Diapers in Kindergarten
Updated on:
Photo by @oliviafarjo
If your child will be attending kindergarten from September but is still wearing a diaper, this should not pose a problem. But which diapers are suitable for the daycare? Are caregivers allowed to refuse to change diapers? And how often are diapers changed in kindergarten? We have gathered all this important information for you.
Which diapers are suitable for kindergarten? Cloth diapers, especially All-In-One diapers, All-In-Two diapers, and Judes cloth diapers, are suitable for daycare.
In this article, you will find all the information about changing diapers in the daycare. Additionally, we provide important tips on how you and your child can prepare for diaper changing time in kindergarten.
Can a Child Attend Kindergarten with Diapers?
The short answer is: Yes, your child can attend kindergarten with diapers since every child, upon reaching the age of three, is entitled to a childcare place.
And here is the longer answer:
Your child indeed has an entitlement to daytime care through a daycare center or a childcare provider, regardless of whether they are already dry or not. Nevertheless, your child may be refused admission by the daycare since this legal entitlement is not mandatory for each individual facility. Each daycare sets its own admission requirements.
This means that while your child should definitely receive a childcare place, it may not be at your preferred facility.
Are Diapers Changed in Kindergarten?
If the kindergarten accepts your child knowing that they are not yet dry, they must be changed. Even if your child no longer wears diapers and has an accident, they are of course entitled to be changed.
Changing and diapering must also take place in a designated area, because even toddlers have a right to privacy.
Photo by @isabelplett
Who Can Change My Child's Diaper?
In principle, all caregivers are allowed to change your child's diaper. However, ultimately, your child should be allowed to decide who can change them. The well-being of the child is the top priority, and before your child is changed by someone other than the parents, a relationship with this person should be established.
How Can We Establish Diaper Changing in Kindergarten?
For your child to feel comfortable during diaper changes, they need to get accustomed to the new environment and build trust with the caregivers. Your child should only be changed by familiar caregivers, and this does not happen overnight.
To familiarize your child with the new environment, you (or the other parent) should first change your child alone in the designated changing area the first few times. Next, the caregiver can join to observe the changing routine. Do you have any special changing rituals? Make sure to share these with the caregivers.
Possibly, the caregiver might help the next time by handing wet wipes, diapers, etc., or closing the diaper.
Only once this trust is gradually built and your child agrees, should the caregiver be allowed to change the child.
How Often Should Diapers Be Changed in Kindergarten?
In kindergarten, the diaper should also be changed at least every three to four hours. In the case of a bowel movement, the diaper must of course be changed immediately.
In kindergarten, a full diaper might occasionally go unnoticed. In preparation for daycare, you might (if you haven't already) work out with your child to always alert when the diaper is full. Establish a word or a signal for this and communicate it to the caregivers. This way, your child won't have to walk around unnecessarily long with a full diaper.
What to Do If Caregivers Do Not Change Diapers Regularly?
Even though it shouldn't be the case, in some daycare centers, it can happen that caregivers change diapers too late, not regularly, or only for bowel movements. This obviously has negative impacts on your child's well-being and can lead to diaper rash.
In this case, it's important to find a quick solution to the problem. You should definitely talk with the caregivers. Also, discuss again with your child that they should definitely alert someone (word or signal) when the diaper is full. But the responsibility lies with the adults.
If discussions do not help, you should also consult with other parents and perhaps seek a group discussion with the kindergarten management.
If all this does not help, you should contact the institution's sponsor. If even this doesn't lead to success, parents can contact the responsible municipal supervisory authority.
Which Diapers for Kindergarten?
The daycare diapers should definitely meet these requirements:
The Daycare Diaper Must Be Leak-Proof
The diaper should hold urine for several hours without leaking.
The Daycare Diaper Should Be Comfortable
Your child should feel comfortable and be able to move well in the diaper all day, without it slipping. Ensure that it is the right size. It should not be too tight, but it also shouldn't slip.
The Daycare Diaper Should Be Simple
Caregivers need to change many diapers throughout the day. Time is often limited in daycare centers. Therefore, the diaper should be able to be put on as quickly and easily as possible. Make sure to choose the simplest diaper or cloth diaper option for the daycare.
Are Cloth Diapers Allowed in Daycare?
Yes, cloth diapers are allowed in daycare and can often be just as simple to use as disposable diapers.
Just make sure that the cloth diaper meets the aforementioned requirements and explain in advance how the cloth diaper system works.
These Cloth Diapers Are Suitable as Daycare Diapers
There are several suitable cloth diaper systems that are suitable as daycare diapers. These include:
All-In-One Diapers (AIO)
In All-In-One diapers, the waterproof outer shell and insert are sewn together.
Changing effort: Changing is very straightforward → Lay the child on the diaper and fasten, tuck elastics into the leg crease
All-In-Two Diapers (AI2)
In All-In-Two diapers, the cover and inserts are not sewn together. The absorbent insert is snapped into the diaper or placed into the flaps.
Changing effort: Changing is very straightforward → Lay the child on the diaper and fasten, tuck elastics into the leg crease
Judes Cloth Diapers
A Judes diaper consists of two combinable parts, the absorbent material (inner diaper) and a moisture protection (cover). Due to the special weave, the cotton is particularly absorbent while the diaper remains very slim.
Changing effort: Changing is very straightforward → Place the inner diaper and possibly Poo Paper (to catch bowel movements) in the cover. Place the diaper under the baby's bottom and fasten with the Velcro closure.
By the way: Judes are not only great as daycare diapers, but they are also, in combination with our Booster, optimal as night diapers. This makes them a perfect all-rounder, and you don't need to buy separate daycare or night diapers.
