Quick advice needed

[Worriedkat]

My DH is travelling north to south in the uk today with the 3 DSs in the car. DS3 is terrified of hand dryers and screams blue murder to get away, fighting wrestling screaming lying on the floor etc. Would DH be unreasonable to leave him age 3 in the restaurant with our 8.5 yo while he himself goes to the bathroom? Or should he pull over on a verge instead? Or is it unreasonable for grown men to wee in verges under these circumstances?

No way can DH manhandle DS3 and wee at the same time!

Grass verge. Needs must and all that! Neither other option sounds good.

Hmmm tricky one! Used to have a similar problem with ds when he was that age, but it wasn't really an option for me to wee on the verge lol I used to carry him into the toilets and straight into a cubicle, lock the door, carry back out again when we were done, and always had baby wipes and hand gel in my bag for cleaning hands!

Grass verge. My ds is similarly terrified of hand driers has been since birth practically. Now he is also scared of the window cleaner, the vacuum cleaner, the central heating and the dark! Totally unphased by the trick or treaters last night in terrifying ghoul masks though :-)

Grass verge. Take the stress free option.

get some anti bacterial hand sanitiser and jobs a goodun

unless he or dc need a dump

It's illegal to pull over on to a grass verge for toilet reasons. I would imagine the 8.5 year old could manage the toilet by himself and then stay with the 3 year old while your husband goes? Or use a baby change toilet and don't use the hand drier?

Is it ok leaving a 36 month old with an 8.5 yo on their own in an M1 service station restaurant for 2 mins? He's a very responsible 8.5 yo but it still makes me nervy.

I'd second ThisWay and use the baby change. Assuming they're not in the ladies! Otherwise use the disabled toilets?

I'm afraid I just took DD2 to the toilet and if she choose to scream at the hair drier so be it.

Check out other places to stop. There are often kid-friendly pubs etc just off the motorway (often open from 12) or little chefs or things like that, that don't have the same footfall as a motorway service station. We carry the Good Pub Guide in the car for this eventuality. In a little chef you could quite easily get a waitress (and/or the adjoining tables!) to help keep an eye and the toilet would be one short step away. And choose your moment to stop - not peak periods!!

Good advice. The issue with just letting him scream is that he either runs away or falls / slips over into a lake of other peoples wee

No way would I leave dc of that age alone in a service station, and I'm fairly relaxed (eg I leave dc asleep in hotel rooms).

Use the baby-change or disabled cubicles, and all go in tigether for a family piddle. Moto usually have good family facilities.

I'd see if I could alert a staff member or diner in the restaurant to ask if they could keep an eye on the boys and pop off to the toilet alone, if your DH would be comfortable with that.

kotinka What if another toilet user switches the hand dryer on?

I think use of the baby changing or disabled toilet is the easiest. Hopefully, he will grow out of this. My DS was terrified of buttons for a while. I didn't realise at the time but this is a known phobia. Kids!!!!

Seconding (thirding?) suggestion of disabled/babychange toilet. Noone is going to complain about a toddler using a babychange :)

Is it ok leaving a 36 month old

Do not give months and try making the child sound younger than they are. THEY ARE THREE YEARS OLD not 36 months FFS.

Disabled loo and one of these with some antiseptic handwash for the next long road trip
www.shewee.com/products/peebol-absorbent-pouch

Try and distract him by getting your 8 y.o to play with a length of loo roll in the draft of the hand-dryer. Doesn't work with the super scary loud ones or Dysons though. My DD has just outgrown the same phobia at 3.5

Would it work if you gave your DS headphones with music playing as they went in the bathroom to block out the sound of the hand dryers?

Sit both boys at the table, tell them not to move, then go to the toilet. Surely that's what most people do? The only problem would be if the younger one won't sit still.

3y or 36m same difference. Still too young to be left in the care of an 8yo in a public place.