Nights often seem to last longer

• It’s great when your little one no longer needs diapers during the day. But what about at night? Because it’s even better when your little one doesn’t need a diaper at all. And when you no longer have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to change your child’s diaper. We understand that you’re looking forward to that. And that you want to know how it works.
• While sleeping, a child often doesn’t realize that their bladder is full. This is due to their body’s development. That ability usually comes naturally later on. That’s why you don’t need to practice at night yet. The most important thing is that you focus on practicing during the day for now.
• Many children will eventually wake up one day with a dry diaper or realize they need to go to the bathroom. That’s often when nighttime potty training begins. Until then, it’s fine to keep the diaper on at night.
• Keep the diaper on at night until your child has had a dry diaper every time they wake up for a full week.

Staying dry at night? That’s up to your body!

Is your child out of diapers during the day? Chances are it won’t be long before they stay dry at night, too. But for some children, it can take months or even years. They aren’t doing this on purpose or because they don’t want to. So what’s the reason?

• Some children don’t realize their bladder is full. Their brain doesn’t receive a signal, so they don’t wake up. As a result, they wet their diaper or bed at night.
• Some children can hold more urine than others. They have a larger bladder. Children with a small bladder tend to feel full sooner. This makes it harder for them to hold their urine.

What can you do yourself?

Unfortunately, you can’t train your child to hold their urine while they’re asleep. That’s just not how the body works. But you can make sure your child stays dry throughout the night. Often, the body will then learn on its own to hold the urine. For most children, this goes away on its own.

Tips!

• Always have your child go to the bathroom before going to sleep.
• Put your child on the potty or toilet right before you go to sleep yourself. For example, around 10:00 p.m. Make sure your child is awake for a moment so they can feel what’s happening. Most children fall back asleep quickly afterward.
• Has your child’s diaper stayed dry for a few nights in a row? If so, you can try leaving the diaper off at night as well.
• Put a potty in your child’s bedroom. Sometimes children wet the bed because they’re afraid to go to the bathroom in the dark or by themselves.
• Does your child sometimes go to the bathroom on their own at night? If so, make sure to have a small nightlight.
• Use a mattress protector. That way, at least you won't need a new mattress.
• Don't get angry if your child wets the bed. Your child feels bad about it too and can't help it.

Drink less?

Bedwetting isn’t caused by drinking too much or sleeping deeply. Of course, a child may urinate less if their bladder isn’t as full. Would you like to try this? If so, don’t give your child anything to drink for an hour before they go to sleep. A small sip is okay if your child is very thirsty.  

️️️Want to learn more about bedwetting?

Is your child older than 4 years old, and are you concerned about bedwetting? You can find more tips and information about bedwetting on Thuisarts.nl. The information on Thuisarts comes from family doctors.

• My child wets the bed‍