Crotchless Pants.

In this blog, I would like to explore the phenomena of crotch-less pants for children. They're all the rage in China. In case you have no idea what I'm talking about, here's a visual.

The concept for these beauties revolve around potty training. Let's play pros and cons.

Point one. Crotch-less pants are good for the environment. When you live in a country with well over a billion people, what to do with your trash is a serious concern. These pants theoretically replace diapers for a certain age group. However, this leads to a large quantity of poop and pee on the street. And on the sidewalk. Basically, anywhere outside and a lot of places inside… and no one to clean it up. But hey, if you've got to go, you've got to go.

Side Note: The thing that I really find fascinating, is for a culture so concerned about the spread of germs, hygiene, doesn't seem real high on the list of priorities.

Point two. Crotch-less pants save you money. Diapers are expensive. If you don't have to buy diapers, perhaps you can take an extra trip or two to Starbucks. And Starbucks is delicious. I'm just saying.

Point three. Crotch-less pants make it easier to potty train your kids. Maybe. True, you don't have to worry about pulling your pants up and down, but you've still got to be concerned with aim… It seems a bit too easy to "miss." It probably does help with technique for the squat toilets, so maybe I'm being a bit xenophobic with my aversion to this particular fashion statement.

Point four. With crotch-less pants you're ready to go at a moment's notice. But isn't this just a bit counterproductive? An adult (with a few notable exceptions) wouldn't just whip it out on the sidewalk and answer nature's call… Why would you encourage your kids to? Plus it weirds me out a bit to turn a corner and come face to face with a child's genitalia.

I searched the Internet for some statistics and information regarding potty training using diapers v. crotch-less pants, but I couldn't find anything concrete, so the debate remains open.

The consensus amongst the village foreigners is that diapers are still the way to go. Of course the conversation then segued into a discussion on ass-less chaps. But really, aren't all chaps ass-less?