How to Stop Using Diapers at Night: 12 Tips!

Many mothers ask how to stop using diapers at night? Many toddlers can be potty trained for the day. But, they still wet their beds at night. There are certain tips that can actually help you in this regard:

1. Know when your toddler is ready.
2. Make them pee before going to bed.
3. Use cloth training pants.
4. Use water-proof sheets.
5. Check liquid consumption after dinner.
6. Wake them up periodically.
7. Go for an early morning checkup.
8. Try using incentives.
9. Give them time.
10. Set realistic expectations.
11. Be mentally ready for accidents.
12. Appreciate their efforts.

In this article, we’ll discuss tips on how to stop using diapers at night. Moreover, the signs that show your toddler is ready for nighttime potty training will also be discussed.

Nighttime potty training is quite a different thing from potty training during the day. At day time, toddlers are awake. They can easily tell when they are having the urge to pee or poop. However, things are completely opposite at night. Kids are sleeping. Their minds have less control over their bodily reactions at that time.

Why does my child wet the bed at night?

There can be many reasons for a toddler to resist potty training a night. This is equally true for the toddlers who are perfect at day time. Some major reasons for a 6 year old still in diapers at night are as follows:

• The toddler may not be developmentally mature enough to control his urine for long hours such as 8 or 10 hours during sleep.
• Sometimes, the bladder of the toddler tend to be smaller. It fills up more quickly as compared to other kids of the same age.
• It may also happen that the child sleeps so soundly and deeply that he cannot respond to the signals of the urinary bladder.
• Bed wetting can also be hereditary in nature. In simple words, father, mother, grandparents or any other close relative had this habit in their childhood. That is why, the child’s genes have copied it.
• At times, the child may have been experiencing some type of stress (a new sibling, an issue at school, etc.). This leads to instances of bed wetting at night.

Tips on how to stop using diapers at night!

Parents usually start potty training their babies when they show certain signs. Babies differ in these signs. Some babies show early signs. But some babies show late signs. However, if the average timing is ok, there is nothing to worry about. When it comes to potty training at night, this can be started with babies about the age of 2 years old as well. However, many toddlers can take more time to adapt to this training.

Kids can take time till about 7 years old to achieve potty training at night. Some children take months and some take years to get trained perfectly. We’ll be discussing some tips that can help mothers a lot in training how to stop using diapers at night:

1. Know when your toddler is ready!

This is crucial element of nighttime potty training. Sometimes parents start training their kids very early. At other times, parents start very late. Both these scenarios are incorrect. Every child is different. Therefore, their needs and demands are also different. It is the duty of the parents to see what things work the best for their child.

Therefore, keep a check at the cues that your child presents. Focus on area like when was the child potty trained perfectly at daytime. You should also keep checking when your child starts waking up with a dry diaper. These are the cues that’ll let you know whether your child is ready for nighttime training or not.

2. Can peeing before going to bed help in nighttime potty training?

It has been seen that most of the bed wetting at night happens during the first few hours of sleep. As a adult, you are likely to have the habit of going to washroom before going to sleep. You can easily relate to this routine and tell how it lets you sleep for longer hours. This is because you do not need to go to washroom as a result of this routine. The same goes for children as well.

You should made a routine to take your kid to the washroom before putting him inside the bed. Gradually, the child will start following this routine on his own. Sometimes parent think that because the child has peed half an hour before, therefore there is no need to go again. However, this should not be practiced at all. Always take the child to the wash room right before he has to lay down.

3. How cloth training pants can help in nighttime potty training?

If your child is potty trained during the day and wears underwear, then cloth training pants can become a good option for the night time. If you’ll use diapers at night, the child may feel irritated. The cloth training pants fall between under wears and diapers. They have the texture of under wear. But they have absorbent capacity like that of diapers. Try the below mentioned pants and pull-ups and you’ll see the transition of your kid easily:

• Huggies Pull-ups Night-time Girls’ Training Pants.
• BIG ELEPHANT Baby Boy’s Training Pants.

4. Do water proof sheets help kids in potty training during night?

Accidents are prone to happen when you start nighttime potty training. Therefore the best approach is to start using water proof sheets till your child has completely mastered the training. This is one of the excellent tips that encourages how to stop using diapers at night. You can try Goodnites Disposable Bed Mats for Bedwetting as they are very useful.

A water proof sheet will keep your bed safe. This is because these sheets do not let the urine pass through into the bed. Waking up to a dry bed is the dream of every mother who is working with nighttime potty training. An additional tip is to keep at least one dry set of pajamas close to you. This way you can change the clothes of the child easily as well.

In addition to water proof sheets, you can also try different types of potty training pads for your child. For example, Sposie Dribbles Absorbent Potty training Pads are among the best choices available for parents.

5. Keep an eye on the liquid utilization of the child just before bedtime!

This is a very critical thing. Every parent should focus on this aspect if they want a successful nighttime potty training. Make a habit that the child do not consume too much liquid right before going to bed. This is important because kids cannot flush out all the liquid before bed. There is great likelihood that their bladder will not be empty and they will wet the bed at night.

