Child using potty in public

[Moominfan]

I'm pretty easy going, bordering on complacent to mumsnet standards. Went to a fair today. Kid and dad in queue. Dad whips out Potty and the kid does their business there and then. Is this what I have to look forward to? Mines not potty trained yet. Would most people atleast go hide behind a bush or something? There were loads of people around. Place was heaving.

Probably the same parents dumping in John Lewis and still in nappies at 4. Neither necessary. Both utterly ridiculous

Gosh, April, you seem very angry about later potty training. Why is that?

Some kids train earlier. Some later. Some, but not all, who train later have SEN. All kids are individuals, there are not robots. The kids who are not trained by reception are a small minority. There will usually be a valid reason for this.

What is there for you to be so cross about with the training schedules of other people's children?

The majority of children are out of nappies by the time they start school and for those who aren't, so what? There will often be underlying reasons for this and what business is it of anyone else if that particular child isn't ready for toilet training yet?

This exact thread is a question that was asked today on the ‘Disney Paris for Brits’ Facebook page.

A lady asked if she was ok to take her child’s potty And use it in the queue as sometimes it can be over an hour wait.

I toilet trained DS in our touring caravan, it was so easy. Because the toilet is smaller than a normal flushing one & less frightening, it was easy to whip DS quickly to the toilet, I also had a potty in the awning for when he got engrossed in playing, we just organised a week where we hardly moved off the site, no nappies or pull ups during the day, sat him either on the potty or toilet every hour on the first day & gradually extended the time over the week & got him to tell us when he needed the toilet, he was dry during the day within 5 days, no stress, I think we had about 3 accidents in the whole week. Within 3 months he was dry at night as well.

I have three children and never did this. I just spent a few days at home with them to get them started, then if we went out made sure they used the toilet before we went and factored in regular toilet visits while we were out.

I was more discreet than that for the dignity of DC's. I had a potette which has bags with an absorbent insert (I didn't buy the replacements, they were ridiculously expensive, compost bags and cheap sanitary towels worked just as well).

Gosh, April, you seem very angry about later potty training. Why is that?
Not angry with late potty trainers -if they can't be arsed and are happy to continue to pollute the planet that's up to them-but more pissed off at the disgust towards this man who is resourceful enough to be able to take his child out whilst continuing with the potty training. I think the man should be applauded not looked down upon.

There is nothing wrong with using a potty (somewhere discrete and sensible like back or car, behind Bush or in a toilet.)

But no, it's not laudable to take a small child out and about while potty training.

It's so unfair on the poor kid who will be trying really hard to learn what it feels like when they need a wee, to ask them to do that whilst surrounded be loads of noisy interesting stuff.

This is why it's recommended that you start potty training when you have some time off at home with your dc so they can have some quiet concentrated time getting used to it all before learning how to let people know they need a wee before they have to do the same while having fun at nursery etc.

Parents who carry on as usual but whip the potty out anywhere will have kids that keep having accidents for a looong time.

And I am not remotely smug about my potty training experiences, I made so many mistakes it's ridiculous. Which is why I and so many others are saying what these parents are doing is a bad idea.

I never took a potty out and about. It's ridiculous. My kids were never caught short either.

We were having a nice, romantic meal on the last day of our holiday last year. The family next to us suddenly held up their little girl, pulled her knickers down and sat her down on a potty, it was gross. People were eating. It was a smart restaurant.

Well you are angry, April if you are still banging on about people not being 'arsed' and the 'planet', despite what people have said on this thread about the possible reasons for later potty training (I have no skin in the game, btw, my own DD trained at 2. And not everybody uses disposables, but hey ho).

I'm guessing you are the type to whip out a potty wherever. Fine. But some people find that bad manners.

Never had to do this with my daughter, she’s 4.5, been potty trained a year.
Never had an accident.

I don’t believe a child is ready if they can’t be challenged to hold it for a minute or 2. Its good to have hold.

I'm guessing you are the type to whip out a potty wherever. Fine. But some people find that bad manners

Nope I was the the type to put my potty training toddlers in pull-ups whilst out and about and watched their wee faces looking at me all confused when I had to tell them to just wee themselves when they had to go and there were no nearby facilities.

Because, of course, it's only either one or the other...

How about just toilet training them properly then, April? You are funny mind 🤣

Still confused as to why it's ok to let your child wee/poo in a bush, and why that is apparently more "dignified" than letting your child discretely do their business on a potty 🤔🤣 (the queue situation was obviously not discrete, but I'm surprised people find that really so offensive, it's a toddler ffs). Also still finding it hilarious that people can't see passed their own experience "my child was FULLY trained 17 seconds after starting to train the moment they turned 2" slow clap. Bravo. Some children take longer. Some children refuse to wear nappies any longer but aren't actually "Ready". Some children get so big they are leaking from size 6 nappies everytime they do a poo so you train them even they it takes them longer than a nano second to get it. Some children just get distracted easily and forget to go until the last second. ALL children are different. Stop being so judgy!

Personally I think it's more dignified to allow a CHILD, who is learning a pretty complex bodily function, to use a potty in public than to allow them to soil themselves because you consider it too ghastly to allow them to use a contraption that is designed for that exact purpose. And I refuse to believe that every "Ready" child on mumsnet has never ever had one single accident on public because they are fully capable of waiting to reach a toilet in all situations and environments 🙄

Also my 3yo would look at me agog if I suggested he did a shit in a bush. And I certainly wouldn't leave it there to fester, as many have implied is perfectly fine, that is way more disgusting than using a potty in a queue IMO

Mine have done plenty of 'free wees' in bushes etc. At least they have a little privacy that way.

@TheBubGrower why would anyone lie?

So what's wrong with a "free wee" avec potty? Not every potty wee has to be under a spotlight you know

So fine for dogs to piss and shit in public but "quelle horreur" if a small child uses a potty.

Weird that some people compare toddlers to dogs.

jellybean because not one single child I know in real life has NEVER had an accident, so I refuse to believe that every potty naysayer on here has children who mastered potty training instantly. Sure I'm sure some children do just get it straight away, but can we not just accept that actually not all children are able to do that?

I think it’s really off that parents think it’s ok to inflict their child’s piss and shit on everyone else. Not to mention the fact that private’s should be that ‘private’ and it’s unhealthy to teach a child that they can crap whenever the feeling takes them. They can’t even get to an area away from wandering eyes for goodness sake. I still don’t know if these kids that are shitting in the middle of the supermarket are also having their arses wiped in front of everyone 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Ps I have never had a child who couldn’t hold a poo, it’s not usually as urgent as wee.