How to night-train a 4.5 year old boy

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 10:12 am

My 4.5 year old son was toilet trained at 2 but he still had accidents at night. And it’s not just once in a while. He would wake up EVERY morning drenched and I just got tired of doing laundry every day and put him in pull-ups. He still wakes up with a very full diaper every morning. He is a very deep sleeper and when I tried to wake him up to go in the middle of the night he either wouldn’t wake up or wouldn’t get up to go. I am getting worried that he is so big and still sleeps in diapers. Any suggestions for a deep sleeper? Besides the obvious “no drinking before bed”. Thanks.

Isramom8

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 10:25 am

I'm starting my campaign after Pesach! (Oh, it is after Pesach. Well...next week then.)

1. The boys sleep in underwear only on the bottom (first the weather has to warm up).
2. Each gets a rubber sheet.
3. I lift them before I go to sleep and drag them under the arms to the toilet to use it.

SV, is your child using the pull-up upon awakening but dry all night? That's my kid's shtick.

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 10:31 am

Isramom8 wrote:

SV, is your child using the pull-up upon awakening but dry all night? That's my kid's shtick.

No I'm pretty sure he wets it throughout the night because he wakes up with a diaper that's bursting - it's huge and heavy and looks like it was used more than once.

Isramom8

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 10:34 am

I'm not going to limit fluids in central Israel in the spring and summer. Better a pull-up than an IV.

Mama Bear

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 12:06 pm

Take him to the bathroom, half asleep, about 2 hours after he falls asleep. that worked great for us.

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 12:57 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

Take him to the bathroom, half asleep, about 2 hours after he falls asleep. that worked great for us.

I can carry him to the bathroom but I can't force him to make. Did your son wake up once he was in the bathroom?

saw50st8

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 12:59 pm

Some kids aren't ready to night train. Better to just use pullups until they are ready IMO.

shoshina

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 1:22 pm

There are ways to limit fluids without courting dehydration. Our last drink of the night was measured out for us (I think it was about 2oz) so we wouldn't just keep drinking because the glass was full, but we wouldn't be thirsty. When we woke up in the summer we always had a big glass of water by the bed.

I agree with the wake up when you go to bed/two hours later/if you get up in the night. There is also a gadget one of the boys I babysat used, where a sensor detected wetness and gave a really loud alarm, which woke up the child and he could go to the bathroom. Of course it also woke up the other three boys in his room, but they only had to use it for a month or two.

Isramom8

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 2:50 pm

Mama Bear wrote:

Take him to the bathroom, half asleep, about 2 hours after he falls asleep. that worked great for us.

People are conditioned to urinate when they are placed in the usual circumstance, I.e. the cue of the toilet. In special-needs sleepaway camp we counselors used to lift the kids with cognitive impairment to use the toilet while half asleep, and it worked. (I hope no one here thinks that's terrible - we were told to do this for the kids' benefit.)

My son tried using an alarm but the pieces kept falling apart.

I want to try this method and see what happens. I'm concerned that the younger one will succeed and the older one will be envious.

Mama Bear

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 4:49 pm

there's no need to force a boy to make.... If I'd stand him in front of the toilet & pull his pj's down, he'd automatically go. he would be half-awake; I.e. aware that he is going ot the bathroom but not awake enough to start talking. he'd fall sleep the minute he was put back to bed. after 2-3 weeks of this, he BH woke up dry every single day (save for the occasional accident when he'd go to sleep very late, such as midnight, and be so tired he wouldnt wake up from the need to go.)

Mama Bear

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 4:51 pm

also, if he ever woke up in the middle of the night we'd take him to the bathroom. he usually needed to go, which is what woke him up, but he wasnt wide awake enough to realize why he was waking up. so that worked great too.

718

Wed, Apr 27 2011, 8:58 pm

SV wrote:

Mama Bear wrote:

Take him to the bathroom, half asleep, about 2 hours after he falls asleep. that worked great for us.

I can carry him to the bathroom but I can't force him to make. Did your son wake up once he was in the bathroom?

My son also resisted using when woken up, but as soon as they get used to it, its not an issue.
1) I try to give dinner at least a half hour before bedtime so that he has half hour with no major drinking.
2) I take him to the bathroom around midnight every night
3) discuss it with him- prepare him for midnight wake up calls etc.

Aribenj

Thu, Apr 28 2011, 2:53 pm

Isramom8 wrote:

3. I lift them before I go to sleep and drag them under the arms to the toilet to use it.
.

Hmmm.... I can see how this would work with a girl, since they're sitting and even if they fall asleep, they can still go... That's how I night trained DD. But I tried this with DD he was just too sleepy to stand, let alone pee... How do you get them to go if they're half asleep??