Children usually take longer to be dry at night than in the day. But once your child is reliably toilet trained in the day, you can try leaving his nappy off at night. Once your toddler has woken up with a dry or slightly damp nappy for a few mornings in a row, it's a sign of readiness.
By age four years, most children are reliably dry in the day. It's normal for night-time potty training to take longer. Most children learn how to stay dry at night when they are between three and five years old.
On average, the majority of little ones are around 3.5 or 4 years of age before they are reliably dry at night. However, some children do still need the safety of night-time pants or protective covers at the age of 5 or 6 - mainly down to being very deep sleepers.
Don't wake your child up to pee when you go to bed. It doesn't help with bedwetting and will just disrupt your child's sleep. When your child wets the bed, help them wash well in the morning so that there is no smell.
Many parents expect children aged 3 years to be dry at night. Although many children are dry at this age, it is common to need nappies at night until school age. However, even beyond this age, bedwetting is common. Up to 1 in 5 children aged 5 years, and 1 in 10 children aged 10 years wet their bed at night.
Typically, a child becomes toilet trained between ages 2 and 4. But some won't be able to stay dry through the night until they are older. By age 5 or 6, 85% of children can stay dry, but some children still wet the bed from time to time until age 10 or 12.
To help motivate your child to work on staying dry and to work with the alarm, parents can try taking off the potty training pants and put the child in regular underwear. Parents also can have their child help do his laundry and change the sheets to get him more motivated, Dr. Khoury says.
Once your child has mastered daytime potty training they can then work towards dry nights (NHS Choices, 2015). Most children will take a while longer to learn how to stay dry at night. It's helpful to wait until your child shows signs that they are ready for night-time potty training (NHS Choices, 2015).
Waking children before you go to bed or in the middle of the night to use the restroom can be helpful. If the bed is wet when you wake them, wake them earlier. If they wet the bed after you wake them, wake them later. You may need to adjust to find the right time.
As a general rule of thumb, night time nappy changes are necessary if your baby has soiled the nappy, or it is completely full. A little bit of urine in the nappy is fine, and you can usually wait a bit longer before changing them again.
You can ensure that he does a big wee before he goes to bed. You can also choose to lift him to the toilet in the middle of the night (whenever you are heading for bed, typically). It might help him to understand the way his bladder and urinary system work.
Allow your child to play on the potty so they can get used to it. Most children complete potty training by 36 months. The average length it takes kids to learn the process is about six months. Girls learn faster, usually completing toilet training two to three months before boys do.
Parents often also use pull-ups (larger-size diapers), trying to control the behavior and the mess. Pull-ups can be effective in reducing the mess of bedwetting, but in general, will prolong the problem.
Have your child use the bathroom when they start to get ready for bed, then again the minute before they get into bed. This helps to empty their bladder. If you're still awake an hour or two after your child's bedtime, think about waking them for a quick bathroom visit.
The use of diapers can also prolong the problem of bed-wetting, because it is just too easy for a child to go to sleep with no concern about wetting the bed. If you do not use diapers, then there is the ongoing issue of dealing with wet beds every day.
Generally, bed-wetting before age 7 isn't a concern. At this age, your child may still be developing nighttime bladder control. If bed-wetting continues, treat the problem with patience and understanding. Lifestyle changes, bladder training, moisture alarms and sometimes medication may help reduce bed-wetting.
Sleep: what to expect at 5-11 years
At 5-11 years, children need 9-11 hours sleep a night. For example, if your child wakes for school at 7 am and needs approximately 10 hours sleep per night, your child should be in bed before 9 pm. Some children fall deeply asleep very quickly when they go to bed.
Double up
If one nappy isn't enough, try two! Popping a second nappy over the top (ensuring it completely covers the first nappy) can offer the extra protection needed for a dry night.
So during the day, keep an eye on your diaper's wetness indicator, if it has one (that's the little line in the front that changes from yellow to blue when there's moisture inside the diaper). Change wet diapers when you notice them, and try to avoid going for longer than three hours in between changes.
These studies show that enuresis in children may occur in the non-REM sleep period, especially during the sleep transition.
Some children don't stay dry at night regularly before age 7. Bedwetting up to that time is not unusual, even though it may be frustrating to parents. Call your family doctor if: Your child is 5 or older and wets the bed 2 to 3 times a week.
Bedwetting is common enough that it's considered normal for children younger than 7 years old. Its causes may include: Family history of bedwetting. 75% of children who struggle with bedwetting have a parent or immediate family member who also wet the bed as a child.