Kid "Pull-Up" Potty Training Help Needed

[Kissimmee JP]

My 2 kids are not wanting to wear pull ups anymore (most of you know they're 6 and almost 4). We've been letting them sleep in their pj's w/o pull ups on for almost 3 weeks now.

My problem is this: I can't get them to get up and go to the bathroom w/o waking up myself and getting them out of bed to do so. My 4 y.o. has wet the bed 3 times in the past week, mainly b/c I didn't get up in time to get him to the b/r.

Do you guys have any suggestions on how to teach these kids to get up on their own when they gotta go? I don't wanna be getting up every night until they're in college telling them to go to the b/r.

Thanks.

 

[Cthia]

Are you letting them have drinks before they go to bed? At that age they should be able to hold their bladder unless there is a problem. You may want to consult the Pediatrician and see what they suggest.

But for a suggestion I would make sure they go to the bathroom before they go to bed.

 

[Kissimmee JP]

No drinks after 7. They go to the bathroom before they take a shower and after I'm done reading to them at night.

My 6 y.o. has no problems...I just get him up to be safe. It's the 4 y.o. that's the problem.

 

[Cthia]

Maybe try changing the drink time to an earlier time and see how that goes, changing it each time if if doesn't stop. Do they go to bed early? If they are going to bed shortly after having a drink it may not had time to get through their system.

 

[dandave]

My experience was that the pull-ups only helped when used for a short period of time. They provided too much of a safety net.
If the child wet the pull-ups, he really had no sense of wetting himself. If he was wearing "big boy undies" and wet, then it was a mess- a bath, a change of clothes, cleaning the mess... The mess helped him figure out very quickly that wetting himself was not pleasant, and that it was much easier to just head for the potty. Without pull-ups as a safety net, it is much easier to learn cause and effect.

I agree with having them use the potty prior to bedtime. Have them go a couple of times in the hour leading up to bedtime, if needed.

Good luck!

 

[kejoda]

It could be that the 4 yr. olds bladder is just not ready for all night. Going to long without liquids could cause dehydrate esp. in the summer. You could try putting a portable potty by their bed or put a pullup over their underwear after they are asleep. I take a parenting class with my boys and for 3 and 4 yr. olds this is one of the biggest issues that parents have. Just remember your aren't alone in this and its not the fault of the kids.

also you could try putting nothing on them at night. Kids can recognize the I need to go feeling better when they aren't wearing any pants.

 

[MerryPoppins]

When DS was in Kindergarten, he was still having trouble wetting the bed sometimes. The doctor suggested a prescription nose spray that he used every night. It did the trick. A few months of that and it was under control. She said he slept too deeply to "hear" his body telling him that he had to go.

Ask your doctor.

 

[musicfan]

Actually, this is still pretty young, and many kids this age have trouble getting through the night dry.

No drinks after dinner was always our rule while our son was making this transition, and it worked very well (he went to bed at 7:30 at that age, so 7pm would have been too late to do any good). Sound sleepers are unlikely to wake up during the night to pee (I still don't and I'm 45!), so you're better off just making sure the problem doesn't crop up in the first place by controlling liquids before bed. The older they get and the bigger and stronger their bladders/sphincters get, the less they'll have this problem. And boys tend to have it more than girls because it takes their nervous systems longer to mature.

I also did not put him to bed in diapers/pull ups because they were too absorbent and would prevent him from feeling the warmth of the urine if it accidentally started to flow. He slept naked for a while, and this really did help. He told me a couple of times that he "felt the pee" and stopped, and I could see on the sheets that this was true -- just a little bit of urine. So it helped him learn how to stop himself if an accident was starting.

 

[dandave]

I just remembered one of my favorite potty training tips.
You most likely already have a mattress cover. The full sized, waterproof crib pads are excellent for putting over the sheets, though. If the child sleeps on the waterproof pad while PT, it is much easier to clean the mess in the middle of the night. You just toss the pad in the washer, and put down a clean one. That way, you don't have to change sheets in the middle of the night. I love those things!

 

[crazyme5kids]

I have to say I am firmly against pull-ups. I really think it hinders a childs potty training/learning, because after all they are just diapers. I work in early childcare, and you do see a big difference in kids that are wearing pull-ups and the ones in training pants.
It is more work and more of an inconvinience with training pants, but I think the extra work is worth it.

 

[jwsqrdplus2]

I feel your pain Kissimmee JP. My oldest DD is 4.5 (youngest still in diapers), and we are in that exact same stage of training. Here is what seems to be working for me:

Last drink of the evening is with dinner (usually before 6pm) until milk at bedtime. She must try before bedtime (8 pm), then DH or I take her to the potty around 10 or 10:30 before we go to bed. She doesn't always wake up for her nighttime adventure, but she almost always uses the bathroom. Then she stays dry until she wakes up around 7am.

