Kushies/Kooshies Trainers (Kooshies Trainers)

Member Name: sazuburns

Product:	Kooshies Trainers
Date:	23/07/03 (274 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Cost, environment

Disadvantages: Sweaty, bulky, can't be undone at the sides

Kushies training pants are reasonably good for what they set out to do.

They are not intended to replace nappies, and therefore don't have the absorbency that disposable training pants have, but this actually works in their favour, as the child wearing them learns to associate 'accidents' with being wet.

Of all the cloth training pants I've used, they are the least 'pant-like' and the most bulky and nappy-like. They have an unforgiving plasticky outer cover (which provides the waterproofing) and the inner is soft cotton flannel. Unfortunately, the outer is non-breathable, which means that the child does get quite sweaty in them.

Unlike disposable trainers, cloth ones should ideally be used when the child knows how to go to the toilet but still has the occasional accident. They will hold one or two small accidents before leaking onto the clothes, but this means that the child has time to say 'I've had an accident' and the parent/carer has time to change the child before a completely new set of clothes is needed.

Disadvantages include the aforementioned plastic cover and the bulk of them, and also that unlike disposable trainers they can't be 'torn off' if the child does a poo in them, so it can be quite messy to change them.

Advantages are the cost factor (it is cheaper to use cloth trainers than disposables if accidents continue for a long time), and the fact that they are more environmentally friendly than disposables. Also, in my opinion, the fact that they are not as absorbent and they feel wet is an advantage as I think disposable trainers are regarded as nappies by children, and they offer no incentive to get dry.

Summary: