Hi there,
my 2 1/2 yr old just recently started potty training and is doing really well. She still wears a diaper during nap and night time at this point. We have been home on the weekends for the past two weeks due to being sick so we haven't yet crossed the bridge of her having to go potty while we are out. Are there any suggestions on how to make these outings accident free without having a bathroom right there? I thought about just bringing her potty with us, but the thought of her dropping her pants in the middle of a store or park seems strange. Any suggestions about what worked for you would be really appreciated.
Two pieces of advice: 1.) buy the cheap potty chair at Ikea ($1.95 or so) and keep it in the car. That way you ALWAYS have a potty; 2.) learn where the bathrooms are for EVERY public place you visit. You may remember some from when you were pregnant. It's important to intermediately respond to their need to go to keep kids on track.
A.,
I bought my daughter a travel potty seat aka cushy (I think that's what it's called). It folds up and you can just put it right on the seat. That way she's not getting germs from the seat and she is comfortable using her own seat. I used ours at home a few times then just folded it up and kept it in my "mommy purse".
Good luck
Hello A.,
Not sure what type of vehicle you have but what I saw one mom do, in the zoo's parking lot, was to have her daughter sit on a potty chair that she had placed in the back of her SUV. I'm assuming that she probably had her sit on it before and after taking her to the zoo. I beleive you could probably use a plastic bag to go over the potty bowl and then dispose of it that way? Or I think they may even sell portable potty's for this purpose? You can try doing a google search.
Also, another thing that I recently heard about is putting a pair of the cotton training pants on the child and then putting a pull-up over it. That way if your child has an accident while you are out-and-about she is not soaked but still "feels" wet and uncomfortable thus causing her to want to avoid future accidents.
In addition to the above tips, just make sure that she uses the restromm at home right before you leave even if she says that she doesn't have to go and at the location (if one is available) and bring a change of clothing along as well.
my husband and i used pull-ups when still training and in public. it is super tiring, but at every stop, i would ask my daughter: do you want to go use the potty? with super rewards for trying. if we ahd been on the road and decided to stop for gas and she had not emptied her bladder for more than 30 min. we would take her then as well. sometimes she would sit on the toilet and do nothing, but even after taking her a dozen times, she didn't wet herself. this took about two weeks of constant toilet reminders and i got lazy, but she's been able to do it herself since then with a few minor accidents. good luck!
Hi A.,
I have a 1, 3 and 4 years old, and the 3 and 4 years old are potty-trained. I always carry a potty in the back of our van. It has helped potty-train them, but also it is convenient if they have to go 'right now!' and there is no restroom in sight. We love it. I leave the potty in the back of the car, and they use it right there. I stand in front of them while they go, so no perverts will look in, and they feel safe. Good luck!
E..
Have her go before leaving home and if she hasn't gone in a half hour have her try to go at the next restroom you go to and definitely find a bathroom before going into places without one, like the bank. Just keep her on "empty". She can practice telling you she has to go while at home.
I'm not gonna lie chances of going accident free are slim we just wen through it but I would start by hanging out places where you thr bathrooms and carry extra underpants and remind her more often out and about than you do at home. The novelty of other bathrooms has actually made it easier on us for accident prevention but more annoyig for say siting throuh a meal without spendig an entire restaurant outing in the bathroom. But the main one is if she tells you it's just a matter of going where you know the bathroom if she's not quiote there go pull up out and about and then tell her she's still in panties. We didn't do that it worked out well in the end but not without incident
Hi A.. I have a two year old boy who seems to be potty trained. Everywhere I go, I tediously take him to the restroom; Grocery store, K Mart, Park, etc. Think about it this way, your child isn't at home so how should that little person know that they can go to the bathroom anywhere else!
Once he was clued in, he tells me with proper warning. Well...sometimes I can be seen running through a store like there's a fire.
E :)
