If you have a tiny child who is nearly completely potty trained how do you toilet them in public?

[PellMell]

For the last week dd aged 2.2 has been doing brilliantly and not giving me any problems at all with her progress. She tells me she wants a wee.
She sits on her potty and excitedly tells me "I did a weewee" etc
Yesterday whilst out and about in the car she did one in the carseat just as she woke up from a nap. She got quite upset and took lots of reassuring that it was o.k.
I feel keen not to confuse her by putting pull ups on her because I figured if she is having about 30 to 45 minutes in between each pee (at least) then a twenty minute drive is o.k.
I take the potty but wonder how I progress from there?
She is a tiny little girl...only 21 pounds what do I do about huge horrible public toilets or do I just have to carry a potty about?

just hold her up over the seat!

You can practise at home.

failing that, yes - you have to carry a potty.

I had:

*Piddle pad for the car seat and one for the buggy.
*Collapsable potty with aborbant pads in the bottom by Tommy Tippee. Fab because you don't have to worry about disposing of wee, good if we were in the library or similar. It's still stashed in the car for emergencies.
*Folding toilet seat which lived in the changing bag for using in public loos. dd1 is tiny too and at 3.4 is just about growing out of this now.

hth.

same with my dd when she was potty trained - hold her over the seat.

a toodle loo is a fold up portable toilet seat for little bottoms that sits on top of the loo seat or a tommee tippee potette folding potty with liners. not sure where you get toodle loo from - GLTC, JoJo palces like that???

I put her on a public toilet, holding her so she doesn't fall. Can't be doing with carrying a potty around with me in my handbag.

lol Malory

just hold her, crouch in front of her and she can put her arms arond your neck, or you could bend down and hold her

if its an emergency take her into a shop and most people dont mind you using theirs (esp when they see your cute dd )

use a towel on the car seat in case of accidents

if you have an emergency on teh road, open passenger and bck door for a bit of privacy (when car is stationary of course ) and hold her with her back to your chest, with her legs pulled up to her chest, and crouch down so she can pee on the grass

Dd1 when newly potty trained refused to pee anywhere other than a potty! Shrieked in protest if held over grass/kerb/big loo etc and just held it in. She doesn't mind so much now that she's seen her friends doing it but that's why we had to go down the Potette route.

I do a combination of all the above.

Ds (2.8) decided he really doesn't like toilets (apart from at home) and gets a bit hysterical when confronted with one without a child seat . I tried holding him etc but he gets really upset so I have a folding seat that fits in my handbag and we use that when out and he's fine with it.

I also have a folding potty for the back of the car or in the pushchair if we are somewhere without a toilet. I had to use this recently on a boat trip on the Thames where there was no loo aboard. A bit embarassing but we found a quiet corner and ds just sat on the fold up potty (luckily just a wee) and I tied it up and bagged it to throw away later. We are gradually using the fold up potty less and if there is no loo available I just hold him up in a sort of u shape at the side of the road or under a tree and he wees like that though at first he really did not like doing that either (hence the fold up potty). We use the the fold up seat though and take it on holiday so that ds will use the loo where we are staying.

oh and SHOOGLE LIKE MAD for drips

Thanks for all the advice
I once saw a mum stand her little boy beside the car and he peed in a nappy sack. Is it easier for boys to pee in public?
I have not even held her near the toilet yet and yesterday at a friends I said "do you want to sit on the toilet like Sam?" (he has a little pad seat on it and a step) and she did a runner.
I am really pleased with her though
I have been a mum for 18 years but my first child is disabled so I have never done this befor.

pellmell she sounds adorable
dont let it keep you hostage in the house, you will soon learn where all the public toilets are and how long it takes to sprint to them with a child under each arm

good luck!

Ah nappy sack is a good idea for boys !

I'm not sure it is much easier at first for boys as they are unable to hold on and wee properly without getting it all over themselves (well ds isn't anyway).

my ds loves to wee on the car tyre in emergencies ('potties are for babies mummy...!') great when it interrupts a long journey as he can then tell those we are visiting (or even poor shop assistants!)

'I made steam today with my wee wee!'

I have to say I really, really hate seeing a child weeing in the street - it goes back to my own childhood when I remember vividly being held above the drain in broad daylight on a busy street and as desperate as I was my bladder clammed up - it was having no part of this indignity!! (It was brother holding my over the grate)

I've gone to great lengths to avoid ever having to do this with dd (just lots and lots of toilet stops basically) and wouldnt let anyone else do it with her either.

Discretion is one thing, but sometimes it is done so openly - I just find it a bit bleurgh..

The other problem is we live in a village where all journeys are 20 to 30 mins to town. I will ask her to do a wee as near to getting in the car as possible and then as soon as I stop (I have room in the footwell of the car for her to sit on the potty)

DH got a tiny bit huffy with me last night because I needed him to help get the straps through the holes in carseat cover so I could wash it. He looked at me like I was mad and said
" what are you washing it for she will probably do it again tomorrow"
I know he had a point but I hate the smell of wee.
I might see if I can find a way to keep it dry just incase.
Then I just have to come to terms with the fact that my baby is a big girl in Dora "nic niks"

you can get a washable waterproof pad for the carseat in jojo and probably mothercare - no need to strip the car seat down

pellmell, i had to go on a long car journey recently and dd2 wasnt 100% with her toilet training - i let her travel bare bummed on a pampers bedmat

and a towel - she had one accident, did tell me she was needing but i had nowhere to stop in time

at least the seat stayed dry and she didnt wet any clothes

Thanks for the links and product reccomendations
well she has woken up from nap (in my bed-mad or brave?)no wee
I took her and held her straight over the looseat in the bathroom without asking her. She thought it was funny and not scared at all but she did not need a wee and said "It's not trying is it?"
After 5 minutes downstairs I popped her over the downstairs loo-seat and again she wasn't scared.....so no worries there.
I'm going to go out and get a little loo seat I think.
MY back will have to get used to this won't it

She's still doing great.
Poor little thing has just said"I want Fifi nic-niks!"
I asked her why
She said "I'm in trouble though!"
I looked at her pants and they were a teeny bit wet and she said it again and did a little fake cry.
I never say that to her and have a feeling the little boy I look after has told her she will be in trouble if she wets.
I got those pamper changing mats yesterday and have used one as a pad for the carseat.
Going to venture out in a minute but had hoped she would do a poo first.
Fingers crosssed.