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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

See all MNHQ comments on this thread

Original poster

3 year old peeing in a potty in the corner of a museum

361 replies

Griddlesizzle · 16/10/2021 18:41

As it says in the title. Mother just whips the potty out and the child pees away, without the mum even asking anyone if there was a loo nearby. As a side point, the loo was less than 10m away…

Ai by - it’s pretty vile
Aibu - what else are you gonna do?

OP posts:
Bumblebee1223 · 16/10/2021 21:38

@Clocktopus

The average three year old has a bladder capacity of 90-100ml, they might have an accident but the majority of the wee would be soaked up by their clothing. There would not be huge puddles everywhere.
Unless it’s the middle of summer and they are wearing short or a dress!
Innocenta · 16/10/2021 21:40

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pompomsgalore · 16/10/2021 21:41

@Notdoingthis

No not ok. I trained 3 kids no need for a potette ever.
Well done you little miss perfect ⭐️
LookingGlassMilk · 16/10/2021 21:43

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ClaraMumsnet · 16/10/2021 21:44

Hi all, can we please have a bit of peace and love? We know discussions can get heated, but please refrain from personal attacks, and think about hiding or stepping away from the thread if you're finding the discussion unhelpful.

cricketmum84 · 16/10/2021 21:45

I had a Facebook "friend" who posted a photo of her toddler child doing a poo on the potty... proper proud moment

Except it was in ikea

In the middle of a busy aisle

Innocenta · 16/10/2021 21:46

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LookingGlassMilk · 16/10/2021 21:46

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Innocenta · 16/10/2021 21:48

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Innocenta · 16/10/2021 21:48

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LookingGlassMilk · 16/10/2021 21:50

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ClaraMumsnet · 16/10/2021 21:51

Hi, once again, please step back and stop derailing the thread - if we have to remove many posts, then it means the thread may not make sense and we may have to remove it.

LadyOfTheFlowers · 16/10/2021 21:56

Doesn't offend me nearly as much as a bloke taking a leak in a street up against a wall.

Toddlers can't always wait/hold.

Aria999 · 16/10/2021 22:06

Some posters on here seem blissfully oblivious to the fact that some children are much harder to potty train than others.

Personally I probably would have tried for the public loos but it seems a weird thing to be judgy about.

It in no way compares to doing anything toilet or nappy related in an area where food is being sold or consumed. That is gross.

rainbowmash · 16/10/2021 22:22

In this thread: a lot of people who have never worked in customer-facing professions, and who think that museum/shop staff are paid enough to deal with a potential serious contamination issue.

I'll never forget the time we caught a woman changing a diaper in the fitting room (public toilets were available). We had to close the whole area and take a bunch of busy staff off their other duties to clean the area. We weren't a fancy shop by any means but we couldn't risk the danger to our customers.

If you're accustomed to having staff to deal with the less pleasant consequences of your mindful parenting, then I'm happy for you, I guess.

Being a caring parent doesn't mean you get to turn the world into your toilet.

winniesanderson · 16/10/2021 22:24

Some of these comments are horrendous. My youngest is 3 and has been toilet trained for ages. But she is absolutely petrified of public toilets. It's a phase many children go through. I do take a potette on days out. Otherwise she would refuse to go until she had an accident. If I force her into the bathroom - which I have done once or twice - she becomes hysterical, will not sit on the toilet, throws herself on the floor and ultimately pisses herself. I always try to find somewhere discreet for her own dignity and because of opinions like the ones on this thread. But I'm not helping her fear by forcing her to use the toilet and I'm not willing to make her hold it/wet herself. Gradually she will get there, but in the meantime I take a potty everywhere.

Jangle33 · 16/10/2021 22:32

No I wouldn’t do this!

If your toddler can’t last long enough to get to the toilet then they aren’t potty trained as you shouldn’t be out and about without a nappy on! I also have no sympathy with the hand dryer thing except for a small minority with additional needs, kids need to learn to be desensitised

OverTheRubicon · 16/10/2021 22:47

@winniesanderson

Some of these comments are horrendous. My youngest is 3 and has been toilet trained for ages. But she is absolutely petrified of public toilets. It's a phase many children go through. I do take a potette on days out. Otherwise she would refuse to go until she had an accident. If I force her into the bathroom - which I have done once or twice - she becomes hysterical, will not sit on the toilet, throws herself on the floor and ultimately pisses herself. I always try to find somewhere discreet for her own dignity and because of opinions like the ones on this thread. But I'm not helping her fear by forcing her to use the toilet and I'm not willing to make her hold it/wet herself. Gradually she will get there, but in the meantime I take a potty everywhere.
That sounds really hard for her and you all. It also means that unless she can wear a nappy on an outing, she isn't ready to go to a museum.
ohthestruggles · 16/10/2021 22:51

I'll never forget the time we caught a woman changing a diaper in the fitting room (public toilets were available). We had to close the whole area and take a bunch of busy staff off their other duties to clean the area.

Was this a genuine poo-nami? I have visions of an OTT monsters inc type extermination team arriving to cleanse the area after a mum changed a wee wet nappy.

StoneofDestiny · 16/10/2021 22:59

Utterly grim and unnecessary. Who the heck wants to see or smell urine round every corner. Find a toilet and use the potty there or take nappy pants.

Bumblebee1223 · 16/10/2021 23:03

@ohthestruggles

I'll never forget the time we caught a woman changing a diaper in the fitting room (public toilets were available). We had to close the whole area and take a bunch of busy staff off their other duties to clean the area.

Was this a genuine poo-nami? I have visions of an OTT monsters inc type extermination team arriving to cleanse the area after a mum changed a wee wet nappy.

Me too. 🤣 Sounds a bit over the top?

I worked in a bank and knew of a few (grown up) customers having accidents that staff had to casually clean up. We did have to get a team in once when one customer had a diarrhoea accident all over the carpet though.

marthawashington · 16/10/2021 23:28

Was this a museum with art in it? If so, there would have been rules in place to protect the art, it's the same as no food or drink in the galleries. Splashed urine could cause irreversible damage. I've worked in museums for 20 years and have never seen a parent whip out a potty. Completely inappropriate.

rainbowmash · 16/10/2021 23:43

@ohthestruggles

I'll never forget the time we caught a woman changing a diaper in the fitting room (public toilets were available). We had to close the whole area and take a bunch of busy staff off their other duties to clean the area.

Was this a genuine poo-nami? I have visions of an OTT monsters inc type extermination team arriving to cleanse the area after a mum changed a wee wet nappy.

Interesting that you think the presence of actual exposed human urine (yes, that's "all" it was) in a small closed public space isn't worth a cleanup effort. I don't think our customers would agree.
RAFHercules · 17/10/2021 00:31

It's not something I ever did when raising my 3 but it's not something I could get worked up about either. I'd just imagine that the family were particularly concerned about public loos for some reason.
Good job you lot don't live in France!! We once watched in horror as a Policeman whipped his willy out (whilst directing the traffic at a road junction) and did a wee in front of 4 lanes of traffic. Shock

Peach01 · 17/10/2021 00:40

If you go out, take the potty with you, so your child understands that you'd like them to wee or poo in the potty every time they need to go.

NHS potty training advice.