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Tips for Night Time Toilet Training

Tips for Night Time Toilet Training

Ask parents to make a list of some of the biggest challenges they have faced with their children, and chances are, potty training will be somewhere up near the top. Teaching your child to be toilet trained is a huge developmental step, and something for which every child’s experience is different. Having mastered the daytime potty training when Erin was about two and a half, gaining dry overnight status was somewhat more challenging. We are now totally dry at night, and are super proud of how Erin has done.

How do you know your child is ready?

You will know if you child is ready for Night Time Toilet training is they are waking with a dry pull up or nappy on a regular basis, or if your child starts waking up and asking to go the toilet.

We had Erin wearing ‘big girl’ pants during the day, but still kept a pull up on at night just incase. After a while we were finding that the pull ups were completely bone dry in the morning, and therefore made the jump to being ‘protection free’ overnight.

We’ve removed the pull ups…. then what?… Here’s what worked for us…

Lots of praise and support for the toilet…

You want you child to feel like they are doing something really really amazing, and give them lots of praise and encouragement. We  continually told Erin what a clever girl she was, and how proud we were of her using the toilet like a big girl. You could see in her face she was super chuffed with herself, and this inevitably reinforced the message.

Incorporate toilet visits into the bedtime routine…

Get into habit of taking your child to the toilet just before bed, and again as soon as they wake up in the morning. They will soon learn that this is part of their normal bedtime routine, and help them remember to empty their bladder before they settle for the night.

Some parents advocate lifting your child out of bed around 11pm and taking them to the loo again before you go to bed yourself. This one doesn’t sit well with us personally, as I didn’t want to encourage Erin to pee when she wasn’t fully awake – to me that could inevitably lead to bed wetting accidents. I also am not one for disturbing good sleeping patterns, but that may be because we’ve taken a bloody long time to get there!

Remove Obstacles

Remove any mental and literal obstacles and ensure their route to the toilet is an easy one if you are expecting them to venture to the toilet unassisted.

Night lights on the landing and in their bedroom are useful.

We also are big fans of the Illumibowl in the bathroom itself – a motion sensor toilet light that illuminates the entire toilet bowl in a bold colour, perfect for guiding little ones to the loo (whilst also being handy for Daddy who after nights out with the boys sometimes struggles with his aim!! 😂). You can even pick your child’s favourite colour to make the experience just that little more enticing!

Invest in a Mattress protector 

Accept that accidents inevitably do happen, and that occasionally your child may wet the bed during the transitional period. Invest in a good quality mattress protector to pop under the sheets, and consider layering up the sheets for easy bedtime linen changes in the early hours.

Avoid too much liquid before bed…

We try and limit the amount of fluid Erin has just before bed, and if she wakes in the night wanting a drink we encourage ‘little sips’. If she wakes up in the night and has drunk a lot (e.g when she has a cough), I take her to the toilet with me before returning her to bed.

Patience

Finally, don’t expect overnight dryness to happen straight away. As with most things, the process takes time. We found the more relaxed and calm we were, and the less pressure we placed on Erin, the easier the change took place.

GOOD LUCK!

Want to get your hands on your very own Illumibowl to help your child’s toilet training? We have one to give away to a lucky reader! Use the GLEAM app to enter below.

Real Mum Reviews – Illumibowl

*This is a collaborative post.

must try hints and tips for night time toilet / potty training

82 Comments

  1. Tracy Nixon

    I love the pink!

    Reply
  2. Harline

    Love the red

    Reply
  3. Hali Kinson

    Love green

    Reply
  4. Kim Neville

    I like the blue

    Reply
  5. Joanne Beale

    Purple would be great

    Reply
  6. iain maciver

    the red

    Reply
  7. Kim M

    Like the purple

    Reply
  8. Mummy tim Two

    I love this suggestions, night time is a whole other worrld to day time, that’s for sure!

    Reply
  9. clair downham

    green please

    Reply
  10. Jasmin N

    Oh those look like so much fun!
    I’ll keep these tips in mind when the time comes with us haha, it’s a long way there, though. Well done, Erin!

    Reply
  11. Sheena Batey

    I like the purple the best.

    Reply
  12. Angela Treadway

    i love the purple x

    Reply
  13. Lindsey London Mumma

    I have seen these Ilumin bowls around and I love them. My daughter is only three, even though fully potty trained, I would dread for her to get up throughout the night, but we o keep her potty in the bedroom, so this would be nifty. x

    Reply
  14. Solange

    I like the blue.

    Reply
  15. Gareth Torrance

    Bookmarked this! We’re going to be starting potty training soon enough so all the hints I can find, the better!

    Reply
  16. Musings of a tired mummy...zzz...

    Both of my older 2 were dry at night way before they were dry during the day. We have an Illumibowl and it really helps as we don’t need to noisy bathroom light. Not even thought about potty training for our youngest yet…

    Reply
  17. claire woods

    red

    Reply
  18. EmilY

    We have the illumibowl but the only thing annoys me is it lights up half the house at night hahah. Fab tips.

