Sales on Potty-Training Pants in the Toilet
Categories: Toddlers, Safety, Development, Potty Training
Training pants sales are in the pooper. Credit: jenn_jenn, Flickr
The bottom has dropped out of training pants.
Blame the economy. It 's stinky. And so, apparently, are some children who are making uh-ohs in their britches without the benefit of a safety net.
That's because training pants have become something of a luxury.
A quick whiff of the industry shows there has been a 10 percent drop in the number of training pants sold during the 52 weeks ending June 13, the Associated Press reports. Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control report that births in the United States rose three percent in 2006 and one percent in 2007.
That means there are a lot of tykes making the move out of diapers, while parents are hoping their kids figure out how to use a potty pretty darn quickly.
It might be worth the gamble. Parents can pick up a new pair of underwear for about a dollar or two, but keeping a kid in disposable training pants can cost up to $90 a month.
"Some parents think that just switching their child to training pants will result in a child who is toilet trained," he said. "Unfortunately, it's not that easy."
Disposable training pants do have an advantage over traditional underwear in daycare centers, he said. They don't have to be stored and turned back to the parents at the end of the day. No matter what children are wearing, Christopherson said, the important thing is to clean them up as soon as possible after they do their business.
"Toddlers can get diaper rash just as easily as infants if they aren't changed often enough," he said.
Diapers, training pants or Underoos, the call of nature cannot -- and should not -- be denied, said Dr. Steve Hodges, assistant professor of pediatric urology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
Hodges, talking to the Associated Press, said kids are more likely to empty their bladders if they're wearing training pants. And they should, he added.
"The big problem isn't potty training. The big problem is the emphasis we have on 'holding it'," he said.
That ought to be a load off kids' minds.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Michelle 7-31-2009 @ 12:52PM
I've actually been thinking lately that the economy and the whole "green" movement might prompt a return to earlier potty training. 40 years ago most kids were out of diapers at 2 - cloth diapers provided an incentive for both moms and kids. Now the trend is waiting until kids are "ready", which can mean a four year old walking up to you and saying "I'm ready to use the potty now." But there is no reason most kids can't be trained around age 2 again. Think about all those diapers going into landfills and all the money saved on not buying them!
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SKL 7-31-2009 @ 1:36PM
I agree. 60 years ago most 18-month-olds were potty trained. Now what we need to do is get the "experts" to stop saying it's impossible. Both of my kids were doing most of their business on the potty shortly after their 1st birthdays. We donated the last of our diapers when my youngest was 17mos. It's not impossible, unhealthy, or even all that difficult. If anything, I think a tot who can use the pot is both happier and healthier.
I hate to think about the money I would have had to spend if I'd listened to "the experts." I feel sorry for people of limited means who fall for that "crap" - and for their kids - because that money could be going into college funds instead.
Heather 8-01-2009 @ 9:32AM
Part of the reason the kids take so long to potty train is they don't feel wet in the diapers. They daipers are so good they are a hindrence. The pull ups are just another type of diaper. But good luck in find the old style thick training underwear. Very few stores sell them anymore and they sell out fast.
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Paul53404 8-01-2009 @ 10:43AM
My name is Paul Hunter, and I am the 19th child out of 21 natural children. Yes, my mother who is Mrs. Louise Hunter is the mother of 21 natural children, (18 living today) 61 grandchildren, and 55 great-grandchildren. www.hunterfamily21.com
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barb 8-01-2009 @ 5:01PM
i agree that the training pants are TOO good. if the kid doesn't get wet a couple times, they just don't get the message! lol. also i think that the training pants are a total ripoff invented by the diaper companies to keep their current demographic hooked for another year. funny how when money gets tight, people come to their senses.
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Inadequate Wife 8-03-2009 @ 12:40PM
My 13-year old daughter was potty trained well before age 2. We invested in one package of pull-ups and spent a couple days actively teaching her to go to the bathroom "just in case". When the package was gone, we put her in regular underwear. She had a couple of accidents but nothing even close to justifying the cost of buying disposable training pants again.
My neighbor used a more relaxed approach and ended up sending her youngest to junior kindergarten still wearing pull-ups. He was five years old.
As a member of our school's parent council, I was appalled at the huge amount of the principal's "discretionary" funds went to buy diapers for kids who were in junior or senior kindergarten and weren't potty trained. Their parents conveniently "forgot" to send enough diapers everyday and the teacher was left dealing with the mess.
And yes, I mean kindergarten, not nursery school.
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Cheryl 8-07-2009 @ 2:13AM
I am not sure if this is normal or not, but I bought the little potty pot for my daughter and she kept looking at it with a puzzled look on her face. She refused to use it. A friend gave me a contraption that has steps and fits over the toilet seat. My daughter kept watching me when I used the bathroom. One day I went in the bathroom and she was sitting on the regular toilet, and she was using it! I was not putting a lot of talk into potty training her. I was not putting too much emphasis on it. She just did it on her on when she was about 15 months. Believe me it has nothing to do with a high degree of intelligence, : ). My son's training was a little longer, but it was not difficult to potty train him either. I think one way to do it is to record when they are actually having to relieve themselves, and have them to sit on the toilet at that time. I went from cloth diapers, to pampers. I used training pants for traveling and regular undies when we were at home.
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