Saying good bye to pull ups at night
Current situation - 3.5 year old boy: Dry in the day for about a year, on and off dry at night for the past few months.
Yes, we have always done pull ups at night to save the middle of the night wetting and washing episodes. Wet beds are just not worth the sleep disturbance.
When I was attending a TAFE-run playgroup in 2019, the educators spoke to me about the difference between girls and boys as well as the link between wetting at night and developmental readiness. At that stage my eldest was nearly 5 and still wetting in the night (in pull ups) and I was somewhat concerned he was starting school the following year.
They reassured me that this is NORMAL for many children, especially boys.
Being toilet trained at night has been really different for each child of ours, but I have definitely noticed that as the younger ones see their siblings wearing undies to bed, it inspires them to want to do the same.
When are they ‘ready’ to try?
Trained in the day
Can go for a few nights at a time without wetting
Begins to get up in the night/when they wake in the morning to use the bathroom independently ie able to get in and out of a cot or in a bed
In our house, the child wanting to wear undies to bed (we let them lead this process) has to show they are dry for 4 nights IN A ROW before trying undies. With our eldest, we did a chart. By the youngest, we just counted on our fingers and the 4 nights would restart when the pull ups weren’t dry.
The trial -
When they’ve done their 4 dry nights, they can wear undies. If they have 3 nights of accidents in a row, we go back to pull ups and try for another 4 nights of dry.
This (trialling undies but having to go back into pull ups) happened with our last little guy and it motivated him to actually get out of bed to use the toilet rather than staying in bed and using it as a toilet.
Tips for moving into undies at night -
***Double-make the bed**** Ie waterproof mattress protector, fitted sheet, waterproof mattress protector (or brollie sheet) fitted sheet… then top sheet/blanket/doona on top.
This makes for a VERY quick change if there’s an accident
Have things needed for a quick bed/PJ change on hand so it’s quick and easy in the dark
Be super encouraging and remind them before sleep each night that they are wearing undies and will need to use the toilet
We have found it helpful to keep things very matter of fact so it’s not an emotional situation.
Explaining the process ahead of time helps set realistic expectations for what’s ahead.
It’s less of a deal than you may think!
Good luck! x