Making it until morning without saturating a diaper or pants is probably the biggest challenge in potty training you will experience. Since children sleep (or are in bed, at least) for about ten hours, there’s a long span of time where your child will not have you to remind him to go. All is not lost, however. There are some things you can do to increase your child’s chances of getting through the night with dry pants.
Wetness Prevention
Before attempting to go through the night without a diaper, you should place a waterproof mattress cover on your child’s bed and be prepared to wash the sheets.
Setting the Stage for Success
To allow your child to safely get up in the middle of the night to use the potty, you’ll want to provide adequate night lights from your child’s bedroom to the bathroom. If your child is using a potty, you can place the potty in your child’s room. The easier (and less scary) you make it for your child to go to the potty in the middle of the night, the more likely he will get up to go, which means fewer “accidents”, and fewer “clean-ups” for you.
Addressing the Obvious
Clearly, if nothing is going in, nothing will come out. It takes about two hours from liquid to make its way from the mouth to the bladder, so refrain from giving your child any fluids two- to two-and-a-half hours prior to bedtime. Additionally, have your child sit on the potty prior to getting into bed. Don’t forget the morning! As soon as your child wakes, have him sit on the potty.
Loose/No Clothing
There’s something to be said about loose clothing and the subconscious mind. When putting your child to bed for the first time without a diaper, try leaving him naked from the waist down, or if he insists on wearing pants or underwear, use loose clothing. When clingy clothing is worn, it may give your child a subconscious feeling that they are wearing a diaper, and may end up wetting the bed. Also, if your child is wearing loose or no clothing and begins to pee in the middle of the night, he is more likely to awake and go to his potty to finish.
For hands-on potty training help, register your child for a Potty Rockers™ class.
