Potty Training Pants
If you are thinking about starting to toilet train your toddler or have been potty training for a while but are still having frequent accidents you might be considering potty training pants and wondering if they are any good and worth the investment.
Potty training is not an overnight task, children generally don’t suddenly stop wearing nappies and get the need to use a toilet straight away. For most kids, it takes somewhere between 3 and 6 months to potty train, although it can take more or less time depending on the child, and will often take longer if you start them before they are ready.
This means there is generally quite a long period of time where accidents happen fairly frequently. Children and parents tend to be keen not to use nappies once potty training has started, and yet without the protection of a nappy there can be a lot of outfit changes and a lot of cleaning of carpets and upholstery.
And this is where potty training pants come in. Potty training pants offer a midpoint between nappies and pants. They are easy to pull up and down meaning toddlers can use the potty without needing a parent to take off their nappy first. But they are absorbent so that if they don’t make it in time you don’t end up with soggy clothes and a puddle on the floor.
Potty training pants are also designed to ensure your child can feel when they are wet which encourages them to associate the feelings of needing to go to the toilet with being wet in a way that doesn’t happen with nappies that are designed to quickly absorb the liquid and keep them feeling dry and fresh.
While the very best option might be to be able to let your little one’s potty train outside naked from the waist down so they can see and feel when they are wet with minimal clean up required this is not always an option. And so training pants can be very useful in helping children learn in the most empowering way possible.
Different Styles of Training Pants
There are two main types of reusable potty training pants. Absorbent pants like the Bambino Mio potty training pants that look and feel like big kid pants but have an absorbent and a waterproof layer to keep clothes socks and shoes dry. They are really easy to use and perfect for minimising clean up while still letting children feel wet so they begin to learn when they need to go.
Alternatively there are two-part designs like the Flip potty training pants. These combine a waterproof outer cover with an absorbent liner. Again they are designed to be pulled up and down by toddlers, but the Flip version does also have poppers meaning they can be opened up for easy changing if there’s a poo that doesn’t quite make it to the toilet. Again they let children feel wet but with this design, you can simply replace the liner when there’s an accident. You can also add absorbency which can be great for car journeys or other occasions when you know you might need a little more protection but would rather not revert back to a nappy.
Nappy Extras
Next Up: The Difference Between Potty Training Pants and Pull Ups
