If there is anything I have learnt from being a mum, it’s that children do things in their own time. I have wasted a lot of time in the past, wondering when my kids will do this and do that, only to realise it was out of my control and they would do it when they were ready.
A perfect example of this is when Harvey turned 2 years old and we started to do toilet training with him. It was a disaster. He clearly wasn’t ready and instead of it being an empowering experience for him, it was something that made him uneasy and resistant. So, we decided stop with the training and try again later, when he was a little more interested. Then one day, when he was closer to 3 years old, he came up to us and said he wanted to wear underpants like daddy. We explained that he needed to use the toilet if he wanted to wear underpants and just like that, he got it. He was enthusiastic, excited and completely ready.
Harvey only wanted to wear ‘pants’ from that day so I took him to the shops and got some special day-time undies. I showed him the Huggies DryNites pyjama ‘pants’ and explained that these were his special pants for during night and he was so proud to wear them. Although he was using the toilet during the day, we had a long way to go before he would be able to stay dry through the night. Still, I knew eventually that it would be something that he would get the hang of.
Although toilet training is a great accomplishment for both the child and their parents, I have learnt that bedwetting is extremely common and can continue for years. It is just another thing that they will do in their own time and the best thing we can do as parents is to put in the best measures for this transition to ensure it’s not embarrassing or unsettling for them.
I haven’t put too much emphasis on night time for Harvey but we have started to implement good routines and practices to build up his skills to help him wake up and find the toilet at night or stay dry through until the morning. Another training tactic to guide Harvey into toilet training is asking him hold his bladder for a short period of time during the day so that he understands the process of bladder control.
After dinner, I always encourage Harvey to use the bathroom before his shower and then we move on to reading some books. After the last book, we use the bathroom again and then I show Harvey that we are leaving the toilet light on for him and we also have a night light in his room, so he can see the way if he needs to go during the night. With Huggies DryNites, Harvey’s ‘special night pants’, I know that if he didn’t wake, he is still going to get a long, unbroken night’s sleep. And us parents will too as we are not up in the middle of the night, changing sheets and bed hopping!
To our surprise, Harvey has woken a couple of times at about 4am to let us know he needs to go to the bathroom and then goes back to sleep! It’s not every night but it’s a great start. It may be years before Harvey doesn’t wet the bed and that’s ok. In the meantime, he will be dreaming big and having a wonderful sleep through the night. When he is a little older, he will be able to go to sleepovers without any embarrassing moments, all thanks to Huggies DryNites.
Huggies DryNites Pyjama Pants are available now in Woolworths, Big W, Coles and Amazon.
