Is it normal…….

for my child not to be dry at night?

Potty training is a major milestone for your little one. If they are using the potty regularly and recognising when they need to go during the day, they probably feel very proud of themselves. But night time is different.

In fact, it's best to think of night time dryness as a separate but related milestone on a potty training timeline. It's completely normal for it to take months, or even years, longer for a child's body to mature enough for reliable night time dryness.

How can I tell whether my child’s ready to be dry at night?

Unless your child has been dry during the day for at least six months, it may be too soon to expect them to stay dry at night. Signs that they are ready to try switching to underwear at night may include:

• Using the bathroom independently during the day, without having to be asked if she needs to go

• Consistently waking up dry in the morning

• Waking up at night to go to the bathroom by herself or to tell you she needs to go

Trust your instincts. If your child seems like they are ready, let them try it. Be positive but remind them that it's normal to have accidents.

Why does night time dryness take longer than daytime dryness?

Night time dryness may sound simple, but there's a lot that has to happen in your child's body before he/she reaches this milestone on a potty training timeline. These are physical changes, and they take longer in some children than in others. Just like the timing of his first tooth, night time dryness is a physical development that happens at its own pace and can't be rushed.

To stay dry all night, your child has to either sleep through the night without urinating or wake up to go to the bathroom. Both require physical development beyond what's needed to stay dry during the day.

For your child to sleep through the night without urinating, their bladder must be able to hold the urine they make during the night. To help this happen, the body needs to produce a hormone that slows down urine production. As a result, there's less urine, but it's more concentrated. Children who wet the bed may not yet be producing enough of this hormone.

For your child to wake up to go to the bathroom during the night, their full bladder has to be able to send a strong enough signal to his brain to wake them up. At the same time, the brain must be able to control the muscles around the bladder to stop them from urinating until they reach the bathroom. Again, these are physical developments that happen in their own time.

At First Steps we are always happy to help with the potty training timeline and just remember every child is different.