Diapers, Pull-Ups, and Underwear...When to Use These During Potty Training
While researching for this article I came across the same adage regarding pull-ups that I am going to share with you. Before doing that, let's look at diapers and underwear. As we are all pretty familiar with both, this will be a quick discussion and we can then move on to the pull-ups.
Diapers
Of course, diapers are used from the time one is born all the way up to potty training. They are made of absorbent materials that are able to handle a child's waste and draw it away from delicate skin.
Underwear
Underwear is the item of underclothes that one progresses to after potty training. There are so many different brands and varieties and they can easily be used as an incentive/reward to aid you in the potty training process. However, you will want to ensure that your child is completely potty trained before moving up to underwear.
Pull-Ups
My research turned up that most people do not agree with using pull-ups. The comments all generally pointed out that they caused confusion for their child. There was one posting I did find interesting. She suggested putting a pull-up over underwear. This way her son could tell he had not made it to the bathroom in time and it also served to help protect clothing and furniture.
Obviously there are folks that do use pull-ups or they would not be on the market. Pull-ups are used when a child is not fully potty trained but cannot remove a diaper when they soil themselves. Here are a few pointers when using pull-ups.
· Be certain your child is able to put on and remove the pull-ups without any assistance from you
· He/she is able to visit the bathroom unassisted
· Encourage your child and use praise even when they are not successful
· Keep a watchful eye that the pull-ups do not cause any sort of irritation
· Offer incentives and rewards such as buying pull-ups with their favorite cartoon characters or take them to the park for an outing
Graduating to Underwear
It is important that both you and child remain patient. Every child's development is different and potty-training is a natural progression.
You can consider moving your child up to underwear when they are able to sleep through the night without any accidents. Once they have truly learned to recognize the signals that they need to go, such as holding themselves, squatting, or squirming, and they can remain dry and clean for several hours at a time, they are ready for the change. Do keep in mind though that potty training is a physical and emotional event and a setback is always possible. Should that occur, remain calm and patient and begin the process over again.
On Your Way
Girls tend to become potty trained before boys and ages can range from 18 months to two years. Each child's process is different but keep in mind that it will happen!