How to Create a Night Time Potty Training Plan for Your Child

Sep 25, 2024 | 3.5 mins Read

Mastering the potty training journey with your child can sometimes feel like an emotional rollercoaster of ups and downs. After getting the hang of day time potty training you might be wondering what night time potty training has in store for you.

 Head into the final part of your potty training journey with confidence. Together, you and your child will win the overnight potty training game using our guide. Watch your child develop their independence and have fun!

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Is Your Child Ready for Night time Potty Training?

Wondering if your little one is ready? Look for some of the signs from our how to guide. These signs will help you understand your child’s readiness for night time potty training.

When you’re ready to move into night time potty training with Pull-Ups® Night time Training Pants  or underwear, see if there are any of these signals from your toddler:

  • Most nights they are able to hold their urine overnight. This means that the connection between their bladder and brain is growing stronger.
  • Their training pants are dry most mornings. 
  • Your child stays dry during naptime
  • They successfully are using the potty during the day.
Remember that your child might show some of these signs but not all of them. If they are only showing some and you feel confident enough to try, go ahead. 

As they move to night time potty training using our Pull-Ups® Night*Time Training Pants For Girls and/or Pull-Ups® Night*Time Training Pants For Boys is a helpful transitional tool. As your toddler gets used to their overnight potty training routine our training pants will help them adjust to the experience of pulling underwear up and down while absorbing any overnight spills as they sleep.

Night Time Potty Training Tips

Speaking of routine, are you struggling to create a consistent routine that works? These tips and tricks will help you build a successful potty training routine that you can stick to. If you find that one part isn’t working for you, experiment and switch it up to find what does.

Follow a Bedtime Routine for Consistency

Consistency is your best friend when it comes to getting any habit to stick, night time potty training included. A consistent bedtime routine is a helpful way to help your child quickly catch on to potty training habits. Once they’re consistently in this routine they’ll begin to expect when it’s time to have their last pee before going to sleep. This also helps their body understand when it’s time to start holding in pee overnight.

Build your own night time potty training routine

Step 1: Managing how much they drink is going to be an important part of your plan. While you want to keep your little one hydrated throughout the day, begin to taper off the drinks before bedtime. To reduce the risk of your toddler wetting the bed, cut off all drinks 1-2 hours before they go to bed.

Step 2: Make sure they use the potty before jumping into bed. Making this a habit that is part of their night time routine by pairing it with brushing their teeth is a great way to signal that it’s time to wind down. Going to sleep with an empty bladder also helps them to stay dry during the night.

Step 3: Keep Pull-Ups® Night*Time Training Pants  in the routine until they’re able to stay dry overnight for a few weeks consistently. This means less sheet changing for you and protection during sleep for them.

Step 4: wake your child to pee one more time before you go to sleep.

Step 5: Remove the fear. Encourage your child to wake up and use the bathroom if they need to and make sure that they have a well-lit path with nightlights leading to the bathroom. This will get rid of any night time scaries and make them feel comfortable to go and use the bathroom.

Step 6: Put a potty chair near their bed at night if the bathroom is far from their room.

Step 7: Create a reward system and praise them on dry mornings.

Bedwetting Will Happen; Prepare for Accidents

Bedwetting is a normal part of growing up and it most likely is not going to last forever. The issue is most likely that your child’s brain and bladder have not fully figured out how to work together and the bladder will just open and let go of urine whenever it feels full. This is most likely due to an underdeveloped bladder. As your child becomes older, their brain and bladder will communicate better, and your child can control their bladder and pee when they are ready. This night time control usually comes much later than daytime control and may take several months to years after daytime potty training. 

Be prepared for accidents by using a mattress protector or a disposable sheet protector. This will eliminate any potential stress for you if your little one does wet the bed.

Using Pull-Ups® Night*Time Training Pants can also help avoid any stress for both of you during this journey. Designed with the protection and comfort of your little one in mind, our training pants offer extra absorbency  and are made with soft and breathable materials. Allowing you to rest easy knowing that while your child is boosting their ability to hold in their urination or get up to pee, any accidental spills will be absorbed.

Remember that this process will take time and accidents are bound to happen in the beginning. Being patient and going slow while letting your child know that accidents are okay will help them feel confident and supported.

Praise and Support Helps Build Potty Training Confidence

Give your child praise and encouragement when they’ve successfully slept through the night without wetting their training pants. This can help build their self-esteem and confidence in being able to sleep throughout the night without wetting the bed.

By noticing their progress, you also create positive associations with doing things like waking up to pee during the night and staying dry throughout the night.

Overnight Potty Training Success

You’re finally ready to cross the finish line of the potty training marathon. While you may experience some bumps in the road, the independence that comes with successfully potty training your child will increase their self-esteem and confidence.

Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint so be kind to yourself and your little one. Take your time and be supportive. You – and your child – have got this!

Night time potty training is a big feat for many children. Support your child during their potty training journey with Pull-Ups® Night*Time Training Pants

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