March 8, 2026
Pampers vs Potty: Comment War!
How Big Diaper absorbs billions of extra dollars from American parents
From 1‑year potty grads to 3‑year holdouts, parents say the diaper kings cash in
TLDR: An old study says many babies were potty trained by age one, while today parents start later—coinciding with the rise of disposable diapers. Commenters clash: some blame “Big Diaper,” others tout cloth savings, and many argue timing is about parental bandwidth as much as child readiness—wallets and sanity at stake.
Parents are losing it over a throwback stat: in 1944, most Rochester babies were toilet trained by age one. Today, many kids don’t even start until almost two, and half aren’t done by three. The article traces how disposable diapers—born from Marion Donovan’s 1940s “Boater” and perfected by Pampers in 1966—created a mega-market. But the real fireworks are in the comments, where the crowd turns “Big Diaper” into the villain, the hero, and the punchline all at once.
One camp is all pitchforks. “Big Toilet Paper is a threat to democracy,” jokes one user, as another declares, “big diaper needed to be exposed.” The vibe: we waited longer, they profited more. Others push back with lived reality: potty training is hard, messy, and timing depends on both the kid and the parents’ bandwidth. As one exhausted voice puts it, it’s not just about readiness—it’s about whether parents can handle the chaos. In the middle, the budget warriors flex: a cloth‑diaper mom claims “over $100/mo” saved already. Meanwhile, a tinkerer drops a curveball with talk of DIY super‑absorbent fabrics, because of course this thread now includes a homebrew diaper startup. Verdict? The community’s split between conspiracy, convenience, and sanity—while laughing through the smell of it all.
Key Points
- •A 1944 Rochester, Minnesota study led by Mayo Clinic-affiliated doctors found ~80% of parents had full or partial toilet-training success by age one.
- •Recent data show U.S. children typically start toilet training around 21 months, with many not finished by 36 months.
- •The American Academy of Family Physicians advises training at developmental readiness (often 18–24 months), based on expert opinion.
- •Marion Donovan’s 1940s leakproof diaper cover (the Boater) sold at Saks and was later sold for $1 million to the Kennedy Company, paving the way for disposables.
- •P&G’s Victor Mills advanced disposable diapers, launching Pampers nationwide in 1966; by the early 1970s sales were ~$200m, with P&G holding ~80%–90% share and Kimberly-Clark competing with Kimbies/Huggies.