The best approach is to let the child have liquids at dinner time. After that, reduce the quantity as much as is possible. If the child wants some liquid at bed time, you can offer a small sip only. Try your best to compensate that amount of liquid during the daytime. In this way, the child won’t be dehydrated at all. Furthermore, the chances of bed wetting at night will also lessen.

6. Wake the child up periodically for a washroom visit!

This is my personal favorite and tested technique. With both of my toddlers, I have tried this approach. It has worked wonders for me. I used to wake up my kids at least two times during the night and take them to the toilet. Initially the kids used to take some time while urinating. Sometimes, they even didn’t urinate at all.

However, with time, they got used to this routine. They started waking up on their own whenever they needed to pee during the night. Even the professionals have reported that this technique actually works. You can also try this technique with you kids and see the difference yourself. Consistency is the key!

7. Develop the routine of an early morning check up!

Every child has his or her own pattern through which they learn potty training. For example, my eldest son used to be dry throughout the night even when he was three years old. I found that he used to pee around 5 am in the early morning every day. Therefore, I started waking him up at the same time daily. I used to take him to the washroom and he used to pee. There was no bed wetting at night at all. Gradually as he grew up, he started waking up at the same time and run to the washroom.

However, things didn’t go the same way for my little daughter. Therefore I had to try other techniques with her. That is why, I would suggest that you should also go for an early morning check up with your child. If you can identify your child’s nighttime peeing pattern, you can choose whichever technique you want.

8. If nothing works, try using incentives for nighttime potty training!

This is something that you can try if your children are 6 or 7 years old and they still wet their beds. Discuss the situation with them. Let them know that if they’ll stay dry during one night, they’ll be provided with a surprise the next day. You can take them to their favorite place, make them a special breakfast or whatever they will prefer.

9. Remember that nighttime potty training needs time!

Time is of essence when it comes to nighttime potty training. When the kids are in sleeping states, they cannot consciously control their bodies. Therefore, they need more time to get properly trained. Experts have reported that parents should wait at least for 6 months for nighttime potty training after their kids have been perfectly potty trained during the day. Only then should they start nighttime potty training.

A test run should be performed then. If the child still wets the bed, parents should wait for a few more weeks or months. In the meantime, they can start using clothing pants or other garments. Once they see that the child has started waking up dry, nighttime potty training should be started.

10. Set realistic expectations from your child!

Being a parent, it is your responsibility to go for realistic expectations from your children. This is very important for their mental and physical health. When you ask how to stop using diapers at night, be realistic in your approach. No child can be potty trained within a single night or just a few nights.

Nighttime potty training is a complete process and it takes time. You have to provide that time to your child. This should be done separately for every individual child. Try different techniques until you come up with the best one for your child.

11. Be mentally ready for accidents throughout nighttime potty training!

If you are looking for an answer on how to stop using diapers at night, then wait for a bit! The foremost and important thing is to get mentally ready for the accidents that are very likely to occur during this period. Some people might think that accidents happen during the early phase of nighttime potty training. However, this is not the actual reality!

Accidents can happen even if you are way long into the procedure. For instance, you may not be able to control your child’s liquid intake one night and the disaster awaits you during the night! Your child may wake up a bit late one night and pee in his pajamas while running towards the washroom. Similarly, any other mishap can occur.

That is why parents should always be ready for such accidents. Never ever scold or discourage the child when such mishaps occur. These are beyond the control of the child. This will make him reluctant in trying again and the potty training process will take much longer to be completed.

12. Appreciate your children on regular basis!

Last but not the least, be aware of the fact that your child is putting in maximum efforts in potty training. He is trying to learn something that is beyond his control. Therefore, applausing them can make a huge difference for them. When your child wakes up dry in the morning, remember to give him a hug or say some kind words to him. Trust me these little gestures mean a lot to the kids. They realize that mum is happy. So, they work harder to achieve perfection.

What are the signs that show a toddler is ready for nighttime potty training?

Different children master potty training at different ages. Parents also differ for the time when they start potty training their babies. Some start from 2.5 years. Some wait for more time. When it comes to the signs that a child is ready for potty training, the nighttime potty training signs are highly important:

• If your child feels irritable with the diaper at night time and tries to remove the diaper frequently, then this is a sign that he or she is ready for potty training at nigh time.
• If your child starts waking up during the night on his own and shows interest in going to the washroom, then this shows that his body is ready for controlling bowel movements.
• Another sign that your child is ready is the dryness of his diapers early in the morning on regular basis. This is a very clear indication that the child can hold his urine throughout the night with ease. This is the time when he should start going to sleep diaper-free.

Conclusion!!!

In a nutshell, answering how to stop using diapers at night has different aspects for different children and different parents. It is not necessary that every technique works with every child in the same way. Being parents, you have to conclude which trick is appropriate for your child.

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