To think that’s if you are potty training then use a potty rather than the pavement

[Musicforthemasses18]

Saw a parent letting their little girl wee on the pavement of a Main Street in town today. Right in front of TK Maxx. What happened to taking a potty with you?
For both my kids I had one of those portable potty’s that you add a liner too- we took it everywhere when we were potty training.
If it was an adult weeing outside TK Maxx then there would be an outcry- why is it ok to let kids wee anywhere?
Aibu?

We had to go in the car park today. The thing is you surely have to pour the wee out wherever you are anyway so although it’s a bit gross I can’t see it matters for an emergency situation.

I’m now fully understanding why my Mum snorted and laughed at some of the baby stuff available for my kids!

Because a portable potty is just a money spinner invented by someone probably now sitting on a beach in the Bahamas with a mimosa watching their bank balance rise by the second

I always reckoned if you could invent something that hooked parents in, you’d be set for life!

Tkmaxx are in shopping centres that have toilets, or at least near a marks and Spencer's or a costa coffee!

Both of the branches of TKMaxx near me are on out of town retail parks. One has an M&S next door but it's only a food one and it has no toilets. The other has no public toilets on the entire retail park, the nearest toilets are in Bella Italia at the opposite end of the retail park or McDonald's across the road from the retail park. Bella Italia will let people use the toilets but it's a long walk for a desperate toddler. McDonald's will also let people use their loo but you need the key code to unlock the door and it's also a long wait for a desperate toddler while you find a member of staff and tell them you need that week's code. There are lots of buses and low level walls around the retail park and in between the buildings. I'm sure that's not a coincidence

Emergencies happen. Kid could have been potty trained for a year and still get caught out on occasion

Blimey so now I need to not only pack a spare change of clothes for each of my dc, nappies, wipes, drinks and a snack, also a potty! OK! Op, I do agree on the pavement outside tk maxx isn't great, I would find somewhere quiet, but I definitely won't be carrying a potty around.

What's the difference between "toddler wee" and human urine then? Are they two different things or something?

Maximum bladder capacity of an average 2-3 year old = 8fl oz, around 3oz is enough to trigger the urge to wee.

Maximum bladder capacity of an average adult = 16-17fl oz, around 7oz is enough to trigger the urge to wee.

So it's all human urine but which would you rather spill on the floor, 8oz or 17oz?

I nevr let dc do wild wees as i think waiting/planning are important to learn.
However we got caught out with a 5yo stuck in ridiculous traffic where the journey was twice as long and stuck in a queue. We didnt know the area or any restaurants etc. So held over a drain/pavement in a town by the roadside.
However imo actually i prefer a toddler weeing to everyone putting of PT. As the younger ones cant always wait so long.
There are certainly few public toilets. Several where you have to pay. And long car/bus journeys.
I am trying to train dc2 but
The library with toilet is open only 2days/week and will likely close.
The Childrens centre closed.
The supermarket is small so none there.
There isnt one at the park but the cafe open some days part of the day has one. It's ridiculous- poor kids.
The huge shopping centre loos are at either end but if its busy that could be 10min walk plus queues.
The queues at a festival recently must have been 30min plus.

You can carry these instead of potty, special for wees when out or in the car
Only problem they look like thermos

I cannot get excited over this. My daughter IS potty trained. I carried the fold down potty you speak of for ages. As soon as she was happy sitting on a toilet I stopped.

I take it if I know I’m going someone where no toilets but sometimes we are caught. I’m not carrying it forever.

Having said that I would ALWAYS flap round trying to find a discrete area for her to do it. Like you say, town has plenty of loos so not much need there! But there you go, small people suddenly have to go sometimes.

Yup it's gross. A bush or tree has never bothered me but on a Main Street is yuk.

But I find porta-potties gross too.

I just find it disrespectful both to the child and to passers-by. I'd pee in relative privacy in a bush if I had to so would let my child too, I'd never pee and have my undercarriage aired in public so would never subject my child to that either.

Good job none of you pearl clutches live in China....

We have a Potette for DS (been dry for a month), mostly for our holiday when we were on the beach so not close at all to any toilets. Basically it's an absorbent pad in a bag (we had to add a square of kitchen roll to it as DS is a big wee-er ). Either way, we binned like we would a nappy (double bagged). I do take it on longer journeys and would try to avoid a big public wee but DS gives me about 30sec-1min notice so I would prefer a wee on the pavement to a wee in a shop, given the choice. Of course I would prefer a clean toilet or a side road. Not great, but similar to a dog I guess.

I have actually never heard of Potty liners, don’t know anyone else that’s used them . Isn’t it just more waste for landfill? I figured there’s dog wee all over most pavements anyway.

It’s not great but let’s face it, it was probably an emergency and it will have been washed away with rain quickly. Meh.

I've recently potty trained my little one and I don't carry a potty around. If my child is desperate for a wee I take them somewhere private.

My little boy was newly trained. We got caught short in the co op. Me being a human that sometimes makes mistakes I didnt pack a potty in my reusable 10p carrier bag. It was just a short trip but not short enough I could get us home in time. I begged the assistant to let us use their loo, we were going to buy something. She refused, told us to go out of the shop and him go round the corner of the shop next to the flats.

Of course now i know I should have let him wet himself or driven him to the nearest forest to find a bush.

Its not ideal. But sometimes, shit, and piss, happens

Not everyone can afford a portapotty? It's not the best. It would have been better if they had at least gone somewhere discreet, however they could have been hunting around for a toilet for a while for all you know. If she was going to wee, it would have gone though her clothes onto the pavement anyway...

Dogs piss and shit all over pavements, but it’s a small child weeing that causes upset. Plastic potty liner bags add to landfill.
I probably would have moved mine out of the Main Street but you can’t be sure how many places they’d already asked and been denied. A wee on the pavement is preferable to a wet toddler, you could even argue environmentally friendly as it saved a load of washing . I can’t get hung up on it being unhygienic as most wee is sterile.

Either way, we binned like we would a nappy (double bagged)

Why double bagged?

Well said sweetpotato

Why bag a nappy at all? Fold it in on itself and use the tabs to wrap it up. Done.