Oh Crap! Potty Training

Training pants is actually a THING. Training pants are underwear
with a triple layer of cloth in the crotch. Training pants went out of
fashion for a couple of decades when the big diaper companies
showed their claws with pull-ups.
Training pants are useful when it’s time to move to underpants. They
are a version of underpants.
I quote a client: “To all you moms out there, when Jamie tells you
to do things a certain way, it’s based on a lot of experience, so you
should listen to her! I tried the training pants again on day five when
we visited my mom. Six accidents in four hours! The next day, back
to commando, & either no or one small pee accident. She’s doing so
great now!”
If you’re still digging in your heels about commando, go ahead—
try underpants if commando totally weirds you out. But if your child
starts having accidents left and right? Well, I told you so.
After a few weeks or so, your child should be able to start using
underpants without any problems. If you have tempted your child
with fancy character underpants, or if your child knows about
underpants, you should hide them for now to avoid any fights about
it. If your child begs for undies, you can give them a go. Some kids
have a superhigh integrity about not peeing on their favorite
characters, if you chose character undies. If it works for you, go for it.
If not, be willing to ditch them fast.
Also worth noting: you’ll be ditching onesies, overalls, footie
pajamas, and pants or shorts with complicated buttons and snaps. It
seems obvious, but I find it often slips parents’ minds. I highly suggest
elastic waistbands, at least for a while. Your child is still only going to
give you a five- to ten-second heads-up, so you need to be quick about