Public Restroom-potty Training Boy

I taught my 2.5 year old daughter to put her hands on her knees on public toilets. We have the same insert thingy at home. Having her hands on her knees helps her balance (I usually still lightly touch her back) and also keeps them from grabbing everything in the public restroom.

I used to just hold my son up over the toilet - kind of horizontal to it - and have him pee down into the toilet. It worked just fine for me until he got tall enough to pee into by himself.

We got passed the sitting stage pretty quickly and encouraged standing. I either let him stand on my feet, or held him up a couple of inches, but my favorite thing to do was find a small trash can and turn it on its side and let him stand on that. Of course that only worked when there was a small trash can and when it wasn't full. Public pottying is something we try to avoid by making it mandatory to try to go before leaving the house, or we tend to go to places where I am familiar with the bathroom situation when we can.

All three of my boys would stand on top of my feet so they were tall enough to reach the potty. Before that I had one of the folding potty seats that I carried in a big ziploc bag. I never had a problem with my kids getting pinched but I made sure the seat was folded out completely before I sat them down.

my almost 2 yrs old sits on the big potty w/my near (some w/my son)... just gotta kinda angle them so they don't fall in LOL
if you use a portable seat its touching the same grossness anyway.
just use alot of soap afterwards cuz my kids put their hands on the seats. it is what it is! and there were occasions i actually lifted my standing son to pee and aim cuz there was no way he was gonna sit on THAT one. ewe.

We used a folding plastic seat for both daughter and son until they were big enough for the regular toilet seat. It was easy, clean and fit right inside the ziplock and the diaper bag. If we didn't have it with us, I helped hold them up a bit. It was no trouble. I did have to try to get over the fact that they seem to touch EVERYTHING in the bathroom, even when you tell them not to...but we wash hands carefully.

I liked my travel toilet seat topper. I got it at Babies R Us. It's plasitc and folds up. When you unfold it it sits on top of a public toilet so the child wont be sared or fall in. The one I have is white with Sesame Street characters on it. I think it cost me about $10.00. It's about 8 to 10 inches long when folded and about 4 to 5 inches wide. It kept it in the car in a large zip lock bag. It fit nicely in a large purse or bag to take in the stores.

Also, I bought a Baby Bjorn little one piece potty. We used this more than the travel topper. They have small ones that are about $10.00 also. We keep this in the trunk in a back pack along with plastic grocery bags and wipes. The plastic grocery bags fit perfectly over the potty, so the girls can use this and we tie up the bag and throw it away after. This has saved us when we are at a park with no potty or any event, including traveling and there isn't a toilet available.

This potty was way cheaper than offical travel potties. http://www.kohls.com/upgrade/webstore/product_page.jsp?PR...

Hope this helps.

I loved my folding sit, it worked great. Get him from the soft one, the hard one can pinch and it hurts. I would put a paper layer on the sit and than put my sit on top. I still have the sit in the car and we use it for Nr.2. Good luck!
And I forgot... when he was really little I just carried an empty plastic bottle from water. He use to love peeing in it. I would take him to the bathroom and he will pee in the botle. Later he used to stand on my feet.

My son was trained right after he turned 2. For a long time (until recently when he became tall enough to stand on his own) I would stand him on the front edge of the toilet seat and just help him aim...of course, this only is a solution for peeing - but it worked well for us - he didn't touch anything, and he didn't have to sit on a potty that was too big!

I actually squat on the floor and my son stands on my knees and pees in the toilet. He turns 3 in may and we've been doing this since he was two. If the floor is gross I just put some toilet paper on the floor and put my knees on the paper then he stands up on my knees. That is the only way we could do that. If he sat on the seat he would just pee out the front and on the floor. He was fine sitting and pooping on the potty.

I keep a potty seat in the trunk of my car. I'd much rather have him use that than go in those disgusting public bathrooms. I know, however, that sometimes it's just not feasible to avoid them.

Depending how much shorter than the toilet he is, you could also have your son stand on your feet when he has to pee. I've also had my son just stand on the toilet seat and aim down, but I think that felt too high for him.

When he has to sit, I usually go in the handicapped stall, put him on the toilet sideways, and hold him so he doesn't fall. I use the standard issue toilet seat covers that they usually have.

carry the travel potty ring...

I bought mine at right start store .. great potty ring we took it to florida whenwe stayed at granmas..

I used the padded toilet inserts at home and took this out with me , they are light and not to bulky so can fit into a grocery store bag no problem , I did this until my son was ready to stand and pee (about 6 months after training) , at that point I then had him stand on my feet in public bathrooms as the toilets were to high.

K.,
My son was a bit of a peanut and I remember holding him up for what seemed like FOREVER! :-) My arms would shake--LOL

My son trained young, and reaching without a stool to pee in a public restroom was a trick. I would stand behind him and allow him to stand on my toes so I could lift him up to the right height.

My son was always tall enough to stand, but I would just put down several layers of t-paper & have him sit on it while you hold him. I always tell my son to flush with his feet too, and never use his hands when he flushes.

j

I always wiped the seat with T.paper and then put a layer down for him to sit on. If he didn't need to sit... (and I wasn't too pregnant yet to do it) I would pick him up and hold him there and just have him do the aiming, lol.

I NEVER carried around a portable potty seat or attachment. It just always seemed like it would be setting myself up for more problems down the road... (are they gonna want to take it kindergarten with them?!)...

My son was actually already potty trained before 3, but he wasn't tall enough to stand in front of a lot of public toilets... and sorry, but if my husband wasn't there.. he was NOT going in the men's room to use a urinal! lol

You'll figure out what works best for you and your son. Unless HE has some big issue with the public toilets (and he will take his cues from you... soooo....) then I would make it as little extra work for YOU as you can get by with. :)

3 weeks is not long....

Just try it... have him sit on the public toilet... since he can't reach that height standing.
Have an extra pair of clothing with you, just in case he has an accident or refuses to go on the public toilet.

For me, I took it in steps... first them being solidly potty comfortable on a toilet at home... when out, still diaper/pull-ups on. Only for going out. My kids know that. Then, once I knew they could hold it long enough and was mature enough, then no diapers when going out.
I also had a car potty... which is a life saver or when on the road or in traffic. I got mine from www.amazon.com just put in the search word "on the go potty." When my daughter was scared of the public toilet, I used the car potty as well.

For my son, he is in the process of potty learning... but I do not yet take him out, just in underwear. But when he is ready, I will. He's not there yet.
For my daughter, as well, once I felt she was ready for going out just in underwear, and using a public toilet, we went out, for short periods... and then I had a folding toilet seat to use on the public toilets.

Its a process.... in steps.
And some kids don't like the automatic flushing toilets.. .it scares them.

In time.

All the best,
Susan

WOW sounds like you have alot of good answers. Unless I looked over this suggestion here is another one to keep in mind. Use the regular stall toilets for standing. The handicapped stalls seem more appealing because they have more space for you and your little guy but the toilets are taller by two or three inches. I too used to have them stand on my feet plus I would wipe off the toilet area with tissue. As for sitting down, by boys still have a little stage fright when it comes to poo outside of the house so, to be blunt, when they have to go they really have to go and they really don't think about it. Good Luck!!