2.2 Signs Your Child Is Ready- Day and Night

Day vs Night Readiness

It is common for daytime potty training to be achieved before nighttime readiness. Many children can be trained to use the potty during the day long before they consistently stay dry throughout the night, sometimes spanning several months or even years. This is developmentally appropriate and therefore it is important to approach day and night potty training as two separate processes. Most children are able to achieve daytime dryness between their 2nd and 3rd year of life, whereas night dryness is achieved between ages 3 and 7 with the majority of children dry by their 4th year of life.

Day (Awake) Readiness

• Cognitive Development: Daytime control often relates to a child's increasing awareness of body signals and their ability to understand and act upon them. They learn to recognise the sensation of a full bladder, the need to go to the toilet and how to relax and contract muscles appropriately for toileting.

• Motor Development: As children grow, they become more adept at physical tasks such as getting to the bathroom quickly, pulling down pants and using the toilet.

Night Readiness

• Brain-bladder Communication: For nighttime control, the brain and bladder must communicate more effectively. The child's nervous system needs to recognise a full bladder signal during sleep and either wake the child or hold urine until morning.

• Antidiuretic Hormone (ADH): As children grow, their bodies increase the production of ADH. This hormone helps the body to concentrate urine, enabling it to retain urine throughout the night. For some children, the production of this hormone is lower until they reach between 4-7 years old which can result in a longer timeframe to achieve nighttime dryness compared to daytime.

• Bladder Growth and Control: Achieving dryness at night demands both an expanded bladder capacity and enhanced muscle control due to the extended period urine needs to be held. Both of these aspects tend to improve as a child grows but may not be adequate at the same timepoint as daytime dryness.

Awake Readiness

Before embarking on the process of potty training it is important to ensure your child meets the following checklists.

Awake Readiness Checklist:

• Is at least 2 years old

• Can talk or communicate their needs (e.g. through sign/flashcards)

• Can wash their hands with little or no help

• Can follow simple instructions (e.g. take this to the table)

  Plus one of the following:

• Shows signs to adults when they do a poo (i.e. squatting, pulls a face or asks to be changed immediately after)

  Or

• Is neurotypical and over 3.5 years

Sleep Readiness

Sleep readiness is split between naptime readiness and nighttime readiness.

Some important points to note are:

• Poo-free nappies generally happen before going dry and soon after initial day-time training

• Sleep dryness can take months/ sometimes years after initial training due to antidiuretic hormone production (ADH)

• Males generally take longer to make sufficient ADH hormone compared to females

• If a child is still not dry by age 7 then seek help/advice from medical professionals

Before embarking on the process of potty training during sleep it is important to ensure your child is dry during the day and meets the following checklists.

Nap Readiness Checklist:

• Accident-free awake hours for two weeks continuously

• Uses the toilet/potty without being reminded

• Wakes dry from nap a few times weekly

Night Readiness Checklist:

• Accident-free daytime hours for two weeks continuously  (including naps)

• Uses the toilet/potty without being reminded

• Has transitioned to pull-ups instead of nappies during night sleep and does not leak through

• Wakes dry a few times weekly