Night Time Potty Training Reminder For Mommy and Daddy

We are not planning on focusing on Night Time Potty Training until the day time is down, which could take upto 6 months to fully master....we are in no rush. And, because I know I won't remember the site, here is a post I found on a Potty Training Site (for mommy and daddy to reference back to when the time comes). We are hoping it will just naturally occur but for now we are going to keep her in diapers at night and then take them away down the road.

What does Night time potty training mean exactly? Basically, it means the same as day time potty training, i.e. when your child has the urge to urinate; they would go to the potty to urinate.

However, achieving night time control is not simply a learned skill, but rather a physiological development and the control is largely involuntary. In some cases, circumstances require learning how to achieve night time control (see bed wetting section).

Babies urinate around the clock and then at about the average age of 18 months, as the sphincter muscles mature, toddlers will make the transition from urinating around the clock to only urinating during the waking hours as is the case with most adults.

Having to urinate at night is not an issue with most adults, since when an adult's bladder is full at night, a signal goes from the bladder to the brain and we are awakened with the need to go. For children, this signaling mechanism comes with age. Most pediatricians do not consider bed wetting an issue until after the age of five or six.

Below is a table that shows the age at which children achieve night time control.

Age of Child

% of children have achieve night time control

Under 3 years

66%

Under 4 years

75%

Under 5 years

80%

Under 6 years

85%

The key to dealing with night time accidents is slightly different from dealing with day time accidents, because night time accidents are NOT voluntary. Your child does not have ability to control the accident, so, there are no consequences given. As you face another clean up, realize that this is hard on your child as well. S/he does not want to have accidents any more than you do. The situation has to be very neutral. Just clean up and move on.

The bottom line is that just over half the children (66%) will be dry at night by the age of 3; however 33% of children or 1 in every 3 children will still wet at night when being potty trained in the day time. So, to be successful with night time potty training (I mean success in term of the least amount of stress on you and your child), do the following:

Know your and your spouse's bed wetting history

Know your child's behavior pattern for waking up dry

Based on this information, be prepared with a plan on how you will address night time potty training

Be patient and be flexible; adjust plan as needed.

Consult your child's pediatrician if you have issues or concerns.