Potty training

and Sabine Schrör, medical journalist Updated on

Nicole Wendler holds a PhD in biology in the field of oncology and immunology. As a medical editor, author and proofreader, she works for various publishers, for whom she presents complex and extensive medical issues in a simple, concise and logical manner.

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Sabine Schrör is a freelance writer for the medical team. She studied business administration and public relations in Cologne. As a freelance editor, she has been at home in a wide variety of industries for more than 15 years. Health is one of her favorite subjects.

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With potty training, parents hope for nappy-free times as quickly as possible. But for the change to work at all, the child must first be able to control their bladder. Here you can find out at what age this requirement is met, when is the right time to start toilet training, and how the little ones get dry at night too.

Toilet training

Through targeted toilet training, parents try to wean their offspring from the diaper. Today, cleanliness education can take a little longer than it used to be. Thanks to the modern disposable diaper, the baby does not immediately sit in the water. And the parents are also relieved.

Potty training or waiting?

Some parents choose to wait until their child refuses to use the diaper on their own. This can work in individual cases, but it doesn't always work. Theoretically, the child can wear diapers beyond the age of three. But then it may be laughed at by other, already dry, peers. Potty training too early, on the other hand, can overwhelm the child and sometimes have the opposite effect, so that some children hold back the chair.

Potty training: when to potty?

It is only between the 18th and 24th month that nerve tracts form between the brain and the urinary bladder or intestine (pyramidal tracts). Only then does a baby feel its full bladder or the pressure on the rectum. In addition, anatomical structures such as the sphincter muscle must be intact, and the neurogenic control (from the brain via the nerve tracts) must function in order to be able to control the bladder and intestines.

For most children, toilet training and potty training only make sense from the end of the second year of life. A Swiss study was able to show that children who are put on the potty a year earlier are not likely to become dry (Remo Largo 2007).

Potty training: when do children get dry?

From the first potty training to getting dry, it takes time and patience. Some offers on the Internet promise that children will be dry in three days. This may work for one or the other child, but it is not a universal recipe. In addition to the willingness of the child, everything must anatomically be ready for the bladder and bowel control.

Between the ages of two and three, the majority of children master potty training during the day. However, it often takes a few months before potty training is also fruitful at night. By the age of about four, most children generally manage to control their bladder and bowels, and things rarely go wrong.

Incidentally, bowel control is easier for a child than control of the bladder, as it feels the pressure in the rectum more clearly than the urge to urinate.

Potty training: how do I get my child dry?

If your child is around one and a half to two years old and is interested in using the toilet, the time has come to start potty training. If your child finds the toilet completely unexciting, you can help a little to arouse interest.

But how do you get rid of the diaper? Most children find "pee" and "poop" interesting by nature and, fascinated, press the flush button to see how everything disappears in the toilet.

Buy a fancy potty together that he likes and can be used anywhere in the home. Some children want to go to the right toilet just like the "big ones", then an attachment on the toilet bowl is a good choice. Funny soap dispensers and damp toilet paper in a colorful children's box help with toilet training.

Getting your child dry: tips for potty training

The best way to get your child used to the potty is if you take a playful approach: let the teddy bear or doll do a "pee", try sitting before bathing or read something aloud during the session. Basically, potty training should not take place at a certain time. After all, your child should develop a feeling for when they "have to" and not when it is time or the alarm clock goes off. The following tips make potty training easier:

1. Praise, praise, praise: Evaluate every success positively.
2. Keep a calendar of successful dry days or nights.
3. Support your child's independence.
4. Don't let your child sit on the potty for more than five minutes if nothing happens.
5. Refrain from negative statements about bowel movements ("Yuck", "Ugh") or if something went wrong.
6. No taboo when it comes to the toilet: Children learn by imitation and should know what happens in the toilet.
7. Practice the process: take off your trousers, sit down, wipe, rinse if necessary, get dressed and wash your hands.
8. Provide clothing that your child can take off quickly.
9. Buy inexpensive underpants that you can dispose of in the event of a big business mishap.
10. Training pants are easy to take off, but remain uncomfortably damp. That motivates the child.
11. Stay consistent, even on excursions: changing between diaper and underpants delays learning success.

Potty training: getting dry at night

Before children get dry at night, potty training must work during the day. Only when the offspring has the urge to urinate under control during the day is there a chance that it will also work during sleep. But even if many children successfully master potty training during the day, the bed often gets wet or the diaper full at night.

Reasons for this are:

1. The child sleeps deeply and does not feel the full bladder or bowel.
2. Increased urine production during sleep
3. Urine volume exceeds bladder capacity

Potty training: how do I get my child dry at night?

The following measures can help to ensure that potty training works overnight:

1. Remind child to go to the bathroom before going to bed
2. Short distances increase the success of getting dry at night: place the potty next to the bed before going to sleep.
3. Plastic overlay as mattress protection

Getting dry at night can take a little longer. So be patient!

No success with potty training?

With some children, potty training does not go as smoothly, and they often pee at the age of four (primary enuresis). Mostly, there are genetic reasons behind this when bladder control develops more slowly. A disorder of kidney function is only very rarely the cause. Sometimes frequent urinary tract infections (due to anatomical / neurological problems) also make it difficult to dry out.

But even if your child has been successful in potty training for a few months, there may be setbacks (secondary enuresis). Usually trauma or stress from new living conditions (daycare / school, new sibling, separation of parents, for example) are the reason for this.

Child does not get dry - what to do

Is your child older than four years, potty training is not working and your child still pees unusually often? Then you should ask a pediatrician for advice. He can clarify whether there are physical or emotional causes that are delaying cleaning.

Tips for urinary incontinence during the day

1. If a urinary tract infection is suspected: pathogen detection by a pediatrician
2. Check toilet habits: on the potty about 7 times a day
3. Training needs motivation: mark successful days positively in the calendar or reward every Klogang with a sticker
4. Immersed in the game, children forget about going to the toilet: send them to the toilet regularly or set the alarm clock
5. Keep a micturition diary with the amount consumed, the urination, etc.

Tips for bedwetting at night

1. Bell pants with moisture sensor sounds the alarm (for children from 5 years)
2. If necessary, set the alarm clock to put your child in the toilet at night

Therapy for urge, stress and laugh incontinence

Depending on whether the urine flow starts suddenly and strongly (urge incontinence), during stress (stress incontinence) or when laughing (laugh incontinence), there are different therapies and training programs. However, they must be professionally instructed:

1. Behavioral therapy for urge incontinence
2. Pelvic floor training for stress incontinence
3. Conditioning / medication for laughing incontinence
4. Bio-feedback training for urination disorders
5. Temporary medication if necessary (desmopressin)

Potty Training: Tips for Parents

As parents, you too are challenged with potty training. Stay positive and recognize your child's performance, even if something goes wrong every now and then: The will counts! Make yourself aware of what your child has to be able to do during potty training: from feeling the urge to finally washing their hands.

Show understanding if the bed gets wet again. Your child cannot help it, it cannot do anything about it while it sleeps. If fears trigger wetting, a lot of attention and love is required instead of pressure and blame. So deal with setbacks calmly. The most important things in potty training are patience, recognition and encouragement from parents.

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