huh.. she's supposed to be out of diapers completely?

[Kailey's mom]

So, My MIL just got done telling me that it wasn't normal that I still have dd in diapers for sleep and naps. I thought it was. She knows and is around more 3 y/o children that me, and she said that most are out of diapers completely once they are potty trained. My dd has been using the potty for about a year. She said I'm allowing dd to pee at night, because I put the diaper on her. The thing is, if I dont'...or if she falls asleep in the car, she's soaked. My dd will be 4 in May. There is no way in heck she could stay dry at night, I dont' think. I still have to change her in the middle of the night because she will pee through the diaper. She is a heavy wetter. So... I mean, is it normal. I never even questioned this until tonight.

[Maluhia]

I think that is totally normal for a 3 year old SN or not, many children do not night/sleep potty learn until 6 or 7. It is all about when the signals between the bladder and the brain get through, not what they are wearing.

[eclipse]

A lot of perfectly average kids who have been day trained for ages, are still in diapers at night. Heck, my oldest wasn't even out of day time diapers until he was 3 1/2. In any case, night wetting is usually physiological. Some kids have bladders that mature very quickly (my youngest stopped night wetting long before day wetting, for example) and other kids are on the later side. I understand his has a lot to do with genetics too - which is why the children of former night wetters tend to be night wetters, as well as siblings having the same issues.

Eh, your mil needs to shut it .

[Kailey's mom]

Originally Posted by Maluhia

I think that is totally normal for a 3 year old SN or not, many children do not night/sleep potty learn until 6 or 7. It is all about when the signals between the bladder and the brain get through, not what they are wearing.

Thanks , that is what I originally thought.. When MIL was comparing dd to other 3 year olds I was questioning it.. shouldn't have..but did

[LaurieG]

FWIW, my 5 yr old has been day time potty trained since 2 and still soaks through a pull up at night. I have questioned whether there is more to it (food intolerances or something) but haven't really found any evidence of that so I suspect he's just a late to mature bladder situation.

[Cetan Luta]

fwiw My 5 yo is not SN and still wets the bed at night (we are just recently starting to make some progress), so I don't think it's abnormal at all. I think little ones sleep so soundly, it is hard for their bodies to get the massage through well enough to wake them up. Heck, I get him up to go potty at night, and it's hard for me to wake him up! I have also heard of a lot of kids having night wetting issues due to food coloring (especially red) causing bladder and kidney issues, so those of you having the same problems we've been having may want to eliminate those to be on the safe side. HTH

[LynnS6]

If she's soaked when she wakes up, she still needs the diaper.

Dd wore a diaper to bed for about 6 months after she potty trained. Ds wore one for about 4 1/2 years. He just stopped wearing Goodnights at age 8. Before then, his body was not ready.

Nighttime wetting is very different from daytime wetting. It's largely biological, and there's not much you can do about it.

[KatWrangler]

My son was 4 1/2 before he was out of diapers both day and night.

DD will be 4 next week and is of coursed NOT potty trained. Never will be in the normal sense. She is/will being kept dry by cathing, medication and cone enemas.

[2boyzmama]

Ian will be 5 in March and wears pull ups to bed at night and has NEVER woken dry. Never.

I haven't "worked" on it with him, I suppose I could set an alarm and wake him every few hours at night and try to "train" him to wake, but is it worth both of us getting less sleep? Nah. I just put him in a Pull Up and don't worry about it.

If he starts waking dry then I'll take that as a sign that his bladder is mature enough to start wearing underwear and we'll start setting the alarm then. But I'm going to wait for his signs of readiness.

[Youngfrankenstein]

My son just turned 9 and still wears a pull up at night. I think there are nights he stays dry but most times not. Because he is healthy otherwise, I'm sure he'll outgrow it.

[prothyraia]

Chiming in with the chorus here.

