My daughter has been actively working on using the bathroom by herself. We went on “panty palooza” this past week in order to make a special event out of going a week of seriously awesome progress using the toilet independently. So instead of just a few, mom-chosen pairs, she got a slew of panties she chose herself. Despite this monumental occasion, a big road block in potty training independence was actully putting underwear on correctly. Legs would be in wrong holes and it would be one big distatser. Here’s how we have remedied the problem, but don’t forget to also check out our famous potty training hacks beyond just this one!
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I have a stack of toddler underwear, now what?
It doesn’t matter if you choose training pants or regular underwear. Personally for our girl, we like the boy shorts for girls because they fit a little better and cover more while wearing dresses. We have a variety of everything though!
First, you should always washing your child’s underwear before letting them wear it. Afterwards, take a fabric marker or any permanent marker (you may have to redo it more though with this option) and put a dot in the back band. If you want to get creative with your shapes or use the first letter of your child’s name so they can learn to better recognize it, that’s up to you.
Basically you just want to make the same symbol, in the same spot, in the same color marker on every pair of toddler underwear you have.
Then you can teach your child that the dot (or whatever you have chosen) goes on the ground. Each and every time they go to put underwear on, you can easily tell them to sit on the floor, put the dot on the ground, and then legs in and pull up.
The reason we started doing this is because our original phrase was” tag on the floor”. However, not all toddler underwear brands have tags and/or they’re not all on the same place.
So instead “dot on the floor” is not only a way to teach her to wear underwear the right way, but also a way to encourage her when she’s getting frustrated. In fact, it’s one of the very first things I ask, “Did you sit down and put the dot on the floor first?”. And then she will sit down, take them off, check, and repeat.
More posts you may enjoy
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Kara is an author and advocate for positive, grace-filled parenting. She is homeschooler to her 5 children living on a farm in New England. She believes in creative educational approaches to help kids dive deeper into a rich learning experience and has her degree in Secondary Education & Adolescent Childhood Development. She is passionate about connecting with and helping other parents on their journey to raise awesome kids!
Karen Bryan
Hi Kara,
I read your article and thought it’s wise what you did.
All the best!!
Jaya
That’s a great tip for home, thanks. Do you have any tricks for when they’re on their own in preschool? I don’t really want them sitting on the floor there…
Kara Carrero
Honestly, they’re not taking their pants all the way off so it’s never been an issue!