If you have been following along on my InstaStories this past summer, you will remember seeing one of the many adventures we went on was with our friends at GoodNites for a night stay at Long Point Eco Adventure Camp to learn all about overnight potty training.
It was such a fun-filled two days with our little family, joining other influencer families in this “glamping” setting.
Truthfully, you never know what to fully expect when you go to events, especially overnight ones where the kids are invited too. We had actually gone one night earlier as we were coming back from our time at the cottage and didn’t want to trek all the way home. Unfortunately that first night, the camp only had one of their pods available for the family as there was another group staying in the wilderness suites. While they are super cute, clean and brand-spanking new, I wouldn’t recommend them for a family of five. They would be perfect for two adults with maybe one child. It also happened to be deadly hot that night, so let’s just say…it was a very long night all huddled together in the heat.
However, the next day, we moved over to their tents and it was a night-and-day difference! Complete with TWO queen size beds, a bathroom and an outdoor shower…we were truly in glamping heaven!
The whole two days were jam-packed full of awesome adventures for the family including fishing for the kids, bonfires, nature hikes to see beehives and the list goes on. One of my absolute favorite highlights of the getaway was when all the kids gathered round in a circle to listen to child and family therapist Michelle Kambolis talk to the kids about their fears and introduced the amazing worry eaters! These dolls are amazing! Kids can write down their fears and stuff it into the mouths of the dolls and zip them away! All three kids still use them to this day. I joked that I need an adult worry eater for my own worries! You can click HERE to grab one for your kids today! (PS. they are on SALE!)
Most importantly, the getaway was to learn all about potty training, specifically overnight bed wetting.
To be totally honest, I never planned to do a full blog post about it as that wasn’t required, however, as a three-time-potty-training-momma, I was SHOCKED by what I heard and I knew I had to share it with the momma’s who read this blog.
So let’s start by saying all three kids of mine have potty trained in a completely different way.
My first, it was really my mom who can take the credit for that one. She showed up one weekend for a visit with little Disney princess undies when my daughter was two and a half years old, told her it was time to pee on the potty and that was IT! Almost zero accidents and she very quickly graduated to overnight trained too.
My second was COMPLETELY opposite! He REFUSED to potty train. He said he wanted to wait til he was FOUR! Um, hello, NO! His birthday isn’t until the end of August and he was starting Junior Kindergarten a week later, so we KNEW we couldn’t wait that long. My husband and I even joked about throwing him an early birthday party that Spring to fool him into thinking he was four sooner. Don’t judge…you would have too!! Thankfully, we didn’t have to. He was going to preschool three days a week and after seeing a few of his classmates use the bathroom, he started wanting to go on his own. Overnight potty training came relatively easily for him. I honestly can’t remember how long it was after, but I feel like it was quick and painless!
With our third, it was more that I wasn’t ready. He had a bit of resistance, but I knew that once I set my mind to it, he would be able to tackle it just fine. And that’s exactly what happened. One day this summer, I woke up and decided it was time. He had a couple accidents the first day but almost none after that. He is a pretty independent child, so he was able to on his own fairly easily.
But for my last guy, we’ve found that overnight potty training has NOT come easily like the other two. I’ve heard lots of moms talk about how they just forced their kids to tackle both at one time. I personally have never done that, as I mentioned the older two kids seemed to be dryer right from get go. But not with our third.
I’ll be honest, overnight training is one of those things that stresses me out because having to get up in the night to change an entire BED rather than just throwing a pair of wet underpants in the wash is so exhausting.
But here’s the thing that I learned at the overnight GoodNites camp that BLEW MY MIND – kids are considered potty trained when they are DAY trained. Night time potty training is a completely separate thing which many children don’t have control over. As parents, we’ve been trained to reward kids for staying dry – which can work during the day – but it’s completely different with nighttime. Learning to hold your pee at night is something that a child grows into – not something that can be taught through a reward system. This can take years for children to learn – even kids as old as 12 struggle with nighttime wetting. Parents can get frustrated, kids can get embarrassed and that makes for a tough situation for everyone.
I was so blown away by this information, especially after having potty trained two previous kids. They will outgrown nighttime wetting ONCE their body and mind are ready, not after enough accidents or reinforcement systems are in place. It’s an involuntary process that your child has NO control over. MIND BLOWN!
So, with that said, we celebrated with our youngest that he was in fact potty trained and we stopped using regular diapers for bedtime, but rather have started using GoodNites and we call them his “nighttime undies.” If I say diaper by mistake, he will correct me and say, “No Mom, these are my bedtime underwear!”
It’s been a complete shift and has honestly taken the pressure off of us and my son to master bedtime potty training. Some nights he wakes up completely dry and some nights the GoodNites are wet. Either way, everyone is totally fine and happy!
So I would encourage you, if you are having any issues with overnight wetting…maybe take a step back and rethink the whole thing. There shouldn’t be shame or frustration or embarrassment with this issue. It’s just part of growing up for the child and some may take longer than others.
Try pull-ups such as GoodNites and let everyone rest easy tonight!
