The downside of a potty-trained child

By Whitney

by Whitney

I am not easily grossed out, and I don’t worry about germs very much. But even I was at a loss when I found that the age difference between my children – the two-and-a-half years that I had been so pleased with – meant that I had a very mobile and mouthy baby when my 3-year old son was launching his career in using public restrooms.

I often found myself attempting to hoist my 30-something pound son on top of the toilet, then place him on the seat slowly and delicately such that the seat protector did not get moved (rendering it useless) while not letting his pulled-down pants fall off of him, all the while wearing a baby on my chest. Then, I had to hold him in place, my thighs burning by now, as he conducted his business, and try to not feel bad that his baby sister’s head was just inches away from the action.

Holding him up to wash his hands was nearly impossible, but I lived through it.

Another miserable scenario: the baby is new to walking and my 3-year old needs to use the restroom while we are at a bookstore. And, he needs to be held up the whole time so that he doesn’t fall into the toilet. My 1-year old is therefore creeping her way around the perimeter of the restroom, touching every surface available: the wall, the trash can, the door. Gross!

What can I do? A little brainstorm on steps one could take to minimize the pain in this scenario:

Keep toddler in a stroller whenever possible
Use clean private restrooms whenever they are available, minimizing the odds of needing a public restroom
Stop offering beverages to children (Just kidding!)
Bring portable potty on outings for use in trunk of car (is this just weird?)

Other ideas to keep kids safe and healthy in public spaces?