I have mentioned in J’s last couple of updates that potty training is a-go at the minute – on and off anyway – so with Potty Training Live! taking place and the chance to review Dry Like Me potty training pads we gave them a go.

Before Potty Training Live! I hadn’t heard of the potty training pads, but after reading up on them I thought they sounded like a great idea for if you really want to get stuck in with potty training and get it done with quickly. The basis behind Dry Like Me potty training pads is that they help a child to feel when they have had an accident, which in turn makes them understand that they need to go to the toilet/potty. They are made to be worn in big girl/big boy pants rather than them wearing a nappy which takes them longer to notice that they are wet.

As we are just at the beginning of potty training, we were sent the Early Days pads to review. The pads come in packs of 14 and are unisex to be used by both boys & girls. The pads looks pretty much like a sanitary towel. Each box also comes with a plastic wallet to hold them when out & about.

They are quite thick and absorbent so they can hold quite a bit of wee, but as they go in pants they don’t hold poo as well (as we found out…). The pads have a plastic backing (much like a sanitary towel) and they are shaped to be placed at the front or back of your child’s pants. They can be worn singularly like this or they also fit well with one at the front and one at the back (thought they do overlap a little if worn in smaller pants).

When I put J in his first pair of big boy pants he was as proud as punch and just walking around in them. I used them doubled up in his pants as he needs them for both poo & wee. I found that they held his wee well, but the problem came when he did a poo. He asks to go on the potty randomly although he still hasn’t done anything yet, but he still doesn’t quite realise when he’s going to do a poo or a wee as when he’s been walking around butt naked (!) he has weed on the floor a couple of times. We had our first accident when I was in another room sorting the washing, and suddenly J came running through shouting “Quick, quick”. He had poo’d. So he had realised he had had a poo accident, which is the aim of the pads so they worked in that respect. But he had also been sat in N’s inflatable play ring. And he had squished the poo and it had leaked from the side of his pants. Obviously I told him it was OK as it wasn’t his fault, and then I had to stick him in the shower as it was all down his legs! (And stick the cover from the ring in the wash – glamorous!).

I think this accident episode set him back a little as every time he had them on after that, he would keep taking them off. I don’t believe that this is a problem with the pads – J just does HUGE poos and usually doesn’t tell me until he’s sat and squished it a bit!

Overall, I think the pads are a great fit in pants, and they are great at holding wee. I’m not so sure about poo though, unless your child can tell you immediately when they have done one. To be honest I don’t think J is 100% ready yet, and I’m not forcing the fact as I don’t want to keep relapsing. I’m just going to go with the flow, and we will go back to the pads when he starts asking for pants again (which may be soon!). They do work out at around 21p per pad – J drinks a lot of fluids so for the amount we’d use per day (probably a whole box) I’m not so sure I’d buy them if I thought we were going to be potty training a while. They are great though if you are nearing the end and your child tells you when they need a wee or a poo, or immediately when they have done one.

Dry Like Me potty training pads come in 3 versions – Early Days, Original, and Night Time. They retail at around £3 per box and can be purchased at major supermarkets, Superdrug, and now available on amazon.co.uk. 

My rating – 3/5


Disclosure
We were sent this product free of charge to review. All thoughts & opinions are honest & our own.