Recession and Diapers
There are certain things that even old cheapo me can’t cut back on. Diapers makes the top of the list. No way to go without. Even if you use cloth, you pay in the sense of washing and drying. But in these economic hard times, people are cutting down on diapers - at least the training types often used in potty training.
An article in the Associated Press found that many parents are tossing out the disposable pull-up training diapers and replacing them with…nothing! What a concept! We didn’t use them for a few reasons:
* They are diapers. Why not use a diaper? There is absolutely nothing special about a pull-up except that they stretch to pull down. A child can just as easily handle the little tabs on normal diapers when going to the bathroom.
* They are diapers! They’re absorbent. Your child doesn’t feel the urgency to go. She can keep playing because the moisture is wicked away from the body. If kids don’t feel uncomfortable, they are not going to be in a hurry to potty train. Like Jillian Michaels says, if you don’t feel uncomfortable, nothing’s going to change. She was talking about your body, but it does apply to potty training as well!
* They cost a lot. Why add to your costs when you can buy a few cheap packs of underwear? If your kid has an accident, throw them in the wash and put another pair on.
A side effect of the recession is that parents are finding their children get potty trained much more quickly. In the interest of balance though, here is a counter view from the article:
“The big problem isn’t potty training. The problem is the emphasis we place on ‘holding it’,” said Steve Hodges, assistant professor of pediatric urology at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center.
By using disposable training pants, he said, children are more likely to empty their bladders when they have to. On the other hand, if toddlers are in underwear, they avoid the bathroom so that they can keep playing and having fun. If kids hold their urine, there’s a bigger chance for infection, he said.
“Kids always say they don’t have to go,” he said, “but they always do.”
I hadn’t really thought of that, but when kids say “I don’t have to go,” it’s always a good idea to make them. Especially before bed and car trips and before you put on their snowsuits, boots, hats, and mittens (I HATE hearing, “I have to go to the bathroom,” after I’ve spent 15 minutes dressing Peanut!).
Anyway, you can find the whole article here.
Leave a Reply