Still Using a Diaper at Nap Time?
“When can we ditch diapers for naps and night?”
I get asked this question a lot, so let's get you some clarity!
If your toddler is totally rocking the potty during the day but still wearing a diaper at nap time — that’s completely normal!
Potty training follows a pretty predictable order, and it looks like this:
Daytime awake first. Daytime asleep second. Nighttime last.
Why does it happen in that order?
It all comes down to the nervous system. Staying dry while asleep requires the brain and body to communicate in a more advanced way than staying dry while awake. And this develops gradually over time (one at a time)… instead of like a light switch that flips on overnight.
So if your toddler is nailing it on the potty during the day but still waking up with a soaked diaper at nap time, their nervous system is still developing. And that's completely okay!
When you're ready to make the switch
There's one thing that needs to be in place first before you ditch sleep diapers — your toddler needs to already be in a toddler bed.
Here's the thing most people don't think about: the goal of sleep potty training isn't to have your toddler hold it for 10 or 12 hours straight. Most of us get up once during the night to pee. That's just normal human stuff. So the goal for your toddler is exactly the same — wake up, feel the urge, and get to the potty. Just like we do!
And for that to work, they need to actually be able to get there. A crib makes that impossible (or encourages them to yeet themselves over the side to get to a potty).
A toddler bed gives them the independence to respond to what their body is telling them. That's the whole skill you're building!
So how do you know if you're close?
Ask yourself two things:
Is my toddler consistently dry during all awake hours?
Are they sleeping in a toddler bed?
If yes to both — that's your green light to start thinking about making the switch! If you're not there yet on one or both, keep the diaper on for now. There's no rush, and no amount of pushing it will speed up how their nervous system develops.
What comes next
Once you're ready to make the transition, there's a whole process for setting your toddler up for success — how to talk to them about it, how to set up their sleep environment, what to do when accidents happen, and how to troubleshoot when it's just not clicking.
If you want the full step-by-step for ditching diapers — daytime and sleep — the Potty Training Playfully guide walks you through all of it in plain, easy-to-follow language.