    Reply
  19. Sandra Fortune

    I like the blue , brilliant idea ! My little Grandson would love it

    Reply
  20. Maria Blythin

    i love these x my fav is the blue

    Reply
  21. Ruth Harwood

    Loving the pink xx

    Reply
  22. Keri Jones

    I love the green & I know my son would too. These are such a great idea!

    Reply
  23. Michelle Poppy Clarke

    Love the blue for my little man. Thanks for the chance

    Reply
  24. Natalie Baskerville

    I really like the purple one, I like the concept of these its really unique

    Reply
  25. Petra Hora

    Blue

    Reply
  26. Victoria Prince

    I love the green one 🙂 that has to be my favourite – anything green always is!

    Reply
  27. Ian Campbell

    The light blue colour looks amazing 🙂

    Reply
  28. claire griffiths

    the blue

    Reply
  29. ABIGAIL HAMILTON

    The darker blue

    Reply
  30. Amanda Jayne Davis

    Green would be fab for me

    Reply
  31. Hazel Christopher

    I like the red colour best

    Reply
  32. Elizabeth Smith

    Blue, I think that in the middle of the night the green might look too alien-like

    Reply
  33. melissa crowe

    red please my son s fave colour fingers crossed x

    Reply
  34. yvonne cooke

    Red please.x this is such a great idea.x

    Reply
  35. Sheri Darby

    I really like the blue one

    Reply
  36. Danni Cresswell

    Blue my son would love it x

    Reply
  37. Stephanie Keill

    I’d love blue please for my sons

    Reply
  38. Faith Paul

    I love the blue one

    Reply
  39. janine atkin

    id love the blue one

    Reply
  40. Heather bra

    Blue for the boys in my family

    Reply
  41. Stacy Fenemore

    the pink for my girl

    Reply
  42. Anthea Holloway

    I love the blue.

    Reply
  43. Katie

    Pink is my favourite

    Reply
  44. Susan B

    The green is very calming. These are such a good idea.

    Reply
  45. Susan Smith

    Like the Purple

    Reply
  46. Laura Pritchard

    The green one….it looks spooky!

    Reply
  47. Lisa Pond

    Love the blue! 🙂

    Reply
  48. Carly Belsey

    I love the red colour the best, these are such a great idea. Thank you

    Reply
  49. Geoff Hibbert

    I like the purple

    Reply
  50. sharon stanley

    I love the purple and who knows it might just stop my other half from peeing on the seat half asleep in the middle of the night too lol.

    Reply
  51. Jayne Kelsall

    I love the purple one .x

    Reply
  52. Tammy Neal

    Purple would be great xx

    Reply
  53. Teresa sheldon

    I love the blue colour its a calming colour

    Reply
  54. Rachael Sexey

    I love the pink

    Reply
  55. Danielle Spencer

    I like the blue colour best.

    Reply
  56. stuart hargreaves

    green – such fun on Halloween.

    Reply
  57. Mickie Bull

    Purple is my favourite!

    Reply
  58. Krzysia

    I love all things purple -such a regal colour 😉 x

    Reply
  59. Paula Phillips

    I like the blue one.

    Reply
  60. tAMMY tUDOR

    i really like the blue

    Reply
  61. emma penko

    OOh the green, my boys would love one!

    Reply
  62. Paula cheadle

    I like the blue

    Reply
  63. Dawn Underwood

    I like the green

    Reply
  64. Jo Hutchinson

    my favourite is the blue

    Reply
  65. Emma Davison

    Purple

    Reply
  66. Fiona King

    Blue

    Reply
  67. Andrea a

    Blue

    Reply
  68. Angela Fitzjohn

    My favourite is the blue.

    Reply
  69. Sarah Mackay

    Green

    Reply
  70. Jayne Townson

    These are a fantastic idea, I love the blue one. Thanks for the lovely giveaway.

    Reply
  71. Rachael G

    Love the green

    Reply
  72. Linda Curtis

    blue would be great

    Reply
  73. Jo Carroll

    I like the green…it’s somehow a little ‘other-wordly’ which is exactly what visiting the toilet in the small ‘wee’ hours always seems to be? 😉

    Reply
  74. emma walters

    green would be fab!

    Reply
  75. Felicity Kelly

    The green one is my favourite, such a good idea!

    Reply
  76. lynn neal

    Blue is my favourite!

    Reply
  77. sherri hough

    I love all the colours but pink and purple are my favs.
    Would love to try this with my 5 year old step son as he misses the toilet every single time! grrrr
    fed up of buying bleach lol

    Reply
  78. Diana

    Pink 🙂

    Reply
  79. Natalie Crossan

    I’d like purple xx

    Reply
  80. Tee Simpson

    I like the purple

    Reply
  81. Rich Tyler

    Blue 🙂

    Reply

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  1. Creating a Child Friendly Bathroom - Real Mum Reviews - […] help Erin reach the sink (with an essential non slip base), to training seats and more recently the illumibowl.…

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Hi, I’m Lucy, a thirty something mum of two from Birmingham. A memory maker, tradition keeper, stationery addict and Mr Men fanatic. HR Advisor by day and sleep deprived Mama by night!

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