Seeking Advice on Traveling with Potty Training Toddlers

Hi L.,

My hubby and I usually take the little potty along with us in the car, but they are boys and boys can pee anywhere. My boys alwaya have a lot of fun when they get to pee pee in the grass. They feel very proud.

I have a potty I take with me. I take freezer size ziplock bags to stretch across the potty for them to pee in and then I can zip them up and dispose of them later.

When mine were that small I used a little potty from the dollar store. I did not know it at the time, but it had a little sticker on it of a pig. The kids started calling it the piggy potty. Sweet memories. If you put a paper towel in the bottom than it will be easier to keep clean when BM is needed. I also use a bed mat under the car seat to protect the seat of the car in case of accidents.

C.

just make frequent stops and if they say they have to go stop. they are small children the cops don't normally say anything about a child using the restroom on the side of the road. I did that with my son, he would tell me momma potty if there was not somewhere to stop right now I would pull over and open front and back door and have him stand in the middle. a two hour trip would take me three to four hours because I would stop very frequent.

My oldest son actually potty trained on the road! He loved it, We started off with no diaper/ pullup and when he told us he had to go we simply pulled over and let him pee in the bushes. There was one or two accidents but we put a pullup back on after he got the idea that we would pull over. In fact he liked it so much that when we came home him to the in home daycare, he went out to the backyard to pee on a tree... At first I was embarrassed and explained to her why he was doing it!
Now I have twin girls who are 3 yrs old. Its so frustrating cuz my son was potty trained way before this. However we did not go on any long road trips with them. They potty train best when not wearing a pull up.. they seem to think that a pullup or diaper is the place to potty in. Without they are self conscious and run to the bathroom... (so if your coming over be prepared to seek naked girls!)
Well good luck and bring some ear plugs!

I bought a travel potty from babies r us. It has helped me out with my little one while I'm trying to potty train her.

I bought a little potty at target for 9.99 and keep it in the car all the time. When they have to go, just pull over and let them use the potty. It's the best 9.99 I ever spent and I can't believe it took me till my oldest was 5 to figure this out! So if they have go it is always available.

Can you take a trainning travel potty with you and pack it in your car, then they can go whenever you can safely pull over:)

are you traveling by car? I carry a potty chair in the car.....even for older kids it can be along wasy to a bathroom.

Have a fun trip.

Debra

Good luck:) The farthest we've gone is 2 hours and we had an accident one or two times. The key for us was stopping at convenient stores for bathroom breaks about 1/2 way into our trip.

L.,

How do they do with pull ups? For your sanity, I would do the pull up thing on planes and in cars, if possible. Tell them it's "just in case" they have an accident, but you want them to use the potty. If you don't want to do that, pack extra clothes!

K.

I have 4 toddler-age grandchildren, and we have had great success with a product called "Pottette" which you can get at Babies-R-Us. It folds flat into a plastic drawstring bag and comes with disposable liners which can be tossed in the trash, no clean up! The Rim store runs out of them quite often when I go to pick up refills. You can order them online from babycenterstore.com.
Hope this is helpful!

Our daughter will be three on Halloween and is fully potty trained...whew! BUT there was a time that I found myself in your shoes...to simplify things and not have any setbacks on the potty training, we took her portable little potty along for the trip. We have a photo or two of us on the side of the road, her sitting on her potty, and no accidents. We even put the little potty in the room when she first started wearing panty's at night, and it came in handy for a few late night urges to go. Best of luck, especially as you have precious twins on your hands.

I also have twins and took them on along road trip in the middle of potty training. It actually was not as bad as I thought. Although time consuming, we stopped every two hours for a potty break. They went even if they did not have to go. They stayed on track and did not regress. Potty training my kids (boy and girl) was one of the hardest things I have done and in the grand scheme of things, stopping every two hours was not bad. Good Luck! P.S. Bring lots of Wet Ones, those public rest rooms are gross!!!

I definitely recommend a portable potty. You can purchase one at One Step ahead.com or Babies or Us(online & store). It makes life so much easier because they will have to go when there is no potty insight. My son at that age wouldn't pee pee outside. He would insist on a potty. Good luck!

I agree with the other responses about bringing a potty in the car with you, especially on a long trip. I just wanted to add something my mom did with us - kitty litter. If you put some in the bottom of the potty it will absorb some odor and make clean up a lot easier (no splashing if you can't empty it right away). You may even get your sons to make it a game by saying "make the litter change color!" by peeing on it.

