and/or any snacks up earlier in the evening could help solve the issue.
When it comes to nighttime bed-wetting in a normally developing child who is younger than 7, deciding to wait it out and use Pull-Ups or a diaper overnight is completely reasonable.
At 5 years old, 1 in 5 children still wets overnight. At 6 years old, it's 1 in 10 children. Bedwetting is also called nocturnal enuresis. Most children who wet the bed are healthy and naturally stop wetting the bed as they get older.
The jump from wearing diapers to using the toilet is a huge childhood milestone. Most children will complete toilet training and be ready to stop using diapers between 18 and 30 months of age,1 but this certainly isn't the case for all kids. Some children are not fully out of diapers until after the age of 4.
Some children don't stay dry at night regularly before age 7. Bedwetting up to that time is not unusual, even though it may be frustrating to parents. Call your family doctor if: Your child is 5 or older and wets the bed 2 to 3 times a week.
Plenty of children age three years and four years still need a night diaper, and bed-wetting is considered to be normal up to the age of five. One in six five-year-olds wets the bed either occasionally or regularly. Disposable training pants are an option at night, just until your child is trained.
Watch the video for more information, but the cliff notes: although Pull Ups are convenient, at times they may hinder and prolong bed wetting. If your child is potty trained but wears a Pulls Up/diaper at night, never having tried a night without them, there may be less incentive to potty train.
Nocturia can be a challenging and frustrating condition. Contact a healthcare provider if you're waking up several times per night to pee.