Diapers Q&A
For Grandparents - Potty Training - Before Disposable Diapers?
My mother in law tells me that when she had her children there were no disposable diapers. I am just wondering how patient were parents about potty training before disposable diapers? Did children potty train a bit earlier becaue of all the work involved in cloth diapers?
Public Comments
- there were disposable diapers when my child was little but i chose to use regular diapers and potty trainning was just like it is now there was no difference.
- My kids used disposables and cloth diapers. (31 and 21 years ago respectively.) In the olden days, (in the generation before Woodstock) parents used to whip a child's butt for making messes after momma decided it was time to stop. Or make them sit in dirty diapers as punishment, or use shame and embarrassment to get things done. In these more enlightened times, this is called "abuse." It took just about as long to potty-break in either situation. Just like today, some mothers are patient, and some aren't. As for the work involved, what choice was there? We also hung clothes out to dry-even when it was going to snow. What choice did we have? Even with all the time-saving inventions, housework STILL expands to fit available time. It is a real CHORE to train yourself to love dust and clutter, and PLAY with your children while you can.
- I'm sure parents in those days had various approaches, just as parents do now. My hubby's grandmother told of her potty-training, her family expected everyone to have a BM daily, and if she didn't need to, she had to force it. It led to lifelong bowel problems. I suppose potty-training was started earlier because of the clothe diapers. I don't think I would've had the patience for 2+ years of washing them out.
