Nighttime training is difficult because it depends on your child's ability to hold urine for an extended period of time and how deeply s/he sleeps. The urge to go may be difficult for them to notice when sleeping, so getting up in the middle of the night may not happen for them.

To combat these factors, here are a list of recommended steps to help get your child started on the right foot:

1. Limiting fluid intake before bed. This isn’t to say you should deny a thirsty child a drink of water, but the reality is that if there’s nothing in their little body to expel, they won’t release as much. If you haven't ended night bottles, now is probably the time to do so.
2. Keep bedtime calm and consistent. When kids are excited, they tend to produce more urine. Keep her/him calm by having a quiet conversation or reading a story to them.
3. Before your child goes to bed, we always recommend having them try to go to the bathroom one more time. Even if they say they don't have to go, try anyway. Your child might SAY one thing but when they sit on the potty they go!
4. We strongly recommend NOT using diapers at night. Diaper elimination is a standard daytime best practice. Putting your child back in a diaper at night can send a mixed message. Additionally, since diapers leave a child feeling dry even after an accident, they do nothing to train your child to wake up and move to the bathroom when starting to feel wet. Initially, you should probably start with a diaper at night with praise in the morning for a dry diaper, but soon after that, put them in an alternative like Peejamas.
5. Be alert for unexpected nightly visits. While your child gets used to underwear at night, s/he may have an accident and then wake up before you do. Exhausting as it may be, this is great progress for the child and further reinforces the impact of communicating with your child about what it feels like to soil their pants.
6. Make sure the way to the bathroom is lit, even if only with night-lights. Draw a map with your child showing the way from the bed to the bathroom to help form a visual image. You may want to invest in an automatic sensor light in the bathroom that comes on automatically when someone enters the room.
7. Keep the house warm enough so the child won't avoid getting up because it's too cold. You can return to energy cost-savings later. :)
8. If it is easier for your child, consider keeping a potty chair near your child's bed.
9. Practice "positive imagining” as you put your child to sleep. Help a child imagine staying dry all night and waking up dry in the morning. Talk about the pleasure of feeling dry, in control and grown- up.
10. Try whispering "dry" ideas into the ear of a sleeping child. Psychologists say children are often receptive to such “idea planting" during certain periods of sleep.

So, there you have them, 10 ways to avoid peeing the bed while potty training. If you’re looking for ways to prevent nighttime peeing, we hope this blog gets you moving in the right direction!

Our suggestion? Peejamas are the best overnight training pants solution as they will hold ~10 oz of liquid, or about 2-3 releases at night. They look like regular pajamas but when soiled, can simply be washed and reused. Check them out HERE.