Split Pants

Some of the images of the kids that constantly draws questions from everyone is about their pants. Split pants are pants with a giant hole on the bottom - known in Chinese as "kaidangku" (literally "open-crotch pants"). Although many people in China now use disposable diapers, several still use the split pants. These pants not only make it easier to change a diaper, but I have learned that they assist with potty training. Apparently, it would not be unusual to see a bare baby bottom out in public…or even stopping to go to the bathroom…right on the street! Bare baby bottoms are an increasingly rare sight…but apparently kaidangku used to be almost a uniform for toddlers. I guess this explains why some of us have heard that the Chinese potty train their children at a young age. Or as us adoptive parents refer to as "squatty-trained"!