What should toddlers wear to bed when potty training?

The potty training process can be challenging, but at some point, everything will fall into place and your child will be using the toilet exactly as you’ve taught them to. However, though this will result in much fewer clean-ups during the day, the same can’t be said of the nighttime.

It takes time for a child’s body to avoid relieving itself when it’s asleep, so while those dry days are cause for celebration, keep in mind that the journey isn’t over yet. You’ll still have nighttime accidents to deal with even after your child has nailed daytime potty training.

Armed with a few useful tips, you can ensure that those nighttime accidents are as manageable as possible. In this post, we’ll run through some useful information, including outlining what your child should be wearing to bed when potty training. 

Essential: Make Sure Daytime Potty Training Is Fully Established

First thing first: if your child hasn’t perfected potty training during daylight hours, then forget about those dry nights. Unless you’re one of those lucky parents, you’ll still be dealing with nighttime messes for some time after your child has shown that they can make it through the day without wetting themselves.

Once they’ve nailed daytime potty training, you can begin thinking about achieving those dry nights. 

Toddlers Bedtime Wear Potty Training: Wearing a Nappy/Pull-Up to Bed

The goal is to have your child make it through the night without relieving themselves. This will take time. In fact, many children are not dry through the night months or even years after they have been daytime potty trained.

There may be signs that your child is getting close to nighttime dryness. For instance, if their nappies or pull-ups contain less liquid, or they wake with a dry night time nappy or pullup, then that’s a sign that they’re getting there. But it’ll be best to stick with the nappy for a few more weeks until those dry nappies are more consistent. 

When to Try Without a Nappy/Pull-Up

You can start nighttime potty training once your child is having more dry nights than wet nights. Another sign is if they’re waking you up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, or if they’re going to the toilet first thing in the morning because their bladder is full.

If this happens, then you can try without a nappy or pull-up. However, don’t expect miracles to happen right away — it’s a process! It’s best to have a bed pad for bed wetting in place, so you can easily clean up any messes they make; and trust us, they will make some messes, even after you think that the nighttime potty training has been successful. Hygge Sheets bed pads for bedwetting can be the perfect choice for you and your child.

Some children may need to get used the sensation of being in bed without a nappy to protect them.It might be that your child might need to feel wet in the night to trigger them to start learning to wake up - but this is only the case for some children. Other children just are not ready on their are other things at play (bladder size, nervous system that controls the hormones, bladder control, constipation, daytime toilet training etc etc)

Explaining the Process to Your Child

As with all things, it’s best to involve your child in the process as much as possible. After all, it can be a little confusing to be celebrated for not having to use a nappy during the daytime, only to suddenly find that one is being put on just before bedtime. 

You can simply tell your child that they’ll need to use nappies a little longer while they sleep until they’re ready to go to bed without them. Also, it’s important to let your child know that it’s no big deal if they do have an accident. Some children can be a little embarrassed that they’re wetting the bed when they’re being trained to stop, but there is often nothing that they can do about it. Letting them know will help to make the process more bearable for everyone involved. 

Remember: Accidents Will Happen! 

The takeaway from this article? Have your child continue to wear a nappy to bed even if they’re dry during the day, until the point where they’re getting close to having dry nights. Then remove the nappy and see how they get on. Remember, accidents will happen even after your child seems to have got it, so be sure to invest in a bed pad for bed wetting, so you can easily clean up any messes.