| Toilet training can be a stressful time for both mother | | | | the disposable nappy soaks up the wetness, how is he |
| and baby, but cloth training pants help train your toddler | | | | going to learn what being wet means and what to do |
| without tears. | | | | about it once he's old enough to understand the |
| In fact, having said that, it is only in the developed | | | | concept of potty training? |
| nations that toilet training is frequently considered to be | | | | Disposable training pants don't make the process any |
| such a hair-raising issue and a subject fraught with | | | | easier either. They are designed to make it easier for |
| debate from all angles; whether to use disposables or | | | | both mother and child to get the pants on and off, but |
| cloth nappies, how soon to begin toilet training, and | | | | they still soak up the moisture, so any child who has |
| whether to persist if the child appears resistant. | | | | worn disposable nappies since birth has no concept of |
| So let's have a look at some of the reasons why cloth | | | | what it means to be ‘wet'. |
| training pants are a better alternative when it comes | | | | And that's wear cloth training pants come into their |
| times to begin potty training. | | | | own. Although many mothers choose to insert a |
| The decision whether to use cloth or disposable | | | | disposable liner in baby training pants, the liner is |
| nappies is usually based on the family's personal | | | | primarily designedto capture solids rather than soak up |
| preferences and needs. Lifestyle, finances, the amount | | | | liquids. As a consequence, from an early age, a baby |
| of available time and environmental concerns are only | | | | who wears cloth nappies learns instinctively what a |
| some of the reasons why parents opt for either | | | | wet nappy feels like. |
| disposables or cloth nappies or a mix of both. | | | | The mechanics of how a child learns to associate |
| Similarly, the decision about when is the right time to | | | | feeling wet with using the grown up's toilet is way |
| begin toilet training is also based on these plus a | | | | beyond the scope of this article, but it seems logical |
| number of personal, social and cultural factors. Ironically, | | | | that there is a connection between a child's perception |
| children raised in affluent, advanced Western cultures | | | | of wet toddler training pants and her eventual |
| like Australia, the US and the UK where disposable | | | | realization that mummy is going to be very happy |
| nappies are considered to be ‘the norm', toilet | | | | when she lets mummy know that she needs to use |
| training is often delayed until the child is 36 months or | | | | the potty. |
| older. | | | | In addition, cloth training pants may soak up a small |
| However, in a vast number of cultures throughout | | | | amount of wetness, but they certainly won't support |
| Africa, South America and Eastern Europe, where | | | | the same amount disposable training pants will, so your |
| disposable nappies are virtually non-existent, babies as | | | | child is going to start feeling distinctly uncomfortable if |
| young as 6 months are toilet trained. In fact, according | | | | they try to get away with more than one ‘accident'. |
| to a study released by Contemporary Pediatrics, over | | | | The important point for mums to remember is that |
| 50% of the world's children are toilet trained between | | | | accidents are only accidents and toilet training won't be |
| 6 and 12 monthsand 80% by 12 months to 24 months. | | | | a fait accompli overnight. Toilet training requires |
| And the reason why? Because disposable nappies do | | | | patience, tolerance, acceptance, understanding, gentle |
| their job, or the job their advertising slogans sell: they | | | | words of comfort, forgiveness, a sense of humour, |
| ‘keep wetness away from baby.' So it stands to | | | | humility and the ability to just get over it – all those |
| reason – if a baby can't feel when it's wet because | | | | things a mother is good at! |