Gerber Soft Care Training Pants - The must have training pants for potty training success!
Written: Jul 23 '04 (Updated Jul 23 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: soft, comfy, padded, do not have a lot of elastic like boys briefs.
Cons: Not a lot of color choices, hard to find!
The Bottom Line: Comfortable training pants with more absorbency than briefs & elastic that doesn't kill.
|
|
|
| marytara's Full Review: Gerber Soft Care Training Pants |
Today marks a huge milestone for my little boy..or I guess I should say big boy now. Yep, today is the day. I finally got up the guts to do it and I did. I sent him off to preschool in underpants. You see, I've noticed for at least the past week or so an interesting trend. If he's wearing a diaper, or even a pull-up type of disposable training pants - then he will gladly pee in it. But, if he's not, then he gladly takes himself to the potty and takes care of business. So, today, is the day and hopefully going forward here, diapers may be making their way out of my house - at least for this child, I mean.
Our experience with the Gerber Soft Care Training Pants
These are the same training pants that have been around for ages and ages, from the well-trusted brand Gerber. According to my mother these are the training pants she used for me and my siblings when we were going through potty training, and I'm sure they've probably been around long before then. I don't know why I just didn't start with these, but to be honest I was drawn to the marketing ploy of the character briefs and thought that my 3 year old would prefer them too. Boy was I wrong.
So, after spending probably about $50 on various underoos in Wiggles, Shrek, Nemo, Blues Clues, Spiderman, Bob the Builder- you name it -we found success in the baby aisle of all places with a 3 pack "plain jane" Gerber training pants that were purchased for, I believe - around $6 or $7.
According to the manufacturer's website (www.gerberchildrenswear.com) the features of these training pants are as follows:
-Center panel, leg openings and waistband made of 100% cotton for comfort and softness
-Expanded leg openings for ease of pulling up and down
-Elastic waistband for perfect fit
-Available in 3 pack white or assorted prints; 2T, 3T, 4T and 5T – boy and girl
As mentioned above, these are 100% cotton training pants that are like a very thick padded pair of underpants. The side panels are thinner and resemble thermal underwear, and then there is a center panel that is reinforced and padded for absorbency. Unlike little boys briefs these have no fly hole on them, but its not like I'm anywhere near teaching my 3 year old how to manipulate that just yet anyways. We are definitely in the pull up and down phase, and intend to stay there for a while.
Where I purchased them they have them in either packs of all white or multi-packs that had one solid training pants in pink or blue and then one white with patterns and one pale pink or blue with patterns on it. We got the blue packs and the little patterns on the training pants are tiny cars, boats and trucks in primary colors. Now, personally I thought my son would prefer to wear Wiggles or Blues clues briefs but he seems to like these plain Gerber ones just fine. In fact, he prefers them. If I put him in a pair of Wiggles underpants he immediately takes it off but these he'll leave on and take them on/off as needed for potty duty.
My son fits in the 4T with room for comfort, which is for kids 33 to 38 lbs. Of course, this must be the most popular size since the selection was limited where I picked them up, at Wal-mart. They seemed to have more variety in the 2T, slim pickins for 3T and 4T sizes and 5T was no where to be found. Luckily, I've not had too much of a problem with these training pants shrinking all that bad. Yes, they do shrink a bit after washing but not nearly as bad as some of his other little boys character briefs do. I have seen a few of his Blues Clues and Buzz Lightyear underpants come out of the dryer looking as if they'd be too small for even the cat to wear!
My theory on why my son actually prefers these has to do with the comfort factor. Though the character briefs may be "cooler" looking with more options out there to choose from, my son just didn't like to wear them. Ultimately, what I figured out is that the elastic waist band was just very uncomfortable for him as well as the styling. I guess, in the grand scheme of things, he will just never be a tighty whitie kind of guy. We've tried some boxers and depending on their cut and how much elastic is at the waist he'll tolerate them or not. These Gerber Soft Care Training Pants fit like a brief but are slightly looser and there is no exposed elastic. There a small band of elastic at the waist that is completely encased in a cotton band. At the leg openings, its just cotton bands and they are roomy.
Another advantage of these training pants over little boys briefs is that there's that double reinforced padded area which is somewhat absorbant. Gerber recommends these be a final step before potty training is completed, they are not a diaper or a diaper substitute. Unlike disposable training pants like those from Pampers or Huggies - these don't completely protect your child's clothing or the sheets of the bed from a disaster. Potty training?...Get your laundry soap out now!
Overall
These are my son's choice as far as big boy underpants go, and I approve. In fact, I wish I had started here to begin with. My recommendation to anyone potty training - try these out. While we still do occasionally use a diaper or a disposable training pants, these are hand down (or should I say..pants down?) our favorite.
Now... lets see if he comes home from school a dry boy!
http://www.gerberchildrenswear.com/
My other Potty Training reviews
Pampers Feel 'N Learn Advanced Trainers
Kids II My Little Step Stool
Baby Bjorn Little Potty
Safety 1st One Step Trainer Seat 11304
Ginsey Blues Clues Soft Potty Seat
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
marytara
|
 in Education, Kids & Family |
 - Top 50 |
|
Member: MT
Location: Jersey Shore
Reviews written: 915
Trusted by: 635 members
About Me:
email to suggest a product for Kids & Family/Education
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.