Toilet Training / Leaving the Home
WHAT DO WE DO WHEN WE LEAVE THE HOME?
When it comes to toilet training, parents become stuck when they need to leave the home. Subsequently, this is where the fear of an accident in public or in the car seat, ends up resulting in the nappy going back on when out and about. Consistency is the key to toilet training and the inconsistency of nappy on, nappy off, nappy back on again, causes confusion for your child as well as taking the wee/feel wet sensation away again. This can literally cause months of delay, that one decision to keep using the nappy when you go somewhere.
IT JUST MAKES EVERYONE LAZY
Let’s consider what putting a nappy on is doing:
- It makes our child lazy. They are less likely to let you know they need to go or have even gone, as the wetness feel in no longer there.
- It makes us lazy. Let’s face it. If your child is only wearing underpants, you are going to be more diligent with getting them to the toilet and keeping them dry than with the nappy on. You have a scapegoat with the nappy. You no longer have to make an effort.
BUT I AM SO STRESSED OUT
If leaving the home is stressing you out the first thing you need to do is get prepared with the right tools. This way, you will have the added confidence that you can avoid or combat an accident if it happens.
The absolute key tools for the job though to help you through the process are:
- Potette Plus
- Big Kid Training Pants
POTETTE PLUS
I don’t know how parents can leave home without this tool. It simply saves the day when a poo in the pants is the alternative because you couldn’t get to the toilet in time. A trip to the local park – no toilet / gross toilet – what do you do? This is where being unprepared would become stressful without this tool.
The Potette Plus is a portable potty and toilet seat insert in one. When there is no toilet available it is used as a potty and the disposable liner make the whole process so streamlined – plastic bag/bin. When there is a toilet available the legs fold out and it becomes a toilet seat insert to maintain consistency from home to public toilets. Hygiene, bottoms touching seats – it has so many benefits. It comes with its own carry bag and you just keep it in the car wherever you go, bottom of the pram, etc. So easy.
There is a product called a Cushie Traveller. This is a folding toilet seat insert and again is compact and useful for public toilets. The challenge with this is the fact it is just a toilet seat insert. If you don’t have a toilet available to you, what do you do? You still have the same problem. This is where the Potette Plus is so much better to keep you prepared for every scenario. The Cushie Traveller is good for really small bottoms as the hole is quite small as well.
BIG KID TRAINING PANTS
This is the other solution for parents if that are just not ready to leave the home without a nappy on, but don’t want to delay the process.
The Big Kid Training Pants are made from cotton and have a waterproof PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) sewn into the key wet zone. The full training pant is not waterproof which is why they are an economical option for parents.
The "Big Kid" Training Pants have a WATERPROOF LAYER which makes accidents less stressful when leaving the home, travelling in the car, trip to the shops, daycare and so forth.
The "Big Kid" Training Pants are more for us, the parent, so that an accident while out at the shops isn't the end of the world. The key is your child needs to feel wet and uncomfortable - wee fell wet, cause and effect.
Normal underpants are fine for this. The benefits that using the "Big Kid" Training Pants gives you are:
- The waterproof layer holds in the wee and depending on how heavy the wee is, won't even make it past the Big Kid pants, keeping the outer clothes dry.
- The waterproof layer will mean that an accident out and about will avoid puddles on the floor or the painful chore of removing and cleaning a car seat that has been wet while driving.
- The pants come in smaller sizes for little bottoms, which are hard to find