Photo by @isabelplett
Preparation for Diaper Changing in Kindergarten
To prepare your child as well as possible for diaper changes in kindergarten, you can jointly prepare for the daycare routine in advance:
- As mentioned before, practice with your child to let you know as soon as they have a bowel movement in the diaper. Discuss a specific word or signal that your child can use in daycare.
- It is best to inform yourself in advance about the changing situation and possibly have the changing area shown to you at the parents’ evening. This way, you can explain to your child beforehand what to expect.
- If your child is to be changed with different diapers in daycare than at home, get them accustomed to the new diapers in advance.
- In kindergarten, children are often changed while standing. You can also practice this beforehand.
Tips for Changing Diapers While Standing
Here are a few hacks that make changing diapers while standing easy for you and your baby. We have tested them for you and summarized them here:
- Support for Standing: To change your child while standing, you need both hands and ideally a bit of support with knees and thighs. Therefore, your baby needs a secure stand. This works best if they can hold on to something, like the sofa back or a chair.
- Distraction: A chair and sofa not only serve as useful support for standing but also as a display! You can place objects there that your baby can play with.
- Full Body Involvement: When you squat behind your baby to put on the diaper, it is very helpful if you use a knee or thigh to hold the back part of the diaper on the baby’s bottom. This way, you have free hands for the Velcro closure at the front.
- Switching Sides: Speaking of Velcro closure: It is really advantageous for changing diapers while standing! You can easily secure the diaper quickly at one and then the other side at the front to ensure the diaper holds. Then you can readjust at leisure until it fits well.
- Teamwork: Especially older children can wonderfully assist in changing diapers while standing – this keeps them occupied and distracted from kicking. They can, for example, hold the front wings of the diaper while you secure the back part on the bottom.
How Many Diapers for Kindergarten?
In daycare centers, diapers are typically changed every three to four hours.
For the morning, you should plan for two to three diapers (including the one already put on at home). For a full-day care, you will need a total of about six to seven diapers.
What Diaper Accessories for Daycare?
- Two wet bags → One bag for fresh and one bag for used diapers
- Three to six diapers per day (possibly plus one or two diapers as a buffer)
- Poo Paper
- Booster → If you are worried about not changing often enough, you can increase the absorption with the booster
- Washcloths or wet wipes
- Change of clothes → in case the diaper leaks
Diaper-Free in Kindergarten
When Should a Child No Longer Wear Diapers?
There is no set time required for a child to become dry. Each child is unique, and every diaper weaning process is different. Some children are fully dry by 2 years old, others not until 5 years old, and both are completely normal.
→ Our own conducted study shows that becoming diaper-free faster is possible: Children who were diapered with cloth diapers became diaper-free about 8 months earlier than children diapered with disposable diapers.
When Can a Child Attend Kindergarten Without a Diaper?
If you are currently in the process of potty training and it's going well at home, the question arises: From when can I send my child to kindergarten without a diaper?
As always, the wish of your child should be the top priority here. Simply ask your child if they already feel ready to go to daycare without a diaper. Explain that they can always change their mind and that it's not a big deal if there's an accident.
Discuss with the caregivers how potty training is conducted in the facility and just try out what works best for your child. The most important thing is: Everything should happen without pressure.
Be sure to remember to provide enough spare clothes for your child.
Why Is My Child Not Dry in Daycare?
It's quite possible that your child is already (mostly) dry at home and yet has "accidents" in daycare and simply isn't ready to be without a diaper.
In kindergarten, the atmosphere is different than at home, and children are often too distracted to notice when they need to go. Remember that every child is different, and there is no fixed timeline for being completely dry.
Discuss your concerns with the caregivers. They surely have a lot of experience in the area and can reassure you.
Judes Cloth Diapers Support Potty Training
By the way, Judes diapers can help your child become dry sooner. When you diaper your child with cloth diapers, they feel it immediately when they go in the diaper. This provides a natural bio-feedback. Through this immediate sequence of action and result, even a baby can recognize this "if-then" connection, gaining a (subconscious) understanding of it.
This understanding benefits your child in the process of diaper weaning because they already know their body's signals.
At Judes, we have consciously designed our cloth diapers so that your baby feels when they get wet when they pee in the diaper. This allows your baby to learn this important connection.
Here you can find more information about potty training and diaper weaning.
Toilet Refusal Syndrome
You should, of course, not ignore your child's signals. If your child was mostly dry and suddenly refuses to use the toilet and prefers the diaper again, it could be Toilet Refusal Syndrome.
Definition: The toddler refuses for more than a month to sit on the toilet for their business and prefers to use the diaper.
Toilet Refusal Syndrome can have physical causes like constipation or develop out of fear. If suspected, definitely talk to your pediatrician to clarify the cause.
It is important to understand that there is no malicious intent behind this refusal and that pressure won't lead to any solution.
I hope this article has answered all your questions about diapering in kindergarten and helped you choose the right daycare diaper. For more tips on cloth diapers, follow us on Instagram.
Further Questions and Interesting Facts
When Should Toilet Training Begin?
According to research, the ideal time for toilet training seems to be between 22 and 30 months for most children. However, every child is different and you should primarily rely on the signs of your child's readiness:
- Your child can sit independently and stably
- Your child can walk (to the toilet)
- Your child imitates your behavior
- Your child notices/gives a sign (with words or gestures) that there is something in the diaper and wants to be changed
- Your child stays dry for an extended period (around 2 hours)
- Your child feels discomfort with dirty diapers
- Your child shows interest in the toilet and toilet visits
- Your child can follow simple instructions
When Is a Child Considered Dry?
Some say a child is dry when they have only one "accident" per week and can otherwise manage the entire toilet process independently. According to Elternkompass, a child is considered dry when there are more successful instances than “accidents.”
