It's summertime and it's that wonderful time of year when many parents choose to potty train. Reaching the milestone when your child is ready to understand and (dare we say) celebrate using the toilet is a monumental one - if you're at that time, congratulations! In that spirit, we thought we'd offer a few pointers for making the switch from using diapers (be they reusable or disposable) to using cloth trainers. (You can also read a few of our previous blog posts and tips on cloth training pants, along with visiting our Toilet Training page.)

An introduction to trainers

Cloth trainers exist for the same reason that disposable ones do - to provide "support" for your little one when he or she is ready to move out of diapers but not yet ready to be full-time in underwear. They catch the dribbles and small messes that are inevitable during this time and they provide a bit of extra time to get to the potty. The biggest difference with cloth training pants, however, is the immediate feedback your child gets when the trainer gets wet. Disposables are so well designed these days that they lock moisture away from your child's skin, and thus there's very little bio-feedback for your child when they've eliminated. With cloth, however, there is the sensation of being wet, which often translates into a child more quickly learning his or her body's urges and the sensations that accompany them. Cloth trainers also save you beaucoups bucks. If your child uses training pants for six months, the cost for disposable pants is easily well over $300. If you invest in cloth trainers, the cost is approximately $78, regardless of how long your child needs them.

A potty training tool

Training pants are a wonderful, helpful tool in whatever method you choose to use in helping your child learn to use the toilet. However, they are not substitutes for diapers - trainers are designed to catch a few dribbles here and there, but not as much as a diaper. Also, to anyone who has ever had to take off a poopy trainer (since trainers are designed to pull on and off like underwear), you know that that's only something you want to do if you really have to - diapers make dealing with poo nice and simple, while trainers..... not so much.

Bummis makes bums cute!

Bummis training pants are one of the best-crafted, most reliable training pants on the cloth diaper market. Even better, they're Canadian made and super-kid (and parent!) friendly. Kids can pull these on and off easily by themselves, which boosts their confidence and doesn't rely as heavily on you in the later stages of potty training (always a plus). We've raved about them on our product page, so be sure to read all about them!

Your Turn

So, mamas (and papas) - what tips and tricks did you use when you were potty training? How did training pants help (or hinder) your endeavors? Leave a comment! Previous: Eucalan No Rinse Wool Wash