Early stages potty training outings

[tiggersfamily]

How do you handle the early stages of potty training when going out of the house? My son is really not getting it, been 3 days and he will just wee/poo on the floor and not tell me. We want to go soft play, should I put a nappy on or leave him pants less (with trousers on)?

Definitely use a nappy for sleep if they need it! It’s a hormonal thing so they aren’t weeing in their sleep on purpose. Mine was dry in the day at 25 months but not in the night until 4.5 years!

Exactly the same here. We took a travel potty in the changing bag for when we were outdoors or in the car but didn’t attempt longer outings etc until they could hold it.

I have a 2 years 2 months old who is now fully potty trained. No nappy during day or night. No accidents in the last 4 weeks. I personally think no nappy is the way forward!

I read that book and found it to be BS. I also found it to be extremely unhelpful for parents as you could easily feel a failure if it doesn't work.

I actually think a child led approach is a lot more forward thinking and that's the method I took with both of mine. Both are potty trained by the age of 2.5 and I didn't have to deal with any of the stress I encountered when following the Oh Crap method for an 18 month old who was absolutely not ready or willing to be potty trained. 6 months later it was a doddle when she was developmentally ready.

People blindly and religiously following parenting books is bizarre to me. Most humans don't ascribe to a manual.

We stayed home for a week, except for walking the dog

We just changed our routine for a couple of weeks - it is really confusing for them to have a nappy back on! We did parks and lots of nature wees or stayed in our house / grandparents houses.

Didn't do soft play until much more reliable and then took them every 20 mins to the loo and didn't let them have big drinks!

I found it easier to wait and do it in the summer. Then you could have them running about in the garden (if you have one!) and not feel quite so hemmed in by it. But we pretty much stayed home or went places like the supermarket where there was a toilet and parks where you could wee behind a bush etc. it's a boring time but quite short in the grand scheme of things, so a couple of weeks without soft play won't matter! I wouldn't keep putting a nappy back on and off, it just confuses things.

I've potty trained three and never once took a potty out with me. Just go places with a toilet... It would be a cold day in hell before I whipped a potty out in the middle of a shop, that's a horrible idea!

For various reasons we ended up going back to nappies after starting training. We then used nappies for long car journeys / tube journeys and other places where toilets aren't immediately available. It was fine, and my DS understood the difference and wasn't particularly slower than others to pick up toilet training. As an aside since when has it been ok for a child to take a shit in the middle of Ikea!

@DiamondArtists I did read the book but I found the patronising and Americanised tone of extremely irritating. I also object to the assumption that all children are the same and so can be potty trained based on a particular "method".

@princessbeetroot well good for you. But I prefer not to be limited in the places I am going just because I am potty training. It's also a very unusual child who can manage to hold every time it to get to a toilet unless it's metres away from you. I don't prioritise being metres away from a toilet at all times and obviously even if I did it's not always possible. I've honestly never had anyone bat an eyelid at a child sat discreetly in a corner on a potty. Most people have been there done that and would prefer that than a puddle on the floor.

We didn't go out for 10 days, until he finally got it enough that we could venture somewhere with toilets. I fucking hated it, it was like going back into lockdown (was in 2022).

And he was just turned 3, so plenty old enough and should have been 'ready'. I could probably have waited another six months and had exactly the same experience.

Before you go out, ask your son to try using the toilet. This might help avoid any accidents soon after you leave. Also, if you can, bring a small potty or a seat that fits on public toilets. It can make him feel more at ease when he needs to go. That's what my wife and I used to do with our older son.

@DiamondArtists she was actually 20 months. No idea why I'm justifying myself on the internet to some random pedantic person though. I didn't like the book and I don't agree with you, get over it.

@DiamondArtists actually just doing the maths and she was 22 months. You can get back in your box now.

Potty training disrupts normal life, it's not for that long. Don't go anywhere you wouldn't want to deal with a potty or soggy trousers. For me, that meant that in the first week we were home or in the garden, then short walks round the block, then park, playgroups, houses of understanding friends and family.

Soft play no way, no one wants to have their child crawl through your child's piss, to be frank.

I don't believe in the ready stuff either - funnily enough, kids were ready much earlier when nappies either cost £1 each or you had to wash them yourself.

It just takes patience, boredom and a lot of laundry.

I've just potty trained my 3 year old ( I had to wait for his speech to be good enough, separate issue!)

We did 1 day at home, lots of accidents. Next couple of days we did short trips out with potty before we went. 4th day he went to pre school. We didn't put a nappy back on for anything, except at bedtime.

Got one of those foldable potty seats for out and about. It took about 4 days for him to learn to hold, tell me needs to go and then actually go. We're now doing whole days out with no issues ( fingers crossed!)

Good luck!

Ps I didn't read a book.

Solidarity! We're on day 6 of potty training my 2.5 and I'm losing the will. I'm pregnant again so I'm determined to persevere and get this out the way before new baby arrives. So far we're catching all wees and poos on potty but he's not clicked to take himself there yet which is draining as we have to constantly watch him. 5 days off work for us and now he's with my parents while we work for the rest of the week. He hasn't worn trousers in a whole week! We haven't braved an outing yet as he clearly isn't ready/doesn't have the control. We're all bored shitless and it's making it stressful. Have cancelled weekend plans too in favour of hopefully cracking it!