If we miss the late night bathroom break, one of us is up around 3am cleaning up a kid and bed!! Very motivating on our part! I'd rather sleep the night thru than change sheets at 3am!

Good luck!

 

[sha_lyn]

When DS had this problem I was told to not give him milk after lunch. The "ingredient" in milk that helps you relax, will also relax the bladder muscles, and it will cause the child to sleep deepr too. After we switched to juice for dinner and water after that, he stopped wetting the bed.

 

[kinlaw6450]

What time do they go to bed? or you for that matter. I used to put DS to bed between 8-8:30. Then at 11 when I went to bed I took him to the bathroom. After about 8 weeks he started getting up by himself at 11. Now he does it jsut about every night!

 

[Kissimmee JP]

They're in bed by 8:45...asleep by 9:15...you know how that goes. Any earlier and they won't lay down; any later and they won't wake up in the morning.

I'm hoping that they start getting up on their own, but at this point, I just don't know.

Thanks for the suggestions....keep em coming. Maybe if I use ALL of them, I'll make some headway.

 

[tiggerlover]

My DS is almost 7 and still has an ocassional accident at night (DH was a bed wetter and it is hereditary, docs say not to worry until after age 9). Pullups didn't work for us, as someone said it was almost like giving him permission to have an accident, so we stopped that very quickly when DS was 4. We also tried the nose spray for DS, tried it on three seperate nights and it didn't work for us, but I know some who have had success with it. We do limit beverages after dinner, usually DS is not allowed a drink after dinner unless it is a sip of water. DS goes to bed at 8 and must go to the bathroom before he goes to bed, then DH or I will take him to the bathroom again when we go to bed at 10:30 or 11:00.

Now the biggest thing I learned about this process was learned rather recently......sometimes kids do not know what it is like to really "have" to go to the bathroom. Once we explained to DS that at night his tummy would feel full then it was time to go to the bathroom DS was like "ohhhh" and the accidents are fewer and father in between, now they only happen if he has had something to drink late at night or he is really, really tired and just can't wake himself up.

Good luck, I remember the nights of interrupted sleep! My sleeping pattern has never been the same since.

 

[TigrLvsPooh]

My son is 3 1/2 and still wears pullups to bed. But 95% of the time his pullup is dry in the morning. He doesn't have anything to drink after dinner except a few sips of water. Sometimes he'll use the potty in the night, but usually he can sleep through without needing to go.

I wouldn't worry too much about your 4 year old, but I think I'd be concerned that your 6 year old is still not night trained. Have you talked to the ped? There could be some type of problem there.

Good Luck!

 

[cgcw]

This is going to sound strange unless you have heard of it before. When my DS8 was about 3, he started sounding as if he was snoring when he was awake. A trip to the Ear, Nose & Throat doctor confirmed that his adnoids were very enlarged. One of the questions the doctor asked during the diagnosis was whether or not my son was a bed wetter. I was surprised by the question. The doctor said that children with enlarged adnoids do not sleep well enough and don't fall into that deep, deep sleep they need in order for the bladder to sleep also. Therefore, the bed wetting happens.

We had his adnoids taken out a couple of weeks later. Low & behold, he's been dry ever since. Go figure.



by the way, our pediatrician said not to be concerned about bedwetting, especially for boys, until they are at least 6-7 years old.

 

[Kissimmee JP]

Like I said earlier, I'm really not concerned with my 6 y.o. He's dry 99.9% of the mornings. My 4 y.o. I can't get to recognize when he has to use the b.r. in the middle of the night.

I never really thought about getting them out of the pull up habit before now. I do so enjoy my sleep.

 

[BrerMom]

Our pediatrician said if he was still wet in the morning at age nine, let him know. In the meantime, as long as it didn't worry him or keep him from going to sleepovers, etc., it was something that could be dealt with when he was older.

I tried just letting him go to bed without a pull-up for a month along with most of the suggestions here (not the nose spray). I put the ball in his court. When he wanted to try the buzzer system that the pediatrician said we could use when he wanted to, he needed an extra hour of sleep a night because the buzzer went off every single hour. He chose to wear the pull-ups after more than a week of the buzzer. I was secretly glad because the rest of us weren't getting any sleep either. He just wasn't physically ready. He finally stopped wearing pull-ups to bed when he was almost 8 1/2.

I feel strongly that as long as they are dry during the day, it's only a problem at night if you make it a problem. I was more concerned with not making him self-conscious. He went to church camp and scout camp with his pull-ups in tow. Not a big deal.

If they can't stay dry without your waking them up and taking them, they may just not be ready.

 

[Mickey's sunshine]

I guess you will get to go through college all over again.

I dont have any serious advice for you sorry - dont have any rugrats of my own.