Advice please on going out whilst potty training

[michellep]

DD1 has definitely cracked potty training indoors (although she still refuses to wear knickers!), but tomorrow is the big step of going out of the house. Our routine tomorrow is we have a group at the gym at 10.30 and then there is a little softplay area with an upper platform that she usually goes on which I am seriously worried about without nappies! Can I have other people's experience/advice on this. Are trousers or skirts and tights best, and do I take the potty with me, bearing in mind she hasn't ever wee'd on the toilet before?

If you ahve a portable potty (Mothercare sell them), you'll find it most useful as it folds down to nothing. Let her use it at home first perhaps.
Or take your normal potty with you and take regular trips to the bathroom and you should be OK. it really is not as scary as it seems. But take a change of clothes with you just in case and a spare old towel to mop up any accidents if they happen in a public space.
I think you'll be very proud of your DD in a very, very short time.

I always just kept a close eye and took potty with me - I knew ds would not want to sit on a strange toilet. I just did this till I knew he was fine with other loos and he now stands up to wee so it's really not an issue.

Don't worry if she has an accident, they all do it at some time or other - just take a pack of wipes along and if it's wet anywhere, just wipe it up. Take a couple of spare sets of clothes. If poss, don't put her in tights so that if she's in a hurry there is no faffing.

Just keep reminding her/asking her if she needs a wee as it's often when they are having lots of fun and are distracted that they forget or can't be bothered to go in fear of missing some of the excitement!!

Just go for it - what's the worst that can happen!? I've had friends who have potty trained but put a nappy on for every car journey, trip to public place and that just gets you nowhere!

Thank you. Its the weeing on someone's floor that's the worry, isn't it !! I have heard of those fold down potties, I wasn't sure whether it was worth buying one or not. How long is it until they use the toilet instead of the potty? I will keep on reminding her tomorrow, although she is quite shy, so she may feel a little self-conscious! I may try and skip past the soft play this week just to be safe!

i think you just have to bite the bullet & go for it. we trained ds over the summer & i remember being so paranoid about going out. but you can't not, you'll go mad. lots of reminders, praise & the odd bit of bribery all worked well for us. good luck!

IMO it is much easier to go cold turkey and not mess around with nappies etc as they get confused. Agree with the others. Take your own potty, an old towel, clean knickers and skirts and dont freak if she does a wee where she shouldnt!! She will soon crack it and you will be surprised at how long she can hold a wee for!!

michellep the fold down potty is fantastic! that's the one I meant. we potty trained dd this summer in between holidays and it was great having the potty with us everywhere. she did use it lots of times. great to take to the park etc.
can you visit someone who has harwood floors? A friend, parents etc and have a trial run. I'm not joking. you'll see how good she is and it will make you feel more confident about it too.

Good luck to you too sallystrawberry - lets take a deep breath and do this!!! This of the £££s we will save not having to buy nappies for these ones!!

Sorry, that last one was supposed to read "think of all the £££s it will save"!! Branster, this is a silly question, but do the little bags you put inside the potty hold the wee, or do they leak? I know you go and empty them straight away, rather than carrying it around, but they looked a little flimsy to me!

inside them, they have something that looks like a sanitary towel, so it is absorbent and the liquid would be absorbed by it, you just tie the bag up and put it in the bin or take it home and put it in the bin.

so you need to have some spares with you.

so you need to have some spares with you for nest time

that was 'next' time not 'nest' time. sorry....

Good to see I'm not the only accurate typist around here (would you believe I used to be a secretary!!). I didn't realise that about the bags. I think I shall invest in one when I go shopping on Tuesday. Thanks.

she sounds very eady and able.. just remid her lots of times, and take her to the toilet, prior, in the middle, and at the end of play session.

If she has an accident..and it really is VERY common.. Hey so what!! These places have seen it ALL before... (and worse)... so please don't stress.

Enjoy, and good luck!!

michellep, how old is she? I'm on the verge of potty training dd who's just turned 2 and may be a bit young. But I just wanted to add that from what I've been reading about it lately, the odd accident when out is supposed to be as important a part of the training as all the successes inside as it reinforces to them how important it is to get to a toilet / potty.

prefernot, she's 2yrs 5 months. We've been training indoors now for 2 weeks, and although she does have a few days of not having a poo now, she is more or less there. She had a couple of accidents last night, but it was very late in the day, her grandparents were staying here, and I think she just got a bit tired. I read somewhere that it is often the parents that aren't ready, and I think it is me thats the hesitant one!! Did anyone ever imagine before having children that they would be sitting on a computer late at night, discussing their child's toilet habits!!!

Just to say I am soooo proud of her. We have been to Bluewater Shopping Centre this morning. We drove there (about 15 mins), went straight to John Lewis, took her to the toilets and she wee'd in the potty. We then went to Mothercare (round the other side of the shopping centre), she was holding herself as if needing a wee, so I took her to the changing room and she had a wee in the potty again. We got all the way home, she got through the door, again holding herself and she had a wee on her potty. Her only accident was sat in her highchair at home!!