One of the few times I left a restaurant in the US without tipping was when a waitress said “Oh you’re Chinese? Did you know that kids in China wear pants that are open in the crotch and they poop on the street just like dogs?” That ignorant ‘Karen’ was totally oblivious to the fact that whether you’re Chinese or Chinese-American, those derogatory comments are equally offensive. But… she wasn’t 100% wrong either. Split-crotch pants, know here as 开裆裤 kāidāngkù were once a very common sight in China. They were especially popular during the hot summer months and kids wearing them would run around with their tiny derrière all out in the open as they played carefree and oblivious to the fact that their private bits are exposed.
A practice that’s been around since the time of the Cultural Revolution, today it’s seen as a relic of the old times, and it’s a sight that’s rapidly disappearing from Beijing, and China’s other major cities. Occasionally you can still see some grannies with toddlers running around in split crotch pants around the hutongs, but walking around places like Taikoo Li, the only cheeks you’ll see are the ones hanging out of the 20-something-year-old KOL wanghong’s booty shorts.
What’s The Purpose of Split-Crotch Pants?
Basically, before disposable diapers became common in China, split-crotch pants made it easier for parents to deal with their children’s pee-pee and poos. Instead of having to hand wash reusable diapers (this was also during a time when washing machines were seen as a luxury not commonly found in everyday households), you could put your child in a pair of split pants, and whenever they needed to go, they could simply squat and do their business instead of having to change and carry around a soiled dirty diaper was a no-brainer. It just made parents’ lives easier.
But those days are long gone. Beijing’s no longer the low-rise city where streets are dominated by black bicycles and the only colors people wore on the streets were white, black, and navy blue. Since 1989 disposable diapers have been marketed aggressively in China and as the middle class’ expendable income increases, fewer and fewer new parents see the need in split crotch pants or re-useable diapers when there’s a much easier option they can now afford so readily available.
The Pros and Cons of Exposed Toddler Bums
But have we thrown the proverbial baby out with the bathwater? According to experts, there are some pros to toddlers wearing split crotch pants. Babies who were raised wearing split crotch pants are generally potty trained up to 14 months sooner than those who wear diapers. Split crotch pants make the kids actively participate in their poo time as they have to communicate to their parents when they need to go, so they are able to learn the signs of his own bodily functions sooner. It also encourages children to graduate earlier from squatting on the street to anticipating his poos and squatting over a potty. Furthermore, during the hottest months of the year, kids who wear split crotch pants are less likely to get diaper rash than those who do.
The downsides of split crotch pants are also pretty obvious, the first being sanitation. While the split crotch pants make it easy for kids to squat and poo, it also makes it extremely easy for them to sit their exposed tushies on the dirty ground. And unfortunately in this digital day and age, one can never be too careful when it comes to the internet safety of their child. Split crotch pants now draw unwanted attention from predators and their cameras.
Split crotch shorts on Taobao
As split crotch pants disappear from cities like Beijing and are replaced with disposable diapers, parents in the West have been catching on and praising the old ways. In her 2006 book Diaper Free, Ingrid Bauer actively promotes the use of split crotch pants. ”The traditional kaidangku have rapidly disappeared from the major cities in the last half-decade and are rapidly being replaced by diapers … Aggressive advertisers create an impression that consumer products are vastly superior to what mothers have practiced for eons and urge parents to buy what they can barely afford,” she wrote.
The average baby will go through 4,500 – 5,000 pairs of diapers by the time they’re two years old and split crotch pants help eliminate environmental waste. In places like the US have formed diaper-free support groups to help their babies practice elimination communication toilet training and one of the main parts of the group is that the babies wear split crotch pants, assisted by parents making whoosh sounds to help them go potty – exactly like Chinese grannies used to do it in the old days.
Fecal Attractions: A Guide to Beijing’s More Dubious Sights
Photo: savespendsplurge.com, Taobao
