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 s're already imagining that they won't be able to sleep at night. Here are our tips to help you get through it!

Why toilet-train your child at night?

Once your child ispotty trained during the day, it's time to start potty training at night. It will probably take longer to potty train your child at night than it did to remove his diaper during the day. Potty training is a gradual process, with occasional setbacks. All children develop differently when it comes topotty trainingday or night. A few prerequisites are necessary:

• Physical control: The child must control his anal sphincter and then his bladder sphincter;
• Psychic control: Children must understand what is expected of them. He must understand that his urine and feces are not extensions of his body;
• Emotional control: The child is confident, unafraid 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. up to 3 years of age.

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 to start ltoilet training at night. As with daytime potty training, your little one 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 is a list of clues that will tell you if your child is ready to start nighttime potty training:

• She asks to go to the toilet at night
• If his diaper is clean when he wakes up several nights in a row
• S'he asks of his own accord to stop having diapers at night.

Our 5 tips for toilet 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 get through the next few weeks. We recommend that you take a few steps to ensure that the environment is conducive to the success of your mission: Ditch the diapers!

• Install a potty next to your child's bed if the cabinets are too far from his room;
• Equip your child's bed with a draw sheet or waterproof mattress protector;
• Bring spare pyjamas and sheets in case of bedwetting. 

Establish a routine before bedtime

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 fluids two hours before bedtime. But don't deprive your child of fluids;
• 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's night-time water glass next to the potty to encourage your toddler to pee before drinking.

Accompany child to 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 the next few days or weeks. Don't worry, these 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 properly, as he won't be able to do it on his own until he's 4.

Suggest removing diaper to put on training pants

Removing the night-time diaper and switching to the training pants is a good alternative and a good transition in the acquisition of potty training at night. The night-time diaper will enable you to spend a calm and peaceful night. 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! 

Talking with your child and s'adapting to his pace

Always discuss the subject with your little one before he or she takes off his or her diaper for the night. In addition to mastering his body, your child may be anxious or stressed about his future nocturnal expeditions to the toilet. Reassure him, explain the way, show him how to get out of bed, go to the potty or toilet, s'wipe 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 you s'worry if your child isn't potty-trained at night?

After potty training during the day, it takes between 6 and 10 months for a child to be potty trained at night. Some children will be potty-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.

Night-time potty training FAQ

At what age does a child become potty-trained at night?

How can you help your child potty train at night?

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