Potty Training Pants? - Des Moines,IA

Updated on February 13, 2012
H.1. asks from Des Moines, IA
13 answers

Preparing to potty train my 21 month old and wondering about using training pants (I saw Gerber ones at Target today ) - there were regular ones and waterproof ones. I guess I'm not sure the benefits of going one way or the other - does anyone have any insight or experience with these being helpful and how specifically did you use them?

THANKS!

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K.B.

answers from Waterloo on

We only used the trainning pants for sleeping times and if we had to go somewhere. It works best to train if you stay home as much as possible and let them feel the accidents. Good luck
PS if trainning a boy it makes it fun to pee outside.

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E.S.

answers from Dayton on

Surprising answers (to me).
I love the thick cotton training pants.
Never used the rubber covers-they look horribly uncomfortable.
And regular underwear...well you get pee on the floor. At least the thick ones prevent that.
I saved all mine and plan to use them for #2 and #3 so I don't think they were a bad investment at all.
The overpriced boxes of pull-ups...now those are a waste of money, imo.
GL!
My 21 month old is so not ready for that step yet. Lol. :)

1 mom found this helpful

J.S.

answers from Portland on

Thicker cotton training pants (not waterproof) are awesome for a child who is learning to use the toilet. They will feel if they are wet, but it doesn't make a big mess. They can pull them up or down. My daughter's school of 2-3 year olds specifically suggests these (ie the gerber ones) for "toilet learning". We were lucky enough to begin potty training in spring in California, so a lot of her earliest learning took place just naked from the waist down around the house and a potty always close at hand. The training pants came into play after a couple weeks of this. She's 2 1/2 now (started potty training around your little one's age) , still wearing diapers at night. Took awhile to get away from diapers at nap or on excursions. Best of luck. My main tip for potty training is to keep it low key and be patient. Oh, and if you want them to be an active participant, dress them to be able to remove their own clothes ( overalls, and tights can wait for awhile)

1 mom found this helpful

R.R.

answers from Los Angeles on

I used Gerber training pants with my three and they are great motivators as they allow your child to feel the wet and messes, AND you have the incentive of cool "big boy" underwear in a design he chooses when he can successfully wear the trainers without peeing or pooping in them ; )

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J.V.

answers from Chicago on

I love the gerber trainers when working with toddlers. They are great with boys too (since boys like to spray a little and then finish in the toilet).

I used cloth diapers, so I didn't need rubber waterproof ones, we just used our diapers.

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R.D.

answers from Richmond on

The thick cotton training pants do NOTHING.

One of my girlfriends gave me the waterproof one's for my son, you know, they're cotton on the inside, plastic on the outside... I'm so excited! I couldn't find them when my 2 daughters were potty training, and I know they're not comfortable, but that's going to be my plan B for potty training my son (like if we have to run to the store).

Pull ups are still, hands down, the best ever for potty training (up until the point where they know it's still 'a diaper').

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A.N.

answers from Los Angeles on

We tried it with our 5 year old when he was potty training, it lasted about 2 days, and then we threw them out. He was uncomfortable and it's better to just start with underwear and go through it that way. We didn't even try it with our 3 year old when he was potty training and he potty trained within a couple of weeks. You will have to deal with wet clothes, poopy underwear, etc, but it's all part of potty training and well worth it. Good luck!

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M.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

You can try the waterproof training pants but it really depends on your child whether or not they will work. I simply switched to underpants because like Mamyof2 said many kids will assume they are in a diaper and then they will use it as a diaper! I could never use the training pants or pullups consistently with my kids because it felt like a diaper to them and I just couldn't get them out of that mentality.

What I did was have potty time at home every day at specific times (after breakfast and then after nap for a few hours.) If we were headed out on an errand or busy day I just put them in a waterproof training pant or pullup. At the beginning of potty time we would read a potty book or watch a short potty video or sing a song (so much potty fun - haha) then use the potty. Then they got free time in the house to (hopefully) play and use it on their own. As they got better we progressed to being in undies all day at home and on short errands where I knew there would be easy access to a potty. If we were headed out on a marathon in the car or a park with no potty it was still a pullup/training pant just in case! I can only scrub the carseat so many times a week. I would tell them if you keep that pullup dry you get a treat when we get home! Pretty soon they could hold it longer and we dropped the outing-just-in-case pullup. Some might think I'm lazy but you know it beats cleaning up a puddle of pee at the store or shampooing my car twice a week. My kids learned to go on the potty at about 22 mos but really couldn't hold it long until about 28 mos. So it had to be instant access to a potty at all times!

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E.T.

answers from Rochester on

I bought them for our daughter and never used them. With both of our kids we have used a combination of underwear and pull ups. I know that a lot of people don't like pull ups, but for us they worked. We are on the go a lot and the pull ups were better than having to change underwear and pants if we were out somewhere. Pull ups were easier to get on and off when we did go potty. The key is taking time to go potty every 20 minutes or so. You can gradually increase the amount of time inbetween. Be prepared for extra laundry and buy more underwear than you think you will need. Sweat type pants are also nice to use. They are easier to get on and off and are more absorbant.

Y.C.

answers from Orlando on

I didn't use potty trained pants with neither of my kids. On my kids case, what ever I put besides underwear they would still use them as diapers.
I just either put them on underwear or nothing, but I still use diapers for night time for my 3 year old, she almost never wet them but I think she is not ready to don't use any at night yet.

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E.T.

answers from Albuquerque on

Nah, they're not worth it. You can totally use them, and they'll take the place of regular underpants... but why spend the money? The theory behind them is that they give kids the opportunity to feel wet before the pee starts dripping down their legs. But in practice it's just an additional step that you don't need.

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S.L.

answers from Philadelphia on

I had no idea there were so many differing view points on this, but I'll throw in my 2 cents for what it's worth. When we potty trained my son I used diapers at night and that was it. During the day for the first month we used nothing, no training pants, no underwear and definitely no pull ups. He wore elastic waist pants for easy up and down to get to the potty quickly and underwear was 1) too hard for him to get up and down and 2) feels a lot like a diaper. Plus having an accident with nothing on but pants feels pretty darn gross. After about 3-4 weeks he went to big boy underwear. I can see the appeal of cotton training pants because they still feel they are wet and they absorb something, so you have less mess to clean up, but I didn't think they would help with furthering potty training, just make things a little more convenient for me. Even for outings we carried a little potty in the car and pulled over when he had to go. It's extra work for you, but I think they learn more quickly if you are consistent all of the time.

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A.V.

answers from Washington DC on

We used the non waterproof ones. I had bumgenius covers if I really needed to use something and when I really got down to training her, it was mostly at home. We did buy the vinyl pants for the county pool rules but they were enormous and unruly for regular use (will be so glad to have her potty trained this summer!). DD likes the Gerber ones, but we also used a lot of straight panties (Hanes) because I had to change a lot anyway. I also picked her pants for ease of use and absorbancy. ;) Oh, and get some pet spray, like Nature's Miracle. Never bothered with pull ups. It's still diapers at night and panties in the day.

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