Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Traveling and Potty Training

Hi everyone it's been a long time, I know.  But if you ever have any questions feel free to email me or post to the blog.  There are tons of information and tips in the previous posts, so look there too for some answers. 

Today I want to talk about traveling with a potty training toddler.  Over the summer we traveled long distance in the car, driving about 18 hours one day and 10 hours on another trip.  At this point my daughter was 19-20 months, so about a month or two of being completely potty trained and she did awesome, stayed dry the whole time.  One thing I feel is necessary is to have their little potty seat in the car with you.  It serves as a reminder and it is great for those 'I have to go NOW' moments.  Sometimes trying to find a potty on the highway is impossible and a mile can be a long time for a child to wait.  I tried to limit drinks to sleepy time and meals, or just let them take a sip or two here and there, but no guzzling esp for the whole trip!  Remember to continue praising them when they did stay dry or told you they had to go.  Another thing I didn't leave w/o was my traveling potty seat.  It's a collapsible one that will fit in your purse, so I use that for our toilet insert when we are at relatives houses or rest areas.  My kids are ok with new things and find them exciting, but if you know your child dislikes change then I would suggest bringing exactly what they like at home, unless it's the whole toilet, of course.  :)  It's also very convenient to have the potty seat in the car even when going around town running errands.  How many times have you asked your child if they need to go potty in the store and the minute you leave or start driving off they have to go 'BAD'.  You won't always need it, just for the first few months when they(and you) are still learning their signals/signs.


Some other things to remember are to keep an extra pullup, undies and bottoms stashed away in the car and to change it out for seasons.  And whatever you do, don't go backwards and start using diapers again, it just sends mixed signals.  Once they are out of them, they should be out of them for good!

And lastly, when you are frustrated and thinking about calling it quits..... remember CONSISTENCY is key and stick with it!  It will get better!

Happy Potty Training,
thepottytrainingqueen