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Potty training

Is your child ready for potty training at nursery? Here's the place for all your toilet training questions.

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Original poster

Logistics of 3 yr old pooing in public toilet

31 replies

ranger62 · 11/03/2018 08:19

My 3 year old boy has taken to potty training fantastically (still the occasional accident and far from ready for no nappy at night time, but we've only been going at it 3 months). We're starting to get brave and not take a potty out with us as he'll comfortably use a public toilet for a wee.

However, the poo's are going to be a different story. He amazingly did a poo in a restaurant toilet recently, but with the use of our adaptor seat that reduces the size of the toilet seat. I can foresee a time where we might forget to bring it along and I was wondering if anyone had a technique of how to sit him on a toilet for a poo without him falling through! For wee's I just sit him a long way back and I hold onto a leg so he doesn't fall in, but if I do that for a poo it's going to be very messy.

OP posts:

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PeonyTruffle · 11/03/2018 08:26

Err hold him?
Round the waist or under the arms, no need to drag a toilet adapter seat around with you

squarecorners · 11/03/2018 08:26

I'm an having this issue - DS fell into my auntie's toilet yesterday!

childmindingmumof3 · 11/03/2018 08:27

Stop using the potty or toilet seat at home. 3 year olds are quite capable of using a normal sized toilet!

LouseHouse · 11/03/2018 08:29

I crouch in front of DS and he puts his arms around my neck

NoSquirrels · 11/03/2018 08:30

They learn really quickly how to sit! He’s 3, not 18 months. Practise at home, hold him secure to begin with.

LynetteScavo · 11/03/2018 08:31

Just hold him.

Cheekyandfreaky · 11/03/2018 08:31

I stand in front of dd and ask her to hold onto my legs.

davidbyrneswhitesuit · 11/03/2018 08:33

Or teach him to squat with feet on the loo seat - much better position for pooing anyway.

Callamia · 11/03/2018 08:33

Just hold him - under the arms is fine. It’s not amazingly comfortable, but it gets the job done.

When do children work out how to sit on a regular toilet seat? My four year old fell down the toilet yesterday (he forgot the child seat wasn’t on, and fell right in. It was hilarious).

NotSureThisIsWhatIWant · 11/03/2018 08:33

Agree about stoping using the seat and above all carrying it around with you, it just delays the process enormously.

A friend and his ex wife decided to go this way, we were carrying the ducking seat until the child was 6! (and he would have a proper fitting tantrum if the seat was not present, he seemed to think of it as dangerous not to use it!)

PinPon · 11/03/2018 08:34

I had a fold up toilet seat which I kept in a plastic bag in my massive handbag. It helped.

Matilda1981 · 11/03/2018 08:35

Get him used to the toilet at home! I have two girls so they have to sit whatever they’re doing - don’t remember them having any major problems! I never used a potty tho they went straight to using a toilet - think I used to hold them until they got used to it but didn’t take very long.

NotSureThisIsWhatIWant · 11/03/2018 08:35

Practice makes the master (Just the way they learn to use a scooter, they learn no to fall in the toilet)

childmindingmumof3 · 11/03/2018 08:36

Callamia - I'd guess within a week of not using a seat? I never had them so mine used a normal toilet pretty independently at 3.

insancerre · 11/03/2018 08:37

Just get them to hold on to the seat

BertrandRussell · 11/03/2018 08:40

My ds was terrified of pooing in the loo for ages. I just squatted in front of him and he put his arms round my neck.

ineedamoreadultieradult · 11/03/2018 08:40

Hold him under his arms while he sits on the toilet. Or.just let him work it out for himself. Most 3 year olds can use an adult size toilet without any adaptations.

Codysmum88 · 11/03/2018 08:45

Hold him under the arms. We always had a seat adaptor when DS was little, now he's 5 he can use a normal seat but at three years old he would of fell straight down lol

NotSureThisIsWhatIWant · 11/03/2018 08:53

I think that if they can manage to sit on a swing, they can absolutely manage to sit on a toilet. Just a thought.

OneEpisode · 11/03/2018 09:03

Please don’t teach him to stand on his he loo seat as pp suggested. Better suggestions here.

shoelaces · 11/03/2018 09:05

It's all about habits in my experience.
DS would use potty downstairs and potty upstairs for both wee and poo. Then we put a seat on the toilet upstairs and he used the seat. But if he needed a wee or poo when he was playing downstairs, tantrums would be thrown until the potty came out. With no downstairs loo. He refused to go upstairs!!

We moved house and I chucked the potty in the skip on moving day. DH was nervous. DS adapted to new environment, doing wee and poo on the toilet upstairs, even when he was downstairs first.

At relatives houses he didn't use a seat but did this kind of propping up with both arms, so he didn't fall in. We never moved a seat around with us, he just used his arms to balance when required.

Throw the seat away and practice how he can support his own weight with his arms. Sometimes you'll need to help hold him, but mostly he'll get it ok. DS now 6 and still can get all poo off when wiping bum, I wish we had not been so helpful early on so he would be more independent now.

Mumsymcmumface · 11/03/2018 09:09

I have no words!

Carrying round an adapter seat (I don’t even know what one of this is) in case a three year old needs a poo ffs.

There are lots of life skills a kid will need to have mastered by 3 (or 2 really) and sitting on a toilet without falling in is far from the hardest.

Original poster

ranger62 · 11/03/2018 17:33

Well, well, well...what an interesting mix of responses. Thank you to those who were helpful.

This was my first post on mumsnet. It will be my last. There are some unpleasant keyboard warriors out there. I thought I was entering a supportive network but turns out there are a bunch of nasty patronising judgemental thugs roaming around.

For the record my son has been a very late developer and I'm proud of where he has got to. I know I can hold him on the loo. I know he has to learn to do it himself. All I wanted to know was if anyone had any neat tricks.

OP posts:

Chienrouge · 11/03/2018 17:36

Callamia mine are 4 and 2.5 and we’ve never used a potty or an adaptor seat, they just went on the normal toilet. DD2 was potty trained at 20 months and managed the toilet from then (with a step to climb up). They figure it out!
OP I’d just practice using the toilet without an adaptor seat at home.

NoSquirrels · 11/03/2018 17:44

Blimey OP. If you think you’ve had harsh responses, you’re probably best off never darkening MN’s doors again, tbh

If you’d said in your OP what you said just now “any good tricks fir a 3 year old learning to use the big toilet” then it might have been better...

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