Gothamist: Diapering a Split Pants Society

Elise

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 13:09:41 -0500

As with so many other things, in the name of progress, China is actually going backwards. There is a growing number of North American and European parents who are practicing something called Natural Infant Hygiene - split pants are a Chinese traditional version of this. Basically it means not using or limiting your use of diapers in favor of getting your baby to be aware of her elimination (something they can do from birth) and to pee and poo in a bowl, potty or toilet. See www.diaperfreebaby.org for more. Why force your child to sit in her own filth and fill landfills or have tons of cloth diapers to wash if you don't need to?

Rebekah

Sun, 14 Jan 2007 10:24:27 -0500

Training your child to sit in their own excrement is not an sign of advancement in my opinion. Humans are the only animals that allow their young to sit in their own waste. Disposable diapers *are bad for the environment *teach the child (and parent) to ignore the messages from their own body *encourage a repressed mind-set about the body and it's natural functions *promote diaper rash *create later problems when you try to potty train *encourage all kinds of bladder and bowel disfunctions in older kids *show a great disrespect for our children and their bodies - you wouldn't like to sit in your own waste, would you? *are just disgusting, imho This article makes me sad that the "use and throw away" attitude that is currently prevalent in America is being exported under yet another guise.

Nicole

Wed, 20 Dec 2006 03:14:25 -0500

Babies don't just "pee anywhere" in split pants. Parents use a cueing sound when the child pees or poos so the child associates the sound with the action. Split pants make it easier for a child to go when they don't have the control to "hold it" long enough to get their pants down/off. My son (6 mos) uses the toilet this way. We just purchased split pants for this very reason.

Anne

Wed, 26 Oct 2005 15:41:59 -0500

If I had less carpet, I'd do it! Poop is easier cleaned off the floor than out of a cloth diaper and less stinky than a basket full of poopy plastic pampers! And, it's coming... http://babyparenting.about.com/cs/pottytraining/f/infantpt.htm

Chris Whatley

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 16:48:32 -0500

alana said: "one of the oldest cultures in the world hasn't evolved much over the last 2000 years" Yes, let's bash a bunch of poor immigrants who until recently were completely rejected by mainstream society. The wealthy and middle class Chinese don't live in Chinatown, so you're not really getting a very broad view of the products of this 5000 year old culture.

Chris Whatley

Sun, 09 Oct 2005 16:48:07 -0500

Jen

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 18:09:24 -0500

My mom IM'd me, "I wore split pants, I guess." Then I asked for a quote, like, "Split pants were comfy, if disturbing" but she didn't reply back. Hypothesis: My mom went regress hypnotically to give her daughter some choice thoughts about split pants.

alana

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 18:00:14 -0500

although it sounds better to have diapers than split pants (which my mother wore as a child and which she swears i should have worn...as well as should have had my feet bound), imagine almost a billion people dumping these things everywhere. unfortunately, one of the oldest cultures in the world hasn't evolved much over the last 2000 years. take chinatown nyc, imagine the filth multiplied by a huge country, add poo filled diapers...mmmmmm not my idea of paradise.

Jen

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 16:33:14 -0500

Hmmm...a Gothamist feature about poo...

priscilla

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 16:27:31 -0500

Do any of you have kids? If you would like to see what baby poo really is, then judge the split pants vs pampers debate, drop me an email, and I can arrange for a seminar at my home.

erikka

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 16:13:36 -0500

I just can't get past the notion of squatting in public. Are there 'please curb your child" signs?

Glenn

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 13:41:53 -0500

Disposable diapers are, for whatever reason, the de facto symbol of America's growing landfills. I think the press has blown out of proportion their impact. The book Rubbish is fascinating and I recommend it to anybody who wants to have an informed opinion on the subject. After reading the book, it was obvious that any opinion I had on waste management prior to reading the book was uninformed and often contrary to fact.

Silus Grok

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 12:40:31 -0500

From all the reports I've heard, the children may relieve themselves a bit more publicly... but as it trickles down their leg, rather than warming their bum, the kids are quicker (and more sure) to potty train. I also imagine the parents are a lot more aware of what they feed their children, and (just like pet owners) develop a seventh (we already have identified six senses, folks... time to move on!) sense about impending bowel movements.

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 10:53:20 -0500

my *guess* would be: lack of toliets.

callalillie

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 10:40:04 -0500

That's a TON of diapers and ecologically frightening. Either way (split pants vs diapers) a baby will most likely be laying in their own excrement at night at least for a little bit-- no matter what it sucks for the kid. I don't buy Pampers' slick claim that babies will have better mental development indirectly as a result of wearing diapers. But here's my question-- if a split pants toddler is knowledgeable enough to squat down and take a dump in the street, then why not a toilet? I'm confused.

tien

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 10:25:51 -0500

i think split pants are just practice for the squatting that people from the asia are really good at doing. i mean, despite my background, i can't do that squat at all. it has to be the split pants. and can you imagine how much more trash they would have if they used diposable diapers? that would be a wonder of the world or something.