Nighttime wetting can be one of the toughest challenges for parents during potty training. Once you’ve made it through the initial training, and finally have your children out of diapers and in big kid pants, dealing with accidents at night can become tiresome. (So can washing sheets!) It took our oldest daughter until she was 5 1/2 years old to finally wean from her GoodNites and stop nighttime wetting.
Now with our youngest daughter though, we have a few tricks up our sleeves! At only age four, she’s already staying dry a few nights a week. But what most forget is children can’t always control bedwetting. At night, a child’s bladder doesn’t wake their brain in time to use the bathroom. And while we can try to “train” this behavior away, the truth is, kids just have to outgrow it.
But what we can do is help limit and manage bedwetting, and train kids that it’s OK to use the potty in the middle of the night. We can also inspire self confidence and self-esteem in our little ones by allowing them to get dressed by themselves for bed, and wear underwear at night. Here are some of my mom-tested steps that have helped us get through this tough phase!
how to really stop nighttime wetting
- Limit Liquids – It sounds simple, but in reality it’s hard to say no to those sweet faces when they ask for just one more sip of water before bed. But limiting liquids has really helped our littlest stay dry a few nights a week, and she sleeps 11 hours! We eat dinner between 5:30-6pm, and the girls can have milk and a cup of water at dinner. But nothing afterwards.
- Encourage Potty Use Before Bed – We always ask the girls to use the bathroom right before bedtime.
- Take Children To The Bathroom When You Go To Bed! – That’s right, before I go to sleep at night, I take our daughter to use the potty in her sleep. She’s usually only half awake, but at 10 or 11pm she’s still dry. When I do this consistently, she’s dry in the mornings. This really helps boost her self-confidence!
- Put Nightlights in the Hallway and Bathroom – We’ve lined our hallway and kid’s bathroom with nightlights, so when she wakes in the middle of the night she’s able to find the bathroom herself.
- Use GoodNites Bedtime Pants , GoodNites Bed Mats, or GoodNites TruFit Underwear – Our oldest daughter loved GoodNites Bedtime Pants and their GoodNites Bed Mats. She called them her big kid diapers! Now our littlest agrees!
We picked up some Cinderella themed GoodNites Bedtime Pants and the GoodNites TruFit Underwear at Walmart recently while we were grocery shopping. Emylia loved all the characters, especially IronMan and the Disney Fairies, but this was her choice! She also loved the underwear option, as she’s tired of wearing “diapers”. I was impressed with all the varieties at the store and GoodNites is the #1 night time protection brand. Our other brand leaked so we were looking for a more absorbent training pant with stretcher sides that fit like underwear! Plus the waterproof backing prevents leaking, bonus!
When we returned home that night we used the GoodNites Bedtime Pants for the first few nights and they worked great! But Emy couldn’t wait to wear the GoodNites TruFit Underwear. They look, feel, and wash like real underwear, and didn’t leak! They have patterns for both girls and boys, and come with disposable inserts to keep pajamas and sheets dry all night.
I was actually a little worried we’d have a leak, but was super impressed with the outstanding nighttime protection. And I’m happy to report that I’m back to washing sheets just once a week!
If you’d like to try these awesome training pants you’re in luck, GoodNites is offering a $2 coupon for Walmart purchases while supplies last. Please keep checking back for more chances to get the coupon! And if you would like more help with causes and solutions for nighttime wetting, check here!
Don’t be discouraged parents, 1 in 6 kids ages 4-12 wet the bed once or more per week after potty training ends. And as we’ve learned, every child is different. You’re not alone, this too shall pass. Hang in there, rest easy, and let me know how it goes! You can reach me on my Facebook page!
We were really very fortunate as both our girls trained pretty quickly with both daytime and nighttime, but with nighttime you are right still could be tricker. Great tips and thanks for sharing with all moms, who may be in need.
Lucky you!!