My three year old has no SN, has been completely out of diapers during the day for about 9 months, and still wears diapers at night. He wakes up dry maybe one or two nights a week. I see no need to push the issue (especially since we cosleep and he's right next to *me* )

His almost-five year old cousins don't wear diapers anymore, but their parents have to wake them up at 1am to use the bathroom and they're not allowed liquids after 7pm. .

Edited to add: And if he happens to fall asleep during the day (he's mostly given up naps) we have to sneak over and shove a towel under his bum, because there's a 50-50 chance that the couch or bed will be soaked otherwise.

[NightOwlwithowlet]

My son was out of diapers around four, but wore pull ups at night until he was almost five. It was not an issue. One day he just didn't need them anymore. Kids with sensory issues can take longer to learn.

Two of my nieces without SN weren't dry at night until they were in their teens, BIL had the same issue.

[laohaire]

DD just has mild hypotonia which I don't believe has any effect on her toileting, and she pooped in her diaper until 3.5 (and even then I had to bribe her out of it). And I wasn't worried about it either, I was just sick of diapers

Preschool usually requires kids can take care of toileting, but the fact that they even make this a requirement tells you that it's not an absolute given that your 3 or 4 year old is all settled in that department, SN or no.

BTW for night, we usually wake up DD and bring her to the toilet to pee once in the middle of the night. It's really sweet, she's all sleepy and we put her down and she pees and we even wipe her (she takes care of that when she's awake!) and just put her back in bed. I don't think most kids that age can be expected to sleep 10 hours without peeing once, whether they wear a diaper or are taken to the toilet. I know my friends did that with their son too, they'd take him to the potty at midnight every night.

[mntnmom]

My non SN 5 yr old still wears absorbent pants at night. He's only now getting to the point that he is dry most mornings. My older DD did so a lot sooner, but 3 is completely normal. Bedwetting is not even a medical concern until about age 8

[MotherWhimsey]

My non SNs dd is almost 6 and still wears a pullup at night because she is never dry through the night. She potty trained at 20 month, went about 6 months dry at night and then has had to wear pullups ever since. No one is really concerned.

My SNs 3 year old isn't even potty trained in the slightest.

I totally wouldn't even give it a second thought. Some kids are just pee'ers.

[Ellien C]

My neurotypical kid wore a pull-up at night until she was 4 and we had a friend sleep over last year who had just completed kindy and her mom sent her with a pull-up. Which I didn't find and she didn't mention until she had gone to sleep and wet the bed! I don't think it's that unusual to be in pull-ups overnight.

[JollyGG]

Originally Posted by Maluhia

I think that is totally normal for a 3 year old SN or not, many children do not night/sleep potty learn until 6 or 7. It is all about when the signals between the bladder and the brain get through, not what they are wearing.

My kids potty trained early, then were in pull-ups at night for a while after that. Both were out of the nighttime diapers alot earlier than I thought. I saw no need to push for nighttime dryness. My understanding is that it is normal to need nighttime protection for a good long while after daytime potty training is complete.

[RiverTam]

My (not special needs) 5 year old wears pull-ups to sleep. He is not consistently dry through the night. Some kids just don't manage to be potty trained while sleeping until their bodies mature a little more.

It's got a genetic component. I was a bed wetter until I was 6. My husband was a bed wetter until he was 8.

I'm not concerned about. I outgrew being a bedwetter and so did my husband so did his older brother. In the meantime, night time pull-ups are a useful convenience that saves me some laundry.

[elmh23]

My NT dd was in a diaper (pull up) at night until about 3.5, almost 4.

[StephandOwen]

Originally Posted by eclipse

Eh, your mil needs to shut it .

DS day and night trained himself, in 1 day, when he was 3 1/2. Before that he had never even sat on the potty and had never stayed dry all night. Guess he was just determined that day or something. I think he's the exception, rather than the rule though.

I have a 7 year old sister who has been day trained since she was 2 or 3 but is still in pull-ups at night (soaking every morning).