Toilet training at night: how do you go about it?

Your child is growing up and you feel it's time to do away with diapers! He's probably already potty-trained during the day , and you're dreaming of a life in panties. Night-time cleanliness can be a source of anxiety for parents, who are already imagining that they won't be able to sleep at night. Here are our tips to help you get through it!

Why potty train your child at night?

Once your child ispotty-trained during the day, it's time to start night-time potty training. Your child's night-time potty training will certainly take longer. All children develop differently when it comes to toilet training whether during the day or when sleeping. A few prerequisites are necessary:

• Physical control: Children need to control their anal sphincter, followed by their bladder sphincter;
• Psychic control: The child must understand what is expected of him/her. He must understand that his urine and feces are not extensions of his body;
• Emotional control: The child is confident and has no fear of being judged or rejected.

Potty training begins during the day, before becoming nocturnal.

What is the right age to start toilet training at night?

A child becomes fully potty-trained between the ages of 2 and 4 (when he starts school). As with daytime potty training, especially at school, children need to be able to control leakage of pee and accidents involving pooing in their pants while going to the potty.

Here's a list of signs and tips to help you decide whether your child (boy or girl) is ready to start potty training at night:

• If he asks to go to the toilet at night
• If he wakes up to a clean diaper several nights in a row
• If he asks of his own accord to stop using diapers at night.

Our 5 tips for potty training at night

Before removing your baby's diapers at night, create a calm environment to anticipate his needs as much as possible.

These tips will help you avoid any problems and ensure that the environment is conducive to the success of your mission.

• Install a potty next to your child's bed if the toilet is too far from his or her room;
• Equip your child's bed with a draw sheet or waterproof mattress protector ;
• Provide spare pajamas and sheets in case of bedwetting.
• Place a towel under the potty to prevent your child from slipping on the floor in the event of a leak.

Establish a bedtime routine

As you know, your child has loved routines and autonomy since birth. Use the Montessori method, which helps parents to put things into perspective and find the right steps to help your child with night-time continence.

• Reduce liquids two hours before bedtime. However, don't deprive your child of drinking during meals;
• After your child has washed, showered, combed his hair and brushed his teeth, systematically suggest that he goes to the toilet or potty;
• Introduce this new step just before telling a story, singing a song or playing a game;
• Place your child'snight-time water glass near the potty to encourage him to pee before drinking.

The Montessori method respects the child's individual rhythm, encouraging autonomy in toilet training, whereas traditional approaches often follow a predefined schedule, sometimes imposed by adults.

Accompany your child to the toilet at night if necessary

Your child can call you if he can't find his potty, or if he wants to go to the toilet. Accompany him each time he calls you. Explain the way each time. You can also use night lights. Help your child towipe himselfproperly - your child (especially a little girl) may not be able to do this on his own before the age of 4.

Suggest removing the diaper to put on training pants

The training pants are a good transition in the acquisition of potty training at night. The training pants will enable you to spend calm, peaceful nights. In fact, the absorbent core of the training pants will hold back your child's urine leaks and accidents.

Talk to your child and adapt to his rhythm

Always discuss the subject with your little one before he or she removes his or her diaper while sleeping. Your baby may be anxious or stressed about future night-time toilet trips. Reassure him, explain the way, show him how to get out of his bed, go to the potty or toilet, wipe himself and return to his bed safely.

Be patient with occasional relapses

As with all learning since babyhood, you may observe a relapse, a regression, when your child stains his clothes or mattress at night. Stress, moving house, the arrival of a little brother or sister, traumatic factors can all bring about a change in attitude and slow down the learning process. Continue to encourage your child with pedagogy.

Should I worry if my child isn't potty-trained at night?

Some children will have acquired nocturnal continence at the same time as toilet training during the day, but this is rare. After the age of 4, your child may be suffering from nocturnal enuresis. Consult a health professional, a psychomotor therapist or your pediatrician to rule out physiological or psychological causes, especially in the case of nocturnal enuresis.

FAQs on night-time toilet training

At what age does a child become toilet trained at night?

How can I encourage my child to become toilet trained at night?

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