Size 8 diapers popularity

[Sarah_Hillcrest]

It looks like size 8 has standardized across the diaper market.  I was skeptical of their popularity but a recent trips to my local Wal-Mart has me thinking that they are quite popular.  I purchased the Wal-Mart brand size 8 a few days ago leaving only 1 box on the shelf.  Yesterday a guy was walking out with a box of Pampers 8, and I saw a Mom pushing around a cart with Huggies 8.  The boy riding in the cart, certain they were for him, he was probably at least 50 pounds.  I would imagine that being a parent of a delayed child growing out of toddler diapers is a headache.  

Our adult diaper options are amazing, but I think they are still way behind.  I'm hoping the machinery needed to make adult sized modern Pampers is on the horizon.  

[Rachael-Little]

I would love seeing adult pampers that look like the old style but just thicker and absorbent and packaged in the purple box 😁

[Little Sherri]

@Sarah_Hillcrest, unfortunately, at least here in Canada, where I reside, the size 8 kid diapers that have made it to the market are not appreciably larger than the size 7's. I have size 7 and size 8 Pampers Swaddlers in my inventory, and I taped them both to my counter top, and broke out the ruler, and then I weighed them on a kitchen scale that goes down to decimals of a gram, and basically, they're the same diaper. I don't have a tension gauge to work with, so maybe you could argue I didn't stretch them perfectly equally, when I measured them, and if I'm being generous, the size 8 diaper was 0.25 inches wider, and no longer, than the size 7. And the scale doesn't lie - I weighed a few of each, and took an average, and the size 8's actually weighed less than the size 7's, on average - only a fraction of a gram, but still. There is definitely not more material in there. Maybe they've upped the SAP content slightly, in order to move the weight rating up to 46+ lbs, from 42, but I think this is all marketing puffery, basically. Someone else launched a size 8, and so all the big players decided to get in the game, but, they didn't want to compete with their own lines of more profitable (and generally less effective) pull-ups, which have been marketed to older and younger kids, for years - this is clearly the arena the manufacturers prefer to invest the most marketing dollars in. Goodnites will now effectively fit almost anyone up to age 20 (XXL), and they are also marketing Pampers Cruisers and other "pull-on" diaper products for babies, trying to walk people away from tabbed diapers.

So, we probably won't see a Pampers size 9, or if we do, it will be indistinguishable from size 8.  This is partially because size 7 & 8 diapers can already fit kids aged 7-10 - another comparison I did was to take the size chart off of a package of girl's underpants, which showed the waist size for age groups in 2-year increments (2,4,6,8 etc), and I compared that with the measurements I got from the stretched-out baby diapers, and guess what? A Pampers size 7 or 8 could fit practically all 6-year-olds, most 8-year-olds, and some 10-year-olds - their height grows in a somewhat direct proportion to their weight, whereas their waist sizes rise at a lower ratio to their weight so that a 70-lb kid might have a waist not much larger than a 50-lb kid, but they might be quite a bit taller.

This demographic - kid who can speak for themselves, and request products that they've seen advertised - is where companies are spending millions on licensing fees for Marvel characters and such - they want 8-year-olds wearing $1-per-pair pull-up diapers, not 50 cent tabbed diapers that last longer than the pull-ups do. And let's face it, most 8-year-olds want that, too, because the marketing has been suggesting that you're not a "big kid" until you can pull on your own diapers, from when they were first aware that their underclothes weren't like mommy's & daddy's. It's a sales pitch to get an older kid to agree to wear a "diaper", as opposed to a "pullup" or "bedtime underpants", or choose your euphemism. Although interestingly, my younger daughter eventually identified that diapers were actually slimmer-fitting than Goodnites, for situations where she didn't want people to be aware of what was under her pajamas. 

One thing that was interesting is that they put the word "BACK!" on the rear of the Swaddlers size 8's, which most of the other baby diapers do not have on them, suggesting that they are aware that some people might, A) be putting these diapers on themselves, and, B ), they can read a bit. 

Cuties went in a different direction, and briefly introduced their "Boundless" size 8 tabbed diapers, that were rated to 75 lbs, and probably could have fit people into their teens, or even small adults. The ads targeted handicapped children, as well as able-bodied kids. However, they disappeared almost as soon as they landed - you can still find a spot for them on Amazon, but they have been out of stock since they launched. I suspect the initial market response was effusive, causing them to ask themselves if they had just cannibalized more profitable product lines. Or maybe "Big Diaper" and the FBI shut the down. Or maybe this coincides with their getting the Kirkland diaper contract from Costco, and they decided they needed the production space to fill those giant orders, instead of catering to a relatively small market of kids, and their caregivers, who prefer a real diaper. 

You can put me in that category, of course, but most of "us" aren't wired like the average bear, on that topic. I stopped wearing diapers to bed when the largest Pampers of the day (1980's) would only fit me with help from Scotch tape, and had I thought of it, I would have gone on a strict diet, in order to be able to still have access to real diapers for a bit longer. But I didn't think of it, and that was right around when my bedwetting was dying of natural causes, anyway, and I walked away from baby diapers, not knowing how good I had it, until they were too far in the rearview mirror to be retrieved. Pampers, Huggies and the likes, would never risk associating their billion-dollar brands with a kink that most people don't understand, so alas, other than unlicensed knock-offs, there will probably never be a Pampers size 10, 12 or 14. I'm sure they know, and don't mind that "we" still buy some of their products - witness the XXL Goodnites enthusiastic embrace from our community - but they won't admit it. 

[Sarah_Hillcrest]

It's obvious you've put even more thought into this then I have LOL.  You are right on every topic.  I never raised kids or even babysat, but I'm confused about the big push towards Pull-up pants style diapers.  My suspension is that they are cheaper to make.  I would also assume that with most toddlers who can stand up, changes might be easier standing and sliding the diaper up.  

