Most parents would agree that potty training is a very crucial step as far as raising kids is concerned.
The reason for this is not far-fetched. It’s a huge step for the child because for the first time they’re learning something intentionally. They’re learning a skill that would be with them for the rest of their life.
For the parent, it’s a huge step because for one, they get to spend less on diapers.
In this post I will share some of the tips that can make night potty training easier for parents.
Training kids to use potty during the day is one thing, teaching them to wake up in the middle of the night to avoid bedwetting is another thing entirely.
Readiness: Being ready for daytime potty training is not a sign that the baby is ready for night training. Potty training at night takes some level of adaptation, both physically and mentally. Their bladder must be strong enough to hold it’s content for a considerable amount of hours through the night.
Some of the signs of night potty training readiness is when they wake up with dry diapers for most nights. When they are able to wake up at least once during the night. This signs are both physical and mental, so you can’t rush them. As long as they’re not yet ready you can’t do anything about it until they are.
Appropriate Gear: Potty training becomes much more easier when you have the appropriate tool at your disposal. For effective night potty training, you should get a potty seat that you kids love to use, toilet training pants as well as diapers (for the first few days), for male child, some parents consider getting a urinal trainer a good idea, but if you can’t get then a urinal, you would be fine with potty seat as well.
READ: Best Potty Training Pants.
Drinking Habit: You’d be amazed how much the toddler drinking habit can influence the rate at which they master the use of the potty during the night.
As a rule of thumb, eating very early would make digestion of the food easier, and it would probably occur before bed time. To effectively train kids to use the toilet properly during the course of the night make sure they don’t drink any fluid after dinner.
But before going to bed, encourage to take a small sip of water to avoid dehydration during the night. Drinking too much fluid after dinner will increase their chances of bedwetting during the night. Because they have a really small bladder with minimal retention capacity, they’re bound to bed wet if the take too much fluid.
It’s advisable to make a rule on this to make this entire process easier for both parties. Remember; the less accident they experience, the more encouraged they feel, which will boost their confidence in mastering the training concept in it’s totality.
Sleeping Habit: To successfully train kids to stay dry all night, they must be able to wake up at least once during the night to us the toilet all by themselves. Although there are people that don’t wake up during the night at all, but most of them learn to hold up when they became adult.
To effectively complete night potty training for toddler, you must be ready to alter their sleeping habit for a week or two until they get used to the routine. This would require some sort of sacrifice on your end. You can create a schedule to wake them up around 12:00am or thereabout to use the bathroom.
Once you do this within a week or two, they would get used to the routine on their own.
Diapers or No Diapers or Waterproof Mattress: At first you don’t want to get of the diapers totally. Some parents would adopt the waterproof bed mattress. This is because, mistake would surely happen, and you don’t want their bed messed up.
In conclusion, parents should understand that potty training takes time, much importantly is the special attention needed to effectively complete night potty training. With the right tool and accurate timing, success with night potty training is guaranteed.