These are awesome tips. I always used Goodnites when my boys were training back in the day 🙂
We used those underwear with our second and within a few days he was staying dry. I think he was ready, but he was so used to wearing diapers that he’d just pee in them without thinking about it. Having the underwear on was just the reminder he needed. I need to get some for our youngest!
oooh how old was he?
I remember those years, it was so tough! Love your tips. Thanks!
Bigger kids, bigger problems right?!
I didn’t know these looked so much like regular underwear. We’re mostly past the hump but I worry about sleepovers and such. I will have to check these out – and yes, limiting liquids was the trick for us.
Yes! Really helpful!
These are all great tips, and I’m glad to hear that she likes the TruFit Underwear! #client
Yes ma’am! They really are the best for empowering our little ones!
Once it stopped with Scarlet, it really stopped. Her pediatrician said it would be her fifth birthday, and two weeks before then she said, “I’m done with nighttime underwear!” Boom.
Now with Des, I am looking for tips. Limiting liquids is easier said than done, you’re right. It makes a difference!
And he loves his bedtime pants.
My friend has both her boys have problems with this. She used an alarm and that worked well for them.
Limiting liquids is key for use since both my kids are pee machines!! I still let Mila wear diapers to bed, but I will try these when she is ready to try to stay dry all night 🙂
Okay I’m going to have to try these things out. My son trained no problem during the day and even at night … at first. But recently he’s been having accidents at night. I think he may be doing it so he gets to sleep with us (because we are too lazy to change the beds). The times we’ve been away or at my moms he doesn’t wet the bed since he’s already sleeping in bed with one of us. The other issue is that he refuses to use pull ups or anything. These look so much like underwear though so I don’t think he’d notice the difference! I’m also going to try waking him up a little to go to the bathroom. Thanks!! Sharing.
What a great and thoughtful post. Thank you for these helpful hints!!
Arggh, night time bed wetting!! Great tips 🙂 I have had these for my bed wetters and love them. Luckily, one of mine has moved on past that stage, but the preschooler still needs some help.
I know when I was a kids I used to pee my bed all the time. I wish they made these back in the day.
Wonderful tips! It can be hard when you have a bed wetter. I’m lucky that my girls don’t wet to bed, but they have had accidents before. I think the GoodNites are a great brand too!
I found limiting liquids in the evening a great way to reduce nighttime wetting. I was lucky and my kids did very well with potty training.
Good Nights are a great tool for toilet training. Kids feel confident and Moms have less accidents to clean up in the middle of the night.
Thanks for the tips! My youngest is still experiencing this so I can use all the help I can get!
It took my kids a long time to get passed potty training period. We haven’t had any issues with bedwetting, but more so getting up and not making it. This is one way to make it easier for children with this issue.
We used a bed wetting alarm with my daughter when she was almost 7 and it was honestly a miracle worker! She was accident free in no time
Such great tips. I really had to limit those last minute drinks for my little miss. Oh and the light thing is such a great idea. Thanks so much for these tips
these are some awesome tips. a friend of mine had a hard time with this process. i will def share.
The TruFit Underwear are really helping Shelby! She has had quite a few dry nights in here “Big Girl Underwear”!
I like how real underwear-y they look. That’s so encouraging for kids to feel more grown-up!
I am so thankful that we never really had to deal with this. My kids were never bed wetters, but I know some friends who have to work with their kids on this. I will share this post with them.
Thanks for this post! My daughter will be turning 4 this July and she still wears pull ups when she sleeps. She doesnt wake up at night to use the potty. So what I’m doing is I would set an alarm up at 12am or 1am wake her up and let her use the bathroom.
🙂
Btw if u have any giveaways coming up please let me join 🙂
You’re absolutely right that kids can’t really train to avoid bedwetting. It’s just something that happens. My husband used to get frustrated with our oldest because she wet the bed for a while. We used Good Nights for her for a bit until one day we realized it had been a week or so of dry pull-ups. Our middle child stayed dry at night from the beginning – even during daytime potty training regression after the baby was born. Go figure!