To think its wrong to use potty out in the open

[Edinburghmummy12]

Walked past a women and her child sat down in a potty useing it on a very busy street . What do you all think cos part of mes thinking fair enough but the other parts thinking no

morethan my mum used to hold me over a drain as a small child. One day she was doing this (or I may have just wee'd in a potty, can't remember which) and an elderly lady stopped and had a go at my mum about how disgusting it was to put wee down the drain, she should be ashamed of herself etc. My mum politely told her that it was a lot better than her allowing her dog to poo on the pavement as it had just done and walking off and leaving it!

Not proud of it but once sat DD on pottette to do a poo in ELC. Alternative was poo on clothes or on the floor. She was quick to be potty trained but still occasionally couldn't wait. Don't see a better alternative. Also used a lot in the park as never got the hang of holding her to wee on grass without her weeing on either her shoes or mine.

DS refused to use the pottette as didn't like the noise of plastic bag. We had loads of accidents as he refused to wear pull ups any more at age of 3.3 (so not exactly young) but didn't get the hang of it. Then went the other way and regularly held it all in for 24 hours then suddenly desperate. Using potty would have been so much easier.

Do these people who advocate staying at home for a week or more not have jobs? And even if we didn't staying at home for a week is guaranteed to produce stress which is not good way to potty train.

Even now aged 7 I cannot make him use the toilet before we leave. No way could I have persuaded a 3 year old.

I don't think my DC were particularly abnormal. I think some of you whose children could hold on for an hour after week's potty training or never went more than 1 minute from a toilet probably are outside the norm in my RL experience. But then one of the good things about MN for me is realising that what you think of as normal probably isn't.

I am also loving how quickly people are jumped on and told to put their toddlers back in nappies, you can't always go back. We are having more accidents than I would like, wearing nappies is no longer a option for him he hates them, they are yucky he gets distressed at peeing in one. So on we go regardless.

And I stayed at home for over a week!

A couple of weeks ago I had to stand in a park and catchpoof from my three year old's bum with a wet wipe. Shit happens.

whybehappy it's not just you. As mum said a few pages back (and others since), shock horror not every child is the same and just like some take longer to walk or grow teeth, others take longer to train their bladders. Those with easy trainers can think everyone has it that easy, but they simply don't. DD was toilet training for a year and continued to have multiple accidents a week for years after that. Fun? No. But it's laughable that her difficulties might be purely down to my astoundingly rubbish parenting, compared with toiletting gurus on this thread.

For those who are wondering about the full potty - if wee, tip out on grass if there is any. For poo or if there's no grass/soil, scoop it up in a disposable nappy. If you think that's grim, you would not cope well with my life. I've actually never had to do it in a busy street but we have made use of one in several quiet streets and car parks, preferably shielded by buggy or car doors, or in car footwells etc. It's much harder now DD is getting older.

I live in the UK Mintyy

DD does a 30 minute bus ride morning and afternoon. I sit her on a towel and carry a change of clothes just in case but so far I haven't needed them. She will pee on me tomorrow now I have said that, of course

If you are going on the school run, would it not be possible to pop in the school for a wee? Do schools refuse to let toddlers use the loos

I also agree with Vivienne - I have never seen a potty whipped out for a toddler in any public place in my entire life. I just asked my mum about this thread and she was horrified at the idea but then again she is very "proper!"

It might have been us you saw - not often, but if we have to, I will get the small potty out. I can't lift DD2 over a gutter as my back would give way. DD2 will say she doesn't need a wee then go five minutes later, often wetting herself - she's only 2. Once she did a poo - I scooped it in a nappy bag and put it in the dog poo bin.

The times I've done it, other passing women have nodded sagely and said 'I remember those days well'.

YABU.