When your child enters toddlerhood, life becomes even more busy.
All of a sudden they can – and do – get into just about everything, and you can't take your eyes off them for even a moment.
And nappy changes become near-professional level wrestling matches, usually preceded by a chase around the house to catch the nappy-wearer.
When your child enters toddlerhood, nappy changes become near-professional level wrestling matches
With this much going on, the last thing you need is to be worrying about whether your little one's nappy is going to do its job.
So, to make life a little easier for toddler parents and carers, we've tested a range of disposable nappies from major brands to save you having to research and trial nappies for your little ball of energy.
To help you choose, here are the best and worst toddler and walker nappies from our testing.
On this page:
- The best toddler nappies from our tests
- The toddler nappies to avoid
- The best walker nappies from our tests
- The walker nappies to avoid
The best toddler nappies from our tests
While we can't help you get more sleep at night, you can certainly rest easy knowing that these nappies will help keep your baby dry.
They're all recommended by our experts, and all scored a perfect 100% on our leakage test.
If you're on a budget your best bet is the Pampers Baby-Dry nappies, which cost 33 cents per nappy.
But if you just want to put all worries about leaks and wetness out of your mind, regardless of cost, the top two Huggies nappies performed well on every single test and scored at least five percentage points higher than their rivals – however, you'll pay extra for peace of mind.
Huggies' toddler nappies topped the (change) table with a score of 92%.
Huggies Ultimate Nappies Pure Care Size 4
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 92% (Recommended)
- Price per nappy: 67 cents*
*Price paid at time of purchase, based on the largest pack size available at the time.
Huggies Essentials Size 4 Nappies
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 90% (Recommended)
- Price per nappy: 50c
Huggies Ultra Dry Nappies for Girls Size 4
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 85% (Recommended)
- Price per nappy: 45c
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 83% (Recommended)
- Price per nappy: 33c
Rascal + Friends Premium Nappies Unisex Size 4
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 83% (Recommended)
- Price per nappy: 42c
The toddler nappies to avoid
This list is a tale of highs and lows – low scores and both high and low prices.
On the one hand, the cheapest nappies we tested in this size were a total washout.
And on the other, one of the most expensive nappies was actually the lowest scoring product of all. These bombed out on our absorbency, leakage and wet feeling tests, and they have quite weak tabs.
So not only will your toddler potentially soak through these, they could also get out of them quite easily. Not a great combination for your peace of mind – or your carpets.
One of the more expensive toddler nappies, Tooshies Toddler was the lowest scoring overall.
Tooshies Toddler Unisex Nappies Size 4
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 52%
- Price per nappy: 72c
Woolworths Little One's Ultra Dry Nappies Toddler Size 4
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 54%
- Price per nappy: 23c
Beyond by Babylove Size 4 Nappies
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%
- Price per nappy: 74c
Velona Cuddlies Bamboo Nappies Size L
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 59%
- Price per nappy: 92c
The best walker nappies from our tests
It's all about Huggies again in walker-size nappies, with the brand taking out the top two spots again – and by a fair margin.
And once again the top scoring product is a little more expensive than its peers: Huggies Ultimate Nappies Pure care are the highest priced of all the walker-size nappies that our experts recommend.
Haléco nappies are "68% biodegradable", according to the manufacturer.
And once again, if you're on a budget, Pampers Baby-Dry has got you (or rather your baby's behind) covered at a reasonable price.
This time, though, there's an 'eco' product among the top performers: Haléco Eco Super Thins. The company claims that the nappies are 68% plant-based and therefore "68% biodegradable".
Unfortunately, we can't validate the environmental claims of all the nappies that come through our test labs, so all we can go on is what the manufacturers say about their products.
What we can tell you is that Haléco nappies were one of the top scoring products in the walker category.
We can't validate the environmental claims of all the nappies that come through our test labs, so all we can go on is what the manufacturers say
But we digress. Here are the top scoring walker nappies from our test. They're all recommended by our experts and scored 100% in our leakage test, which means our testers observed no leaks during the testing process.
They also all scored well for absorbency and wet feeling, which hopefully might buy sleep-deprived parents a few more hours' shut-eye overnight since they'll keep your baby dry for longer.
Top of the bottoms: Huggies Pure Care nappies are the highest scorers in the walker category.
Huggies Ultimate Nappies Pure Care Size 5
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 92%
- Price per nappy: 75c
Huggies Essentials Size 5 Nappies
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 91%
- Price per nappy: 52c
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 86%
- Price per nappy: 41c
Rascal + Friends Premium Nappies Unisex Size 5
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 86%
- Price per nappy: 47c
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 83%
- Price per nappy: 71c
The walker nappies to avoid
The more mobile your baby is, the more mischief they can get into. You'll have your hands full just keeping track of where they are – you don't need to add concerns about the state of their nappy to your already-heavy mental load.
So to take one more thing off your to-do list, we'll tell you which nappies not to add to your cart when you're stocking up on supplies.
Tooshies and Woolworths Little One's walker nappies leaked heavily, scoring just 40% on our leakage test
If you're too short on time to read the full list, at least read this one sentence: Tooshies and Woolworths Little One's walker nappies leaked heavily, scoring just 40% on our leakage test, so unless you're a fan of doubling your laundry load, give these a wide berth.
Heavy leaks: Tooshies Walker Unisex Nappies.
Tooshies Walker Unisex Nappies Size 5
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 56%
- Price per nappy: 81c
Woolworths Little One's Ultra Dry Nappies Walker Size 5
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 58%
- Price per nappy: 26c
Babylove Cosifit Nappies Size 5
- CHOICE Expert Rating: 69%
- Price per nappy: 33c
Stock images: Getty, unless otherwise stated.
