In 2017, when this was originally written, I was fully immersed in the process of potty training my toddler. It’s been two months since he expressed keen interest in using the toilet and we’re still puttering around in the world of in between. I know my toddler. He’s fiercely independent and stubborn, just like his mama. I dare not force potty training, and I dare not force diapers. So, with that, we enter the world of cloth training underwear, or cloth trainers, or learning pants, or whatever term you wish to call these underwear-like pieces of clothing with absorbency.

I’m just a mom potty training her first child. By no way am I an expert in the matter of potty training. I am an expert in me, my child, and the dynamics of our family. I’m sharing with you what is currently working for me. 

I have since potty trained two children. Both children I used training pants, but my daughter less so. With my daughter we used them more as back up underwear from time to time, and with night time for bedwetting protection (though I wouldn’t recommend them for full bedtime pees unless you have a light wetter)

5 Reasons for Cloth Training Pants

1. Bridging the Space for Underwear: Cloth Training Pants help fill the space from cloth diapers to underwear. He will have to wear underwear, and learn to use underwear is an invaluable skill. I will not be pulling down his underwear for the rest of his life. Cloth Training Pants help my toddler learn how to pull clothing on and off.
2. Ease of Use: Cloth Training Pants are so much easier to use than toddler underwear. I purchased toddler underwear, but the tight elastics and fit are challenging for mom hands, let alone toddler’s hands. Trainers are often built with a toddler in mind and are easy for little hands to manage.
3. Absorbency Protection: I like to keep my couch free of toddler pee, and I like to have twenty minutes to make dinner. Cloth Training Pants keep my couch dry, and mom happy. Small amounts of absorbency in the training pant quickly absorb pee and reduce the mess. They aren’t nearly as absorbant as diapers, but less mess means a calmer mom.
4. Quality & Comfort: Cloth Training pants are not cheap, but neither are pull ups. An investment in cloth training pants results in a quality product you can hand down from child to child. Not only are cloth training pants built with quality in mind, but with the toddler. Most training pants feature gentle elastics, quality cotton, and products free of tags and annoying seam.
5. Environmental: We all have a choice to use cloth or disposable products with our child, and disposable pull ups are an option you can consider. You can also choose to use Cloth training pants to reduce your environmental impact. Don’t worry about the laundry, if you can wash a wet bed, or peed in pants, you can wash cloth trainers. 

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Talk to me about your potty training? What went well? What didn’t? Were you able to transition to underwear? Or did you rely on cloth training pants?

Check out more posts on Cloth Training Pants

• Must Have Cloth Training Pants
• Most recent recommendations on the Cloth Diaper Podcast
• Accidents Happen
• Bedwetting Solutions