Pull Ups Hurt Potty Training

When our son turned 2 1/2 we bought him a potty. He helped pick it out and seemed very interested in leaving diapers in the dust. We got a progress chart and shiny star stickers for when he used it. We were off to an excellent start, and then, we bought pull ups.

In theory they are a great idea. By giving your child the ability to pull his or her own pants up and down they have an opportunity for privacy in the restroom. There is confidence in being able to control your own bathroom habits. You don't have the inconvenience of dirty or wet pants, and neither does mom and dad.

But pull ups are just like communism...well, kinda :) Theory is a LOT different than practice. In practice, your children learn they can pull their diapers off whenever they want, leave them anywhere, and get a new pair all by themselves. They learn that being wet and dirty feels just as gross in the original diaper as the one you replace it with. Parents learn that diapers hidden around the house smell down right disgusting a day or so later, and that children don't do well in the bathroom on their own.

Pull ups teach your children how to change their own diapers. They don't teach them how to wipe, or where to put the dirties, or that you are SO proud they used their potty. Only mom and dad can do that, and it takes you being there.

After a few weeks of pull ups we went back to diapers thinking our son just wasn't mature enough. He could go in the potty but didn't. What we failed to realize was that we had given him no REASON to go in the potty vs in his pull ups.

One day we went to the store and let Nate pick out his own underpants. He chose a package of Blue's Clues and a package of Scooby Doo underwear. Then we took his chart back out, and took him to the bathroom every hour to see if he had to "pee or poopie." In TWO DAYS he was going in the potty every time!

I here so many parents of 3 or 4 year olds saying their son or daughter just isn't ready yet, and am not surprised at all when they say their child is in pull ups. It's not about the kids not being ready, it's about the adults sending the right message. If your child can use the potty (before 18 months most children do NOT have enough bladder and bowel control) then they should be using the potty. Don't worry about the extra laundry, put a mop in the bathroom and buy a few outfits at the thrift store and prepare your child for independence.

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