Don’t be fooled by the name, potty training pants are essentially underwear, but they’re transitional underwear designed to catch potty accidents.

While cloth versions aren’t as absorbent as a diaper, they still provide a better barrier than traditional underwear if your child doesn’t make it to the potty in time or doesn’t yet understand bodily cues that indicate it’s time to go.

As you shop for potty training pants, there are a few key features to keep in mind.

Material

Of course, you want whatever’s touching your toddler’s body to be soft and gentle so that it won’t encourage a rash or discomfort. 

For reusable pants made from cotton, keep in mind that they’re not as absorbent, so your child will notice if they’re wet or have poop in the pants.

Disposable training pants tend to be very similar in absorbency to traditional diapers which can make some children less aware when they’ve wet their pants.

 Disposable vs. reusable

Depending on your preference, there’s a benefit and a risk to each.

Disposable potty training pants give you the same ease of use as a disposable diaper. However, as we mentioned, because they’re nearly identical in sensation to diapers, some children don’t necessarily notice when they’ve wet their pants.

In contrast, reusable cloth training pants can eliminate repetitive expenses since you’re simply washing the pants with the laundry as opposed to buying more training pants when your child soils them.

And many parents note that using washable training pants helps encourage their child to learn bodily cues that it’s time to go potty.

Additionaly training pants with fun designs on them can be a great transitional step to get them on board before your child graduates to real underwear. We have  specifically chose a range of disposable and reusable diapers,  focusing on the materials to help ensure that they were friendly to your toddler’s skin.

Note that training pants come in multi-packs — after all, as they’re training, your toddler will go through them!