to think they should have gone into toilet /somewhere more private?

[loveandsmiles]

Took DD to weekly toddler gym session at local leisure centre. There is a class on beforehand so we have to queue outside - glass wall looking into gym and further glass wall overlooking swimming pool - there are 20 toddlers in the class - ages 2 to 3 years. Not much space to queue, filled with 20 adults, children, buggies etc.

Anyway, one of the toddlers says she needs a poo - luckily toilets are opposite to where we are queuing - ladies, gents, family /baby change/disabled. Well, the mum gets a potty out of a carrier bag and sits it down where they are in queue, pulls down toddlers clothing and sits her on it! In middle of queue, in full view of people already in gym and those in pool. Toddler proceeds to poo.......

Fully appreciate how hard it can be toilet training and that all children are different - some might not like sitting on a 'big toilet' for instance but should the mum not have taken the potty into the toilets or somewhere a bit more private? I was a bit . I am toilet training my DD at the moment so am not unsympathetic - when they need to go, they need to go but some places are more appropriate than others!!

Yanbu completely unnecessary.

YANBU. That's just gross.

Grim. And weird.

I saw someone do that at a toddler group once. They were about 2 metres from the door to the toilets & said toilets had potties & toddler seats available. Just why?! Surely part of toilet training is teaching them where to go & how to wait long enough to get there!

YANBU, that is inappropriate and just wrong!

Yuk. Middle of the park? Yes I could understand this. Public place with easily accessible toilets? No.

YANBU. That's grim.

I wouldn't expect my toddler to do the toilet anywhere where I wouldn't so no YANBU. Poor kid, how humiliating for them.

And disgusting. I'd have boaked.

That's disgusting. I would have judged.

Wrong wrong wrong. On every level.

AGnu absolutely - as well as teaching them to go on the toilet , you do it in an appropriate place too.

The thing is she had to go into the toilet to empty the potty after wafting the smell past us - yuk. It was almost as if she wanted everyone to know her DD was out of nappies - which is good, but pooing in public definately is not!

Jesus, that poor child! Never mind all the people in the queue, watching and smelling!

People are strange.

Is it one of those groups with limited places ? Maybe she just wanted to keep her place in the queue ??

kali. I don't like to judge others parenting but I did have my judgey pants on today

waiting no, we pay for a block of classes at the start of term

That close to a toilet (presuming toilet in good clean condition, room in cubicle for parent and child etc) totally unreasonable.

Potties to me were for emergencies - I hated cleaning out a dirty potty so would have encouraged use of the toilet for that reason alone.

Never used potties as couldn't face cleaning them. Toilet and step.

Grim and disgusting op.

That is gross and unnecessary but I'm sure someone who wasn't there will come along in a minute and explain exactly why yabu.

YANBU.

In a park, a field, on a beach etc. (basically somewhere with no easily accessible toilets) fine. No problem.

Inside a building with adequate toilet facilities and in plain view of everyone? No. It sounds as though the little girl was quite used to the situation too - I can't really imagine any of my DCs being happy to sit & poo surrounded by lots of strangers! When they were 2 obviously - it would be hugely inappropriate now .

And, even if the child was only comfortable using a potty, her mum should still have taken the potty into the toilets for her to use.

My DD is so scared of public toilets, she won't even use a potty inside a baby change room, let alone a big toilet.

Yesterday we had to take her out of Pizza Express, to the car, so she could wee on the potty in the fecking car park.

She's just turned four.

But I accept my daughter is weird and difficult, and I would NEVER let her take a shit on the potty surrounded by people. She, on the other hand, would be totally fine with it.

I used an emergency foldaway potty for those moments where they just had to go and there was no toilet nearby, as I preferred that to wet clothes and tantrums and having to clean everything up and either find a toilet to clean up or go straight home.

But I wouldn't use it in public in such a manner when there are toilets nearby.

That's not a very polite or hygienic thing to do. I wouldn't have said anything of course as it's impossible to know the circumstances but, I think the parent should have popped to the toilets.

Driver my eldest was scared of public toilets too. It was the noise of the hand dryers. I never let him take a dump in public either! Car parks, yes, even in the footwell of the car. Eventually he got over himself.
Op, yanbu.

I think some people just lose their mind when they have a baby.