This works best if you already have a cat (or know someone who does). If you don't want to go buy a potty, a large plastic (5qt) ice cream tub works just as well and already comes with a lid.

Just a note, we drove 1200 miles with a 5 yo, 2 yo, and 8 month old the other year. Would NOT recommend that :) We stopped about every 4 hours for food, bathroom, gas, and that seemed to be sufficient for everyone (except the baby). Interstate rest stops were wonderful because the kids could run around a bit and the restrooms were very clean. They also had maps posted so the kids would ask "where are we" and we could show them. Have fun on vacation!

Hi,
You could try taking a portapotty on the road with you and set up a reward system when things go well and you can also use terminology that they respond to or that may be funny to help everyone out. Good Luck!

there are some really cool travel potties available now. YOu should get a couple. Be prepared to pull over and stop. Try to let them take control of their potty times, but insist that they tell you when they need to stop.

Limit drinks in the car, grapes are great for thirst and snacks and don't really cause full bladders. If you see that you are in the middle of nowhere and you haven't had a pee break in an hour, take one.

take changes of clothes and you could also get a couple of cloth diapers to put in their carseats. In case they do have an accident, they won't have to get back in a wet seat.

Don't put them back in pull ups. Let them know that you trust they are big boys now.

good luck and have a fun trip.

I sugest a travel potty in the car. That way you only have to wait long enough for an exit. We carry one in the car all the time, it has come in handy many times at the park and other places as well.
This is my favorite- we have it- the best part is in uses gallon ziploc bags instead of the expensive special bags that many of them use- http://www.amazon.com/Cool-Gear-Travel-Potty/dp/B0018ZC7H...
Good luck!

L.,

When I travel with my three, I always carry the seat from the home training potty. I'm ole skool and this is also what my mother did when we were young travellers. It really depends on how far you will be travelling, but with two who are not quite familiar with the potty, there will be times when you will not be able to stop. So I just keep my pot in the car and when they have to go, they do it in the car. There is also one of those things they use at the hospitals that has a lid on it, which is real good. When I used that, I would keep a little water in it and maybe a drop of pinesol and let them go in that thing, cause one time my son used the other one and when we were able to pull over to dump it out, it has already spilled out. Now that wasn't too good. So I think the other one is a little better because it has the lid.

I really believe you will need something to keep in your automobile that they can use, because sometimes when you're travelling it may be miles to the nearest restroom stop and then, some of them are not very sanitary.

Needless to say, my kids are all older, but I still keep it in the car just in case my son (4 years old) can't hold it.

Stay clear away from the automatic flushers...it can ruin the best laid plans.

We take our little potty along with us. You can line the cup part with grocery sacks for quick clean up. You could even through in a clorox wipe after they use it to keep the smell at bay until you can dispose of it properly. It really comes in handy. Good Luck and Happy Trails!

I have a three year old son to and when we are on the road I make sure I have a bottle(water,sode, etc.) by them being boys all they have to do is tinkle in the bottle. If you all pull over for breaks just empty it and you are reset again.

Most advice I would give others have already, but one thing I also do is place puppy training pads in the car seats. They are cheaper than pull ups and helps the kiddos not to regress back into going in their pants. You just toss the puppy pad if they have an accident and the car seat is still good to go. I do keep a potty and one gallon bags in the car and so I put any wet clothing in one until I can wash. We usually stay in hotels that provide washing services, so that hasn't been a problem, but my daughter only had one accident while traveling and she felt wet when it happened and we were in traffic so it took a few minutes to find a place to clean her up and she didn't like it one bit and it hasn't happened since. She now lets me know way in advance that she need to go potty, so I think it actually worked to our advantage. hope this helps you. Also you can use the puppy pads on the bed for those just in case times. Good luck.

My family and I just came back from a family vacation and she has twin girls so I understand your anxiety about the trip. What she did was really simple she took the baby potty trainer with her and she sat them down until the next rest stop and and cleaned the urine out. I know it sounds a little gross but it worked for us..

For traveling potty trainers and young kids who have to go "RIGHT NOW" with no toilet in sight, the following is a must. It's not terribly priced and for the cost of a few gallon sized ziploc bags for upkeep it will last you for all your travel while they are small!!!

http://www.onestepahead.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId...

Good Luck and have fun on your trip...

Babies R-Us have these great portable potty seats that cover any regular restroom seat. I like to use it when we go out. I just make sure it is clean after each use. Also, we do a lot of coaching. It's amazing to us how our son will hold his pee while in the car. We coach him saying, "where do we go potty?" "Do we go potty in the car?" "Do we go potty in our pants?" He knows now that the answer is no. So far no accidents in the car (touch wood). Lots of coaching.

