All Night Long

pee pee problems cont'.....

So the next natural question most parents have when

it comes time to potty train their child is...

how do you teach them to hold

it through the night?

Especially if they have attitudes like

this little firecracker of ours!!

"Usually"  most children will learn on their own.

Stop laughing!

I promise, they do!!

Some may do it right away after they decide

to start "holding" their pee during the day.

It becomes this natural progression to do the

same during the night.

And other children will take a few weeks,

 as their muscles become stronger

they will conquer the last challenge of 

becoming a Big Kid.

But I highly suggest as you begin the night

time training to do a few things, 

like move them to a toddler bed

so they can leave the room and

go the bathroom during the night if

necessary.

Also this would be a great time to 

wean them from the night time 

sippy cup if you haven't yet.

For my toddlers who are potty 

training through the night we have

 a strict "NO DRINK AFTER DINNER"

policy to help keep their

bladder as empty as possible.

But for those parents that can't get

the bed wetting to stop,

don't give up!

This is the last hill to climb.

And you've come soooo FAR

throwing your hands up

at this pivital opportunity

would be a failure on your part.

One of our children had a hard time

learning this process, but we found

that if we took them to the bathroom

between 10-11pm they could have a 

successful night time sleep with

no accidents.

And once a month we would try to let 

them go all night long on their own

to see if their body was physically

ready to hold it.

We even started pushing the nightly

toilet deposit later and later.

Eventually (almost 6 months)

this child became successful.

Now I'm not sure if it was their

body maturing enough,

if it was our nightly routine or

a combination of them both...

But it worked!

And that child never thought

they were different from other kids

or ever labeled themselves as

a "bed wetter".

Once again,

this is dedication on the parents

part to teach their child.

But I warn.

There will be accidents.

I suggest purchasing mattress and

pillow plastic covers for every child's bed.

And remember to take a deep breath

and don't sweat the little stuff.

Many times we have found that a child

will have an accident for a few nights in

a row, which usually corresponded with

a growth spurt.

Bodies are a funny thing!!