How much time and money can you really save by potty training your child early?
When it comes to potty training, it’s usually a case of when the time is right. With 605,479 babies being born in England and Wales in 2021 alone, it means there are lot of loos to be trained for. But before we even get there, the underlying question is: how much time and money does that really add up to in the long run? And how many nappies do we routinely use in that time?
On average, most children are ready to be potty trained by the age of two or three but some little ones aren’t fully trained until 5 years old. Although some children start independently going to the toilet as early as 18 months, that may be a whole 42 months of extra nappies, bags, wipes, and creams for some families.
Looking at the average rate of use for nappies and their accessories, as well as the time it takes for daily nappy changes, we can reveal the financial and free time differences of potty training between early starters and those who use the loo later.
How much do we spend on nappies and accessories during potty training?
If you were to start potty training your child at 18 months, you could save a whopping £2,720 in nappies and accessories (including bags, wipes and baby creams) compared to your child being fully potty trained at 5 years old. With 42 months to account for, that means you’re investing in a whole lot of nappy supplies.
In fact, with parents using an average of six nappies a day, you can save up to 7,665 nappies in total. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to change a nappy (five minutes on average), which means you could also save yourself 639 hours or 26 and a half days! That means even more time to stock up on special moments.
What could you do with time saved by potty training?
Every parent knows that the most important thing you can give your child is your time. So, what could you do with the 639 hours saved by nailing potty training early?
Well, you could watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy 69 times over, read 77 books or enjoy 319 two-hour lie-ins – although you might have to wait a few years before you can start cashing those in!
If you’re more of the exploring type, you could catch a flight from London to Orlando 64 times or grab your hiking boots and walk the length of Hadrian’s Wall 27 times. The choice of what you do with you and your child is up to you, but the fact is the time freed up by potty training your toddler translates into a lot of valuable family time.
What can the money saved from potty training get you?
Having a little bit of extra dosh can go a long way for family days out, and with £2,720 saved from potty training as early as 18 months, you could be indulging in some more exciting treats instead.
How does a family holiday to Greece sound? You’ll be able to do that almost three times over with the money saved – and it’s hard to say no to that. Or get the babysitter on speed dial and book-in for four unforgettable dining experiences at a Michelin-starred restaurant of your choice.
For parents who love their material items, a designer handbag from your favourite brand could be on the cards if you get your little one to go to potty. And if you’re more about tech or adventure, the cost savings could see you shopping for not one, but two 13” MacBook Pros, or three classic road bikes – ka-ching!
So when should we start potty training?
With all this in mind, there is something to be said about how much time and money you can save from kickstarting potty training earlier and getting your kids excited for their toilet time.
Whether starting at 18-months or 5 years old, every child will have their own potty-training story. Just remember, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel (or toilet…).
From prep to perfection, you and your child can tackle the potty confidently with the GoTime app. Making it easy for kids to get stuck into potty training with a cast of characters to work through, as well as giving parents the support they need, GoTime helps to lift the weight, time and cost it takes to get through this early stage of life.
Methodology
To collate this data, we used a starting age of a child being potty trained at 18 months and compared this against an upper age limit of a child being potty trained at 5 years old (60 months). We calculated the potential time and money saved based on the difference of 42 months.
With overall time and savings in mind, the data was calculated based on a usage rate of six nappies per day, with an average nappy change taking 5 minutes, and the average cost for one size-5 nappy at 30p. The cost of affordable nappy bags, wipes and baby cream were also added to the final amount.
Equivalent timings calculated within 42 months include: walking the 73-mile length of Hadrian’s Wallan average speed of 3mph; taking 9 hours and 17 minutes to watch the Lord of the Rings trilogy; reading an average 300-page book; taking a 10-hour flight from London to Orlando; and a lie-in of 2 hours.
The average cost of luxury items were sourced from relevant online stores including: a £1,349 13” MacBook Pro from Apple; a £720 dinner for two at Michelin-starred restaurant from Core by Clare Smyth; a £1,000 family holiday to Greece from Jet2holidays; a £2,800 Prada bag from Selfridges; and a £1,000 road bike from Allez.
All data, prices and statistics are accurate as of the 25th September 2023.
