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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To put my 2 year old on his potty in a restaurant?

235 replies

Volodya · 05/08/2008 20:00

I took 2yo ds and 7mo dd up to town yesterday. We're on week 2 of potty training ds. It's going fine but I still carry a potty everywhere I go.

I was planning to get us sandwiches for lunch and sit outside but it was raining so we ended up in a museum cafe at lunchtime. Of course I tried to put ds on the potty before we went in and of course he declined to do anything.

When we were about 15 minutes into the meal, both children in high chairs, everything liberally smeared with pasta bolognese and spinach puree, dd's buggy piled high with all her lunch detritus (cool bag, bits of rice cake, muslin, blah blah), ds announced that he needed his potty. That tends to mean that he needs it NOW.

So rather than clearing everything out of the buggy, strapping in spinach-covered dd, packing everything up, picking up bolognese-covered ds, and heading off to find out where the loos were, I simply whisked the potty under the table between ds's high chair and the buggy and popped him on, crouching down in front of him so that (I hoped) he was virtually hidden from view. (It was not a busy cafe and we weren't very close to any other tables).

Within about a minute and a half I was approached by the waiter asking if we could "transfer your son to the toilets", citing health and safety and saying that he'd already had a couple of complaints from other customers! I said that I didn't see how this could be done, with dd, buggy etc and ds already on the potty...! The waiter was v sympathetic and said he completely understood but that he was in a difficult position because of other customers' complaining. Fortunately the situation was resolved at that point by ds standing up to reveal a clean potty...

So WIBU to put him in the potty in the restaurant in that situation? (WIBU to leave my house on week 2 of potty training?!) How would you have handled this differently?

OP posts:
neverforget · 13/09/2008 20:18

obviously put her dd on the potty in the resteraunt and not pood on a potty herself

chenin · 13/09/2008 21:48

Just to stick a spanner in the works...

I totally agree with the ewwwww factor of doing this in a restaurant and I am no. 227 poster on this threat agreeing...

But about a week or so ago there was a thread from a girl who went to a party and she had popped outside, and there was a fully grown bloke chatting to friends, holding his todger, and having a wee right by the entrance to the pub/restaurant. Now THAT is totally disgusting (little baby wee versus drunk piss artists smelly wee - not in a potty ) Far more gross than what the OP is posting about IMHO, and far far less indignant postings saying so. Different people posted on there saying it was 'normal'....

Janni · 14/09/2008 00:23

Totally agree helliebean, absolutely disgusting.

Maybe his mum used to whip out the potty in restaurants?

ChukkyPig · 14/09/2008 00:27

Are Volodya and Pennant one and the same I wonder? Out of the MN hordes they are the only ones who agree that taking a shit in the middle of a restaurant is a reasonable and, in fact, wholesome thing to do. And feel the need to talk about it briefly but in an, erm, conversation starting way, shall we say.

TeenyTinyTorya · 14/09/2008 00:58

Where have all Volodya's posts gone? This isn't making sense to me.

Janni · 14/09/2008 01:04

If you search 'Volodya' under 'search for messages' there are posts there. They haven't gone as far as I can tell.

TeenyTinyTorya · 14/09/2008 01:11

Oh ok. I thought there were meant to be more posts in this thread as it sounds like people are replying, but I can't see them. Must just be my computer.

TeenyTinyTorya · 14/09/2008 01:11

Oooh, they've come back!

roseability · 14/09/2008 10:09

I'm surprised the OP hasn't been accused of child abuse yet

weebump · 14/09/2008 11:52

Yes, yes, I agree with everyone too. Peeing in public shouldn't be encouraged - for children or adults - but in a restaurant especially. But I certainly wouldn't agree with some posters who said to leave the baby and ask the waiter to watch her while running to the loo with the 2 yo. Now that's just mad! You can't expect a waiter to look after your baby.

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