Best wishes!

I carried our children's potty with us so that would be familiar to them instead of having to use gross restrooms or the child can't wait 10 more miles to a service station. Open the two doors on the side of the vehicle and let them potty between the car doors like a stall. Plus if you are in a motel or staying in someone's home, it is their size. A 5# coffee can works for older folks, too. Store a roll of toilet paper in the can. Line with gallon ziplocs. Dispose at a reststop.

Hi L.,
My 3 year old just got potty-trained before we came on a trip to Florida. I explained before we left that he would need to try to go potty when we stopped even if he didn't think he had to go. I also told him that the potty might be far away when he needed to go. We would look for a sign that told us how far the nearest exit was and tell him he could go in x number of minutes. He did just fine.
You will just have to have patience though. My son liked to check out a lot of potties on the way.
Good luck!
C.

I have a friend who leaves a potty in her car so that you can stop anywhere. Don't know how or where she empties it. Good luck!

Buy one of those travelpotties and stop to use them when you feel they have to go.

Good luck!

I just used our regular potty chair in the car. I lined it with the small trash bags - the ones that are completely sealed on the bottom. I used grocery bags the first time, but they leaked. :-) I put in the floorboard of the car. When my daughter needed to go, we would pull over, move the potty to the seat next to her and let her go. We'd tie up the bag when she was done and dispose of it at the next rest stop. We've done several 6-9hr car trips since moving to Austin and this has worked well for us.
HTH
K., mama to
Catherine, 4.5y
Samuel, 18m

I traveled w/my 3 yr old when we moved from Tulsa, OK to Leander, TX. It was a 7.5 hr drive and she didn't pee in her "pull-ups" once! She too uses panties during the day and daipers at night. I put a pull-up on her and told her this was for just in case we had an accident along the way but I frequently asked her if she had to potty and told us when she did. It put me more and ease and I wasn't so tense knowing she was in a pull-up and if she did go, it wouldn't cause a mess. There are going to be accidents and multiple stops, but be prepared to make more stops than you normally would should u want the kids to wear underwear. There were times though that I think she was holding it in because she slept and sometimes we wouldn't stop for hrs and she still didn't pee in her pull up! I was proud of her but I know it's hard having to adjust to that situation. Good luck!

When our little ones went on road trips during "training," we simply tucked a portable potty chair in the car. Little boys can urinate without the portable facilty, but for bowel movements you really need it handy. You can accomplish this discreetly by pulling off the road in a safe place, and having the usual things on hand if earlier years for diaper changing. Plastic bag for tying up and disposal, wet ones for a tidy clean up of child and bowl. Explain ahead of time, what will happen if they need to "go" if you're not near a restroom. That way, there'll be no surprises to them if they need to use portable potty on road. Could even practice a couple of times at home, so child can see lay aside any fears before trip.

I wish you well.

I would let them wear pull ups in the car and just stop every 1.5 hours or so. There might be some regression, it is exciting being some place new and new potties can be a little daunting. I would go in with low expectations, and they may just surprise you.

Ever watch Jon and Kate plus 8. They have multiples and they took there potties with them in the car while traveling. They dont have carpet in there van - easy cleaning if there is any spilling. You might be able to pull over and dump the potty waist some where too so you dont have to travel with it. I do not recomend letting them go on the side of the road its dangerous and might be illegal! ? !

My 3 year old is just the step beyond, he tells us when he needs to go and this weekend we are switching him off the nighttime diaper. A month ago I took a five hour trip by myself with my 3 year old and 15 month old to meet the hubby on a business trip.

If your trip is in the car: You are probably well-aware of when your kids usually go potty during the day. Make an effort to stop at those times and have them go potty (every 2-3 hours). This is a good time to let them run as well. Try stopping at fast food places with playgrounds and let them burn a little energy too before getting back in the car. Also, I think the suggestion of clean dry clothes and a pad on the car seat is a good one.

If on a plane: Make sure they go 1/2 hour before flight is scheduled to take off (most board at 20 minutes before the flight). With planes, I would reccommend having them wear pull-ups because there may be times they can't get out of their seats or there is a line for the bathroom. Since they still wear diapers at night, I don't think you'll have to worry about "regressing." Then always take them to the bathroom just as you get off the plane.

Funny note - my son has reached the "mom, why do I have to go to the potty all the time?" stage where we have to explain the mechanics behind why people go potty.