You have a lot of nighttime potty training options at your disposal (pun intended), so it can be overwhelming to figure out what will give you the most bang for your buck. Budgets are a little tighter nowadays, so finding a frugal (yet functional) solution to bedwetting is probably at the top of your list.

(Pixabay / SofiLayla)

Unfortunately, there are many factors to consider that might not make one option the best option for every circumstance. There are inevitably pros and cons to each, so we’ve put together a list of available products to help you decide what will work well for your family.

What causes nighttime bedwetting in the first place?

Bedwetting is profoundly personal and also deeply individualized. It’s not usually an active choice to wet the bed (though childhood anxiety could have a supporting role), and many times genetics play a substantial role in nocturnal enuresis (a fancy way to say “wetting the bed”). If your child frequently has accidents during the night, the chances are good that you or your partner has a family tree with other bedwetters.

Other possible causes of nocturnal enuresis include

• constipation
• overly deep sleepers
• changing seasons
• developmental age
• personality
• hormone imbalances
• dietary and drinking habits during the day

The main thing to remember is nighttime bedwetting can be highly traumatic and stressful (for everyone involved), so try your best to stay calm as you clean up.

The Options

And now on to that closer look at options for dealing with bedwetting we promised earlier in the blog. Please realize the below methods to help contain accidents is not “enabling” your child to keep wetting the bed. On the contrary, helping your child wake up with a dry bed can be incredibly empowering, confidence-boosting, and motivating.

Do Nothing

This may seem like the cheapest option, but there are actually several hidden costs. One is needing to wash sheets, mattress protectors, undies, and pajamas more often and thoroughly than your regular wash cycle. Additionally, the stress of having to strip down and re-dress both kids and beds in the middle of the night can take a mental and emotional toll on you and your child(ren).

Disposable Nighttime Pants

Disposable nighttime pants are a great option for convenience sake – simply peel it off and chuck it in the garbage when it’s wet. The special gel and padding can hold significant amounts of urine, so your child isn’t sitting in a puddle all night long. They’re also easy and discrete to pack for overnight trips, and you don’t have to worry about hauling sopping wet panties and pajamas home to wash.

The downside to disposable is that they are expensive - easily 50 cents a piece – and you may need to use two per night depending on your child’s habits. Unless you’re a good gambler, your kid will need to wear one every night, whether he/she has an accident or not, and you can’t reuse it the next day. Since so much of bedwetting depends on inconsistent outside factors, using disposables can end up being money down the toilet (again, pun intended).

Reusable Nighttime Pants

Reusable cloth overnight training pants are the latest in wearable bedwetting clothing. The special absorbent padding keeps nighttime accidents contained within the pants, so your child wakes up in a dry bed. Your kid will still feel wet (triggering them to get up and go to the potty), but the sheets, blankets, and mattress pads will stay dry.

These alternatives to cloth diapers can seem expensive upfront, but when you realize how long they last, you start raking in the savings sooner than you’d think. A single pair of Peejamas bottoms remains absorbent after 300 washes, which makes them cost about 7 cents per use. Compared to disposable nighttime panties that average about 50 cents per day, you break even after about six weeks of using reusable pants (and you still have 260 more washes out of them).

Not only are reusable pants like Peejamas more cost-effective, but they’re also more environmentally friendly, and they keep chemicals commonly found in disposable pants away from your child’s sensitive skin.

The only real downside to reusable nighttime pants is that, for the most part, they don’t work for heavy wetters. Peejamas can hold around 10 ounces of fluid without a problem, but heavy wetters will probably have leakage. Other heavy-duty reusable nighttime pants can hold up to 33 ounces of fluid, but at around $100 per pair, they are cost-prohibitive to many parents.

Another Wearable Option for Heavy Wetters

Diaper booster pads are a miracle for every parent of a heavy wetter. They can work in conjunction with any of the other options to help your kid wake up with a dry bed in the morning. Essentially, they are an extra pad you can put into your child’s undergarment of choice – whether regular panties or disposable – that will soak up extra liquid and prevent accidents from leaking onto the bed.

There are both disposable and reusable options for diaper booster pads, and the pros and cons are the same as those for disposable and reusable nighttime pants.

Wetting the bed isn’t the end of the world, and most of the time children will outgrow it on their own as they get older. If nighttime enuresis is something that your child struggles with, absorbent nighttime pants could be a great option to help you and your child be successful.