How to handle accidents when you don't have hard flooring?

[sebsmummy1]

My son is 26 months and we are nowhere near potty training yet but I'm trying to read up on techniques and best way to go about it.

The thing that is puzzling me is surely lots of people have fitted carpets and are the children just peeing straight into the carpet five times a day at the beginning? My sister suggests yes and you just have to deal with it.

We do have a carpet cleaner for small areas so I do have a method of sorting out the odd accident but I'm concerned a bladder full of wee will penetrate the underlay and the house is going to smell awful.

[Hobby2014]

I don't know the right answer. I haven't had to do this yet. However I've read on here quite a few people have waited and trained their children when they are 100% ready and have had no or very few accidents.

[sebsmummy1]

Thanks Hobby. I have read that too and I am thinking that waiting maybe the better scenario for us since I am a SAHM and don't have any external pressures ie. pre school etc

[NoLongerJustAShopGirl]

Yep, my DD1 was 2y9m and she was ready - she never had an accident indoors, but a couple of times in the first month we didn't get home in time from the park, that was it. Nappy at bedtime for 3 months.

DD2 we made sure not to spend so long in the park and she was dry from the start at 2y7m, again nappy at bedtime for 3 more months.

[moominbabe]

Just stock up on paper kitchen towels and carpet cleaner. I find Vanish Carpet and Upholstery spray is pretty good (have used it on dog and cat accidents for ages, it does the job well). Just soak up everything with paper towels (I mean really soak up, not just dabbing - get a big wodge of paper and stand on it, then repeat multiple times!), spray, leave for a while then blot again.

DD potty trained at 30 months, she had a few wee accidents on the carpet the first day, and then just the very occasional one after that. It wasn't the wee and poo soaked nightmare I had been fearing, hopefully you will have a similarly easy time of it!

[MewlingQuim]

Carpets and a potty trained DD (2.9) here.

DD was quite good at announcing "uh oh, wee wee, mummy" at which we would dive on her and scoop her up onto a nearby potty (we had a couple strategically placed about the house) or the toilet. Any splashes on the carpet were dealt with immediately by soaking up the wee with paper towels and then using a cleaner meant for pet accidents! I also used the steamer on the carpet if I felt the wee might have penetrated further than the carpet. Poos were less of a problem as they tended to stay in her pants (I would also recommend keeping trousers on too as they soak up wee before it reaches the floor)

As far as I am aware there is no smell, at least no one has said anything