Nighttime Potty Training Q&A with Allison Jandu

 

Nighttime Potty Training with 

The Potty Training Consultant, Allison Jandu

If you’ve been hanging around the Little Z’s Podcast, you may already be familiar with Allison Jandu, The Potty Training Consultant! Just like my role as a Sleep Consultant, Allison uses online courses and one-on-one coaching to help parents navigate potty training so it doesn’t have to…stink 😆…her words, not mine! Allison is a tremendous wealth of knowledge and so we had her on Instagram to do a Q&A session! Once she wrapped up, we knew we HAD to transcribe this and share it on the blog!

AND today Allison has a new book, Potty Training For Busy Parents available on Amazon!!

Q: 2 year old – night train while he’s still in a crib or wait until he’s in a bed?

A: This is probably one of the questions I get asked the most. Being in a crib isn’t a deal breaker for nighttime potty training. In fact, I did it with my own daughter! BUT, if your child is older and you had any plans of transitioning to a bed, do that BEFORE you start this process.

Q: What age should kids be able to get through the night without peeing?

A: This varies for every child. It largely depends on hormonal development. However, you can help your child learn how to wake up and pee in the potty if they need to. So you can still get dry nights!

Q: How do you know when your child is ready to night train? What are signs that they can hold it?

A: Staying dry through naps or for longer than a two-hour period during the day, the ability to hold their bladder once they express the need to go potty until they can get to a bathroom, waking in the night due to a full diaper, having occasional dry diapers overnight and ages 4 or older.

Q: How do you night train older kids (6 years and older)

A: If you aren’t able to get results with standard nighttime potty training practices, you might want to try a bedwetting alarm. These alarms alert your child, via sound or vibration, at the first signs of wetness so they can get to the bathroom before fully voiding. If used consistently, they have great results. I can also develop a customized plan for you to help get the job done!

Q: My 3-year-old wakes up to pee between 12a-2a. We limit liquids. What else can we do?

A: If they are waking up and making it to the potty, then that’s great! Not needing to pee for the entire night will come with hormonal development, improved muscle control and increased bladder control. So, in other words, it comes with time. But try a “double void” before bed. Pee once at the beginning of bedtime routine and again just before getting into bed. This ensures the bladder is as empty as possible.

Q: How do you handle your child asking to use the potty to stall going to bed? My child uses the potty before bed and then asks again right away.

A: Kids are master manipulators! The best thing to do in this case is to allow them ONE extra chance to use the potty. Like a “get out of bed pass” because if they really do need to go again and you don’t allow them to, it can result in an accident! But giving fair warning that they only get one other opportunity meets both of your needs. If they ask beyond that one time, you can gently remind them that they already used their pass and now it’s time for bed 😉

Ready to prepare for night potty training? Here are Allison’s top tips!

• Every day for 1 week, check on your child about 20 minutes before they normally wake up and feel how wet their diaper is. A lot of kids wait to pee first thing when they wake up in the morning, giving false impression that they’ve been peeing all night long. If it is fully saturated, you can either wait a little while (as long as it isn’t affecting their daytime progress), or you can take a more active role in the training process.

• Limit fluids after dinnertime

• Implement what is called a “Double Void” — Have your child pee once at the start of your bedtime routine and again right before getting into bed

• For step-by-step guidance on nighttime potty training, check out my book, The Wee Hours! 

Thank you, Allison for sharing your expertise with Little Z’s!