To think this is really a bit much, or is it apparently ok?

[Stickaforkinimdone]

Very busy main road in south London this morning at 9.45ish, I find myself stopped in traffic waiting for the lights to change
To my left is a bus stop with a number of people waiting in the shelter and I watched (slightly in horror I admit) along with pretty much everyone else as a woman who had pulled up her car into the front of the bus stop, gets one of those portable potty things out, gets her daughter out of the back of the car, trousers off, and sits her on the potty in the middle of the pavement in front of the bus shelter.

Now is it me, or is that just really not appropriate??

Blocking the bus stop is what is unreasonable. Don't mind about the potty thing.

Was it raining?

Just when I think I've heard it all! That was totally inappropriate. What the hell is wrong with some people?!

No it wasn't raining....It was also right by a massive supermarket which is what makes it all the more baffling

Well what was her alternative? It's not great but sometimes in the middle of potty training you end up in a position where none of your choices are great. Unless her daughter was 15 in which case it's a bit off. Also the parking was probably iffy - I'd be more concerned about her using the bus lane than the potty thing.

It's bloody disgusting.

People have toilet-trained kids forever without resorting to public potty use, so what's her excuse?!

I'll be honest my initial reaction was to think 'this is one of those things I'd read about on mumsnet but would never happen in real life, and yet, here we are!'

Blocking the bus lane.....and letting your kid toilet on the street in full view of everyone??!

inappropriate for many reasons, not least little kids are capable of feeling embarrassment - people seem to forget that! I would have been embarrassed even as a toddler, being asked to relieve myself on a busy roadside!

I can see this may seem a bit inappropriate, but if you've only just got your DC out of nappies, you've tried them on the loo right before leaving the house, you're in heavy traffic ages away from your destination and dc suddenly announces they need a poo - what do you do? I've certainly been there with the child who 5 minutes earlier has failed to produce anything when sat on a loo and who suddenly announces they need to go RIGHT NOW. If you have no change of clothes what else do you do?!

Winifred
A) she tells said child that she has to wait (otherwise we'd all toilet train think it's ok to take a poo in the street)
b) if you MUST stop then pull into a side road where you child isn't on view, your not blocking a bus lane, or better still take her into the supermarket to use their toilets!!

Yes the bus lane thing is not forgiveable, and if there's a supermarket of course you should ideally use that (although I've definitely had days when parking in a supermarket car park, getting the permit, going in and finding where the hell the loo is would have taken too long).
Telling a toddler that they have to wait is not always going to get the job done.

I agree with you OP from a calm objective rational perspective. But that goes out the window when you are sleep deprived, in a rush, have had countless mini meltdowns and stresses already that morning and you have a toddler screaming "mummy it's coming out right now!!!" in the back of the car. I can easily imagine how you could reach the 'f!!k it' point and pull in to a bus stop. I'm sure at some at some point she will sit with her head in her hands and a glass of wine and say to people "oh my god I can't believe I did that". My DH once changed our very young DS's (dirty!) nappy on the table in a beer garden. He cringes about it now. At the time he didn't think twice. He was pretty out of it with tiredness and with a bunch of other dads with babies who agreed it was totally fine.

Here - I've seen small boys peeing into drains, and little girls being held out over drains/gutters. I agree with alsmutko. The toileting isn't a problem for me, but I think that stopping at a bus stop s totally out of order.

Sometimes tinies just can't wait - they get the signal to wee almost as the urge to urinate takes them over. It isn't deliberate - control takes time.

Some kids can't wait. its not ideal, but i would sympathise, rather than judge her. i doubt she WANTED to get her kid to piss in a bus lane!

Why did she have to take ten child out of the car to use the potty? Couldn't she have sat them on it in the footwell of the car (obviously will pulled over- not driving!)

Where did she empty it?

No it's a bit much!!

How old was the child?

If a toddler I would say that is not unreasonable.

Meh. Sometimes with potty training dc you find yourself in an impossible situation. I'd imagine this was one of those situations and she's probably sitting at home now cringing.

I doubt her child will grow up thinking it's okay to go to the toilet in the street, talk about over reaction!

I was going to say the same as MeanAger
I carry a potty around as one of my twins is currently potty training and I put her on it on the back seat, in between their car seats. Then carry sealable bags and wipes around with me and dispose of it when I can. Absolutely no need for a child to toilet in public. As someone says, they really can feel embarrassment from an early age and who really needs to see that?! And that's aside from using a bus stop to park in!

Child was about 2.5-3 I'd say so yea definitely at the younger end of the toilet training spectrum

I didn't wait around long enough to see what happened to the contents!!

blocking the bus is ridiculous to say the least.

Using a potty, well it depends on the potty. If she had a travel one, and didn't throw the bag on the road, no drama. No difference between putting a nappy or a potty bag in the bin.

When a teen I was a Saturday girl in a shoe shop.

My geography teacher came in with his toddler and he proceeded to get a potty out in the middle of the shop.

I legged it to the stockroom as I was so embarrassed.

If you have no change of clothes what else do you do?!

If your child is 'only just out of nappies' and you've brought them out with no change of clothes, you screwed up. It doesn't mean everyone else should have to watch them poo in public.

Rush to a toilet, use the potty in the car, or deal with pooed pants.

We have a portable potty with a suction lid, so I don't 'dispose' of the contents until we get to a toilet or return home. There's been many times where I've had to whip the potty out in a shopping centre etc, but I move to a quiet area if I cannot get to the toilets quick enough. It's not easy for a toddler to hold the urge to use a toilet/potty, and needs must.
I would never stop in front of a bus stop, and get my DS out onto the pavement to use the potty though. I'd probably go into the supermarket car park, at the far end, and get him to use it in the car.
Of course we teach our children about private areas being private, so to expose them in front of a dozen or more people would be the main issue for me.