[abdlwpg]

I could see there being adult diapers branded as Huggies or Pampers in some world. I think some people are so freaked out about being old that they might choose Huggies/Pampers over Depends (and why Procter and Gamble launched their new incontinence line under Always the menstrual product line instead of coming up with a new medical brand). They probably would need to make better products though if they didn't want to dilute their baby diaper brands. Also the other issue is unless they changed sizing substantially seems like there would be like 40 sizes of diapers which def takes up too much aisle space. I would be glad if they would just improve depends using the various patents they have from baby diapers. Like if they had an overnight diaper that was Depends branded but similar to a Huggies in quality that would rock. 

If kids keep getting fatter I do think we could see a size 9 and then 10 within the next 5-10 years. Looking at Amazon reviews of size 8 diapers I  saw people saying stuff like they fit their 20 month old well.  Also if some families of disabled kids choose diapers over pull ups. Basically if size 8 sells well enough then they will give size 9 a shot, etc. 

 

[Little Sherri]

5 hours ago, abdlwpg said:

Basically if size 8 sells well enough then they will give size 9 a sh

The cynic in me suspects that you are right, but that the “size 9’s” they’ll create will be 2% larger than the size 8’s that already exist. It’s an arms race where the ammunition is bullshit, but I suspect there is another real reason behind this “peak diaper size” wall we seem to have hit, in addition to the sales of superhero training pants that would be forfeited, if they made diapers that fit 10-12 year-olds at half the cost. 
 

I’m betting that the manufacturing equipment they’re using was designed to produce up to size 6 diapers, because that was all that was available, until a few years ago. Which explains why the size 7’s are slightly bigger than size 6’s, and 8’s are indistinguishable from 7’s. 6 used to be the outlier - the volume was in 0 to 4’s and 5’s - lots of 3-year-olds weigh around 30 lbs, and that’s the age most kids start potty training and learning how big kids differ from babies. Most of them can wear size 5’s just fine. 
 

So, they’d have to invest in expanded equipment, to make a size 9 diaper that was notably larger than a size 8, and they’d only add a second line if they had the volume expectations to justify it. And that second line would then take sales away from pull-up diaper products that they can sell for twice as much, that probably cost about the same amount to make. 

[AB_DeLane]

I strongly suspect that we will continue to see the gradual addition of larger sizes for diapers/pull-ups.

Size 8 becoming commonplace. XXL Goodnites. Pampers putting out 6T-7T pull-ups that are advertised at 64+ pounds.

These products are available because businesses are confident that they will make money off of them. Companies that make diapers have no incentive to get kids to stop wearing them and have every incentive to keep them hooked. The average age of toilet training is higher than it was for pre-disposable diapers. And as later-and-later diaper/pull-up use becomes more (to a degree) socially acceptable, we'll continue to get larger sizes.

Factor that in with in kids being bigger in general, along with a somewhat untapped market for youth diapers for kids with special needs, and there is plenty of reason to think that the range of diaper sizes is only going to continue to get larger.

Now, we aren't going to end up with adult-sized Pampers (not that I wouldn't be elated if we did), but I think in the coming decades, there will be a much more robust market for diapers in the 50-100 pound range.

[swaddler8]

On 6/25/2025 at 3:42 PM, AB_DeLane said:

I strongly suspect that we will continue to see the gradual addition of larger sizes for diapers/pull-ups.

Size 8 becoming commonplace. XXL Goodnites. Pampers putting out 6T-7T pull-ups that are advertised at 64+ pounds.

Factor that in with in kids being bigger in general, along with a somewhat untapped market for youth diapers for kids with special needs, and there is plenty of reason to think that the range of diaper sizes is only going to continue to get larger.

Now, we aren't going to end up with adult-sized Pampers (not that I wouldn't be elated if we did), but I think in the coming decades, there will be a much more robust market for diapers in the 50-100 pound range.

I also believe this, not so much the 'untapped' market for special-needs kids, but babies are definitely getting bigger with each generation.  Of course, manufacturers have to adjust or add products to accommodate these new markets.  I really liked it when swaddlers size 8's came out.

[Thalie]

On 6/23/2025 at 2:12 PM, Sarah_Hillcrest said:

 Our adult diaper options are amazing, but I think they are still way behind.  I'm hoping the machinery needed to make adult sized modern Pampers is on the horizon.  

It may be too expensive in 'murica thanks to tariffs, but modern Pampers for adults already exist and are made by ABU Universe : 

https://eu.abuniverse.com/products/little-kings

[Sarah_Hillcrest]

1 hour ago, Thalie said:

It may be too expensive in 'murica thanks to tariffs, but modern Pampers for adults already exist and are made by ABU Universe : 

https://eu.abuniverse.com/products/little-kings

They may look like Pampers which is great, but they don't work like Pampers, no stretch, way too much wings, and Sap just falls to the middle when wet.  

[HappyNappin]

Here in the UK size 8 tabbed nappies are still fairly uncommon, with only pampers baby dry and Lidl lupilu being available in size 8.

Size 8 nappy pants, so like cruisers 360 or or little movers 360, are massively popular, every major shop has there own size 8 nappy pants, and there often sold out online, and it's hit or miss if they'll have any left in the shelves after mid day.

Size 9 nappy pants are also a thing now, the pampers ones are mostly just a marketing ploy, exactly the same size as the 8, Tesco also do there own size 9 and there fantastic, generously sized, very absorbent, and will easily fit a 32" waist.

[Thalie]

Size 8 pampers are just the regular size 6 that existed before.