When your toddler is at that half-way stage between wearing nappies and pants, training pants can be really useful. You can still pull them up and down like pants when they remember to tell you that they need the toilet but when they forget, the absorbent insert prevents a catastrophy!

We have decided to stock Pocket Bots training pants after testing a couple of other brands and finding them quite useless! They were either not absorbent enough, catching only a dribble, or way too big and not adjustable (Ali's eldest was 2.5yrs when he potty trained so not that small but some trainers seem to be made only for older children).

Pocket Bots are brilliant as they come in two sizes and are adjustable with poppers. They are a pocket nappy style so you can vary the absorbency by stuffing them with whatever you need. Ali's experience was that when her toddler forgot to ask to go to the toilet he really forgot! So quite a lot of absorbency was needed so she tended to use a hemp prefold. But when he remembered, a nappy was too fiddly to deal with, especially when out in public toilets. The side poppers also allow you to take them off like a nappy if there has been a messy accident!

Pocket Bots training pants are £9.50 each without an insert. You can use a variety of inserts in Pocket Bots training pants, but they are quite narrow between the legs so that they are similar to pants so you won't be able to get very bulky inserts in. Depending on the absorbency needed, you could use a folded microfibre cloth for minimum absorbency, a microfibre insert, a cotton or bamboo booster, or a Wonderoos bamboo insert or folded small bamboo square for maximum absorbency.

Pocket Bots training pants are made here in Devon. They are beautifully made and come in lovely colours and prints to please fussy toddlers! Info: Specially cut to resemble pants they still have the versatility of a stuffable nappy. They come in medium or large. Medium will fit most slim and/or younger toddlers (under 2's) whilst large is more suited to 2+ years or a chunkier build. They could also be used as nappies on light-wetters. Like the nappies, Pocket Bot training pants are ultra-quick drying so you won't need many pairs. They also double as emergency swimming pants!