Training your children to control their bladders and independently go to the loo are both a challenge and a happy milestone for parents. A day-time potty training is a good start however; this does not guarantee wet-free nights moving forward. Bed-wetting is very normal for kids from three to five years old. Even some six year olds still pee on their beds occasionally. As a parent trying to balance work and family responsibilities, waiting for your child to develop their bladder control at night is something you don’t have the liberty of doing.
The question of when you should start training your child with night-time potty depends on the pace of their development. You cannot push them to give-up diapers or pull-ups at your convenience because bladder control is developed over time and age. Some children proactively start ditching their pull-ups at the age of three because they feel they are not babies anymore. Other parents start convincing their kids before the age of four. The idea is not to force your children to grow up.
If your child has not willingly given up their night nappies yet, you can check out these 5 proven tips that will help your kids lessen wetting their beds at night.
1. USING PULL-UPS INSTEAD OF DIAPERS
Although pull-ups are much less absorbent than diapers, they give children the idea that they are already wearing underwear. This is applicable in cases where children can actually hold their pee throughout the night until the moment they wake up. They go while still on bed since they don’t have full control of their bladders yet.
2. LIMIT THEIR LIQUID INTAKE BEFORE SLEEP
Some parents agree on limiting their child’s fluid intake before their bedtime. Feeding them their milk an hour before they go to sleep should help keep their beds dry by morning. On a rough day where they have exhausted their energies running and playing around, it may night be advisable to stop them from drinking lots of water or milk.
3. VISITING THEIR POTTIES BEFORE SLEEP
This is a good alternative to Tip # 2. Some parents are not okay with the idea of controlling their kids’ drinking patterns. Instead, they just constantly remind their children to take a pee right before they go to sleep. This gives them, a few more hours to hold their bladders until they fully wake up.
4. REQUIRED PEE BREAKS OVERNIGHT
Visiting your child in the bedroom at night when you go for your pee break also works for some parents. It is going to be an extra task for you and you are going to be waking up your child in the middle of sleep. However, doing it for a short period of time can train your kids to do their own pee breaks at night.
5. PREPARE FOR ACCIDENTS
As parents, we could only patiently wait for our children to grow up. Sometimes, the kids really try their best not to wet their beds at night. However, since they are still at an early stage of development, they miss their pee breaks at night and find ourselves cleaning their mess in the morning. The best thing to do is to be fully prepared every time it happens. Be patient and do not let your child feel they failed you, use disposable bed covers to save laundry, and prepare extra linens in their room so you can easily change them.
Slowly teaching your child the importance of pee breaks overnight will help you save money and energy. The only question is when your child will be ready.
