How to Make Nighttime Potty Training Easier

Learning to use the potty during the day doesn't necessarily mean your child is ready to ditch the diapers at night. Learn all about nighttime potty training readiness and expert-approved tips for helping your child stay dry at night.

Medically reviewed by Wendy L. Hunter, M.D.

Lots of parents think nighttime dryness should go hand-in-hand with daytime dryness. But anyone who's been through the potty training process knows that the two don't always happen simultaneously. Experts say that even if your child has mastered using the potty during the day, they might not be developmentally ready to wear underwear at night. In fact, staying dry at night is considered the last stage of potty training.

With their small bladder and sound sleeping habits, it's not unusual for children to wet the bed until age 7, according to Ari Brown, MD, co-author of Baby 411 and Toddler 411. In fact, studies have found that 15% to 20% of kids still wet the bed at age 5.

We spoke with experts to learn why nighttime potty training often takes longer for young kids to master and got their tips for making nighttime potty training easier.

Related: When to Start Potty Training Your Toddler

Why Does Nighttime Potty Training Take Longer?

Nighttime potty training can take longer than potty training during the day. For nighttime success, your child's bladder must be large enough to hold all the urine their body produces over the course of the night, and their brain must be mature enough to awaken with the urge to go. Those milestones can happen months or years after successful daytime training.

Doctors have also noted that older children who wet the bed often have parents who also wet the bed as kids. Research backs this observation up: Researchers have identified genetic variants that contribute to nocturnal enuresis (the medical term for bedwetting in people over age 5), meaning that some children are genetically predisposed to wetting the bed later into childhood.

Related: 30 Potty Training Tips From Experts and Parents

Is My Child Ready for Nighttime Potty Training?

So, how do you know when it's time to ditch the overnight diapers or training pants? It comes down to developmental readiness, which happens at different times for every child. Sex may influence when a child is ready for daytime and nighttime potty training, with some research suggesting that kids assigned male at birth may be slightly delayed in this area compared to their female counterparts. But readiness is still very individual.

The following are some promising signs of readiness for nighttime potty training:

• Your child uses the potty regularly during the day.

• They stay dry for a few nights in a row.

• They can stay dry at naptime.

• They express an interest in wearing underwear at night.

You'll also want your child to be able to go to the bathroom independently, so make sure they have transitioned out of the crib and into a big-kid bed. "Kids need access to a potty 24/7 if they're potty training so they can reach it on their own when they need it," says Wendy Sue Swanson, MD, a pediatrician at Seattle Children's Hospital.

Of course, if you think your child isn't ready for a big-kid bed and nighttime potty training, there's no harm in keeping them in diapers or training pants at night for a while longer. Just make sure that you limit diapers to bedtime: Put them on right before putting your child in bed at night and take them off as soon as you get your child out of bed in the morning.

Related: 10 Common Reasons Why Potty Training Is Not Working

Tips for Nighttime Potty Training Success

Want to increase the chances of nighttime potty training success? Try implementing the following tips and tricks:

• Make sure your child is going to the bathroom regularly during the day.

• Encourage hydration during the day but limit drinks one hour before your child's bedtime.
  

• Help them use the potty a half-hour before bed and right before bedtime.

• Wake your child to use the potty again before you go to sleep.

• Tell them to go to the bathroom any time they wake up during the night.

• Keep a well-lit path to the bathroom so your child feels safe and comfortable walking there during the night.

• Invite your child to wake you up if they need to use the bathroom.

• Buy disposable sheet protectors or use a protective mattress cover to protect your child's mattress and for easier changes if your child has an accident in bed at night.

At the beginning of attempting nighttime potty training, setting an alarm yourself and taking your child potty in the middle of the night may also be helpful. Also, be sure to make using the potty the very first thing your child does when they wake up in the morning.

Stay Positive, Have Patience, and Avoid Punishment

In most cases, your child has little to no control over whether they wet the bed, so it's important to be patient and positive—and never punish them for accidents. Research has found that when parents punish their kids for wetting the bed, kids are more likely to experience depression and reduced quality of life. Patience and preparedness will go a long way toward your child's nighttime potty training success.

Related: How to Deal With Potty Training Regression

Bedwetting After Potty Training

While delayed nighttime potty training and even occasional overnight accidents are normal in young children, older children over the age of 5 or 6 who still routinely wet the bed after successfully learning to use the potty during the day may need additional help.

In some cases, especially with young kids, your child may simply not be developmentally ready for nighttime pottying training—and that's OK. In other cases, continued bedwetting may point to other physical or emotional concerns, such as:

• Lack of communication between the brain and bladder

• Illness or constipation

• Stress or trauma

• Medical issue

Some of these concerns, like illness or constipation, can be temporary, and children will go back to having dry nights after the issue is resolved. Others may require more time or professional support.

When to Call a Health Care Provider

If your child had previously been fully potty trained (both during the day and overnight) for six months or longer and suddenly begins wetting the bed, talk with a health care provider. Additionally, a medical evaluation may be in order if you notice any of the following:

• Pain with urination

• Straining or dribbling during urination

• Passing very little urine during the day

• Cloudy or pink urine or bloodstains in underwear

• Sudden daytime and nighttime accidents and

• Sudden changes in personality or mood

• Continuous dampness

Related: What You Want To Know About Potty Training Readiness

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