All parents want to go to sleep assured that their toddler will have a good, dry and restful night too. This, however, is not always the case – accidents can happen all the way up until pre-school age and it's actually your child’s body that dictates when it's time to stay dry for an entire night. Until your child’s body is ready, there's no point trying to hurry the process. The ability to stay dry at night has to do with hormones and will gradually develop over time.

On average it takes about ten months after becoming dry in the daytime to become dry at night too. Once your child’s nappy remains dry a couple of nights in a row, it may be time to start ditching the night-time nappy. At this point, put a plastic sheet on the bed and be prepared for a few accidents. If there are too many accidents and your toddler needs more time, put the nappy on again. Just like anything this phase in your toddler’s life requires an adjusting period.

Many parents wake their toddlers up to pee before going to bed themselves. This really isn’t necessary since your child should be learning to wake themselves up when they feel they need to go the toilet. Interrupting their sleep is also not always the best idea, as some toddlers may have a difficult time falling back to sleep. Having said this, many families find this method useful, as an extra precaution. As anything in parenting goes – if it works for you that’s all that matters. Each child and each family is different.

If your child reaches pre-school age and a wet night is still a constant occurrence consider consulting your GP.