Toilet training at night: how do you go about it?

In collaboration with Rokiyah Hosen

Your child is growing up and you feel it's time to do away with diapers at night! He's probably already potty-trained during the day , and you're dreaming of a life without diapers. Night-time cleanliness can be a source of anxiety for parents, who are already imagining that they won't be able to sleep at night. Here are our tips to help you get through it!

Contents

Why toilet-train your child at night?
What is the right age to start toilet training at night?
Our 5 tips for night-time potty training
Should you worry if your child isn't potty-trained at night?

Why potty train your child at night?

Once your child ispotty-trained during the day, it's time to start night-time potty training. Night-time potty training is likely to take longer than removing your toddler's diaper during the day. Potty training is a gradual process, with occasional setbacks. All children develop differently when it comes totoilet trainingday or night. A few prerequisites are necessary:

Physical control: The child needs to control his anal sphincter and then his bladder sphincter;
Psychological control: The child must understand what is expected of him/her. He must understand that his urine and feces are not extensions of his body;
Emotional control: The child is confident and has no fear of being judged or rejected.

Potty training begins in the daytime, before becoming nocturnal. Potty training takes place from the 15th to the 36th month, i.e. until the child is 3 years old.

What is the right age to start toilet training at night?

A child becomes fully potty-trained between the ages of 2 and 4. There's no ideal age for nighttime potty training. As with daytime potty training, your toddler needs to realize that he wants to go to the potty, in order to control leaky pee and poo accidents. At night, during a phase of deep sleep, it's difficult for him to understand that he's got an urge! So wait until he's ready to take control of his body and understands that he needs to get out of bed, call his parents or go to the toilet during the night before removing his diaper. In general, night-time cleanliness comes 6 months after daytime cleanliness.

Here's a list of clues to help you decide if your child is ready for night-time potty training:

If he asks to go to the toilet at night
If he wakes up to a clean diaper several nights in a row
If he asks of his own accord to stop using diapers at night.

Our 5 tips for potty training at night

Before removing your baby's diapers at night, we recommend that you anticipate as much as possible your little one's needs, desires and possible leaks.

These tips will help you to cope better with the coming weeks. We recommend that you take a few steps to ensure that the environment is conducive to the success of your mission: the abandonment of diapers!

Install a potty next to your child's bed if the toilet is too far from his or her room;
Equip your child's bed with a draw sheet or waterproof mattress protector;
Provide spare pajamas and sheets in case of bedwetting.

Establish a bedtime routine

As you know, your child has loved routines since birth! So do everything you can to ensure that night-time potty training goes as smoothly as possible!

Reduce liquids two hours before bedtime. But don't deprive your child of drinking;
After your child has washed, showered, combed his hair and brushed his teeth, systematically suggest that he goes to the toilet or potty;
Introduce this new routine just before telling your child a story, singing a song or playing a game;
Place your child'snight-time water glass next to the potty to encourage him to pee before drinking.

Take your child to the toilet at night if necessary

As soon as you remove your child's diapers at night, be prepared for a few night-time awakenings over a period of days or weeks. Don't worry, these wakings will be short-lived. Your child can call you if he can't find his potty, or if he needs to go to the bathroom. Accompany him each time he calls you, and explain to him how to get to the toilet on his own. You can also use nightlights. Don't forget to help your child wipe himself properly, as he won't be able to do this on his own until he's 4.

Suggest removing the diaper and putting on training pants

Removing the night-time diaper and switching to training pants is a good alternative and a good transition in the acquisition of potty training at night. The night-time diaper will give you a calm, peaceful night's sleep. The absorbent core of the training pants will hold back your child's leaks and accidents, leaving you time to intervene. These absorbent pants will save you the trouble of changing your child's sheets, and help your little one understand that it's time to go potty!

Talk to your child and adapt to his rhythm

Always discuss the subject with your little one before he or she takes off his or her diaper for the night. As well as mastering his body, your child may be anxious or stressed about his future nocturnal expeditions to the bathroom. Reassure him, explain the way, show him how to get out of bed, go to the potty or toilet, wipe himself and get back into bed safely.

Be patient with occasional relapses

As with all potty training since your child's birth, you may observe a relapse, a regression in potty training. This is perfectly normal! But don't worry. Stress, moving house, the arrival of a little brother or sister, or a traumatic event can bring about a change in attitude or sweep away your child's achievements. Bear in mind that accidents are bound to happen, even after long weeks in the dry. Clean up leaks calmly, keep encouraging your child and explain that accidents happen!

Should I worry if my child isn't potty-trained at night?

After becoming potty-trained during the day, it takes between 6 and 10 months for a child to be potty-trained at night. Some children will be toilet-trained at the same time, but this is rare. There's nothing to worry about if your child isn't potty-trained until the age of 4. After that, don't hesitate to consult a health professional, a psychomotrician or your paediatrician to rule out physiological or psychological causes, particularly in the case ofnocturnal enuresis.

FAQs on night-time toilet training

At what age does a child become toilet trained at night?

There's no real age for a child to be potty-trained. Children usually take off their diapers between the ages of 2 and 4. Night-time potty training takes place between 6 and 10 months after daytime potty training.

How can I help my child become toilet trained at night?

Several methods can be used to help your child become toilet trained at night. For example, you can put your child in training pants, limit liquids at night, take your child to the potty at night while he's still dozing, and arrange his space and bedroom.