Frugal Potty Training Tip
We are potty training in my house.
I hate it.
Enough said, right? Well just in case that wasn’t enough for those who have yet to experience the joys of potty training, I have two words for you: poop footprints.
Yeah, it is nasty.
I have zero advice on methods of potty training. I feel like I am fumbling my way through it. However, my sister did pass along one frugal tip:
Use white cloth training pants. Why?
- Cloth training pants have extra padding in them compared to regular underwear. It isn’t enough to absorb a full accident, but it is enough for little dribbles.
- Cloth is cheaper than disposable training pants.
- Cloth is messier than disposable training pants and that might be a positive for your kid. Maybe your kid needs to feel pee running down their leg in order to convince them to use the toilet.
- White training pants can be bleached.
- White training pants can be saved and used on future children regardless of gender.
One downside to using boring white cloth training pants is that they are just that – boring! Your kid might be super excited about the blue train or pink princess underwear. My friends have told me how much their kids loved picking out their special underwear. White isn’t very exciting.
At this point Grace doesn’t know what she is missing out on. She was thrilled to put on her boring “big girl” undies, but some day we will trade them in for something more fun. My plan is to keep Grace in training these pants until her accidents slow down.
If you have problems finding white training pants, check the boy’s section. My sister bought some for Grace, but the store didn’t have white ones in the girl’s section. Or you can find here on Amazon. (affiliate link)
One last tip: hang your training pants in the sun to dry. I’ve seen first hand how powerful the sun is at “bleaching” out stains since I started this process two weeks ago.
What are your frugal potty training tips? And for Pete’s sake… how do I get her to go #2 on the toilet for the first time???
This post is being linked to Thrive @ Home Thursday.
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#2 has been so hard for us too. Buggy is 3 1/2. He is mostly day-trained (though he chooses to hide in a corner to pee sometimes rather than go to the toilet. For #2, he cries, screams, and begs for a diaper. Fighting him has added to potty fears. Once we had success. He was DESPERATE and I refused a diaper. He actually pooped on the potty. We took pictures. Yes, of the poop. He is very proud of that one time and looks at the picture occasionally to tell us what he SHOULD be doing. Scrunchie wants to join in the potty training fun now. I don’t know if this mama is up for that increase in accidents! Oh – I would keep some disposable pull-ups on hand for outings. Getting to a potty with a toddler and baby can be dicey in an emergency! Good luck!
What is with kids and wanting to poop in their pants? Crazy kids.
We do have some pull-ups that we use outside of the house. We call them her “going out undies.” I’m not too crazy about them though because I feel like she has more accidents in them.
Visiting from Thrive @ Home…
Great tip! We used cloth training undies with my son but didn’t think to go for the white. I did have one thought, though… when you give your kid those boring white training pants, you might also buy some real underwear in their favorite color or with their favorite character on them… that way, you can say something like “when you learn to use the potty, you get to wear these big boy/girl underwear”… Just a thought…
Our son is three-and-a-half years old, fully potty trained {thank the good Lord!}. It was rough, but we all survived. I created a potty prize box filled with dollar store toys {I don’t like to reward with candy}. This actually worked for him. I know others use “Potty Charts”… rewarding only when the child potties all day… You just have to find what works for you… but, yes, this white training undies idea is a good one!!
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I love your post, but I have no tips. Sorry! We’re working on training our fifth child, and every single one of them has been a struggle. I agree with Audra — fighting them only makes it more difficult. Our 3 1/2 year old knows what he needs to do, but if I force it then it becomes a battle of wills. And who will win that one? If he wins, he learns that if he is stubborn enough he can have his own way. (Not a lesson I want him to learn!) If I win, at what cost and with what amount of stress and turmoil? I’m just not convinced it’s worth the fight. We talk, offer special treats, buy his own potty seat, etc. Then wait. Good luck!
Ugh! Years from now your son will be mortified to hear about how much he enjoyed going to the bathroom in his pants. I hope he stops enjoying it really REALLY soon for your sake!
Totally agree about the white. We made it an incentive. White for training. When they went 5 days with no day accidents and one church day consecutively we went shopping with them and bought ‘beautiful fancy big girl panties/ boy draws.
What a great idea! Once Grace stops going #2 in her underwear I’ll have to start talking about getting “fancy” undies.
Good tips! I will be potty training in the near future! Thanks for linking up to Thrive @ Home! 🙂
We kept a potty in the living room (or whatever room she was playing in) for Abby so if the urge struck her she could just go. That way there was no excuse because the potty was right there. After she had mastered that for a couple months, the potty was moved into the bathroom, and several months later it was removed all together. Now she’s doing it all by herself.
Put a potty chair in your car! It saved us several times and my son would rather use that then a bathroom in public.
Allow them the opportunity to see you flush the poop down the toilet when there is an accident. I have mine tell the poopies bye bye too.
We ended up using chocolates for a reward after each use on the toilet one for pee and a handful for poop. It took about 2 weeks but then he was good to go, even night time trained a few months later.
Great tips, Shayla. I can see the benefit of taking a potty seat with you. My daughter was terrified of automatic flush toilets in public!
Keep a pack of small post-it notes in your bag and when your child has to use a public toilet you can stick a post-it note on the auto-flush sensor to keep it from flushing until they are done.
That is a brilliant tip, Jennifer!
Your article helped me a lot, is there any more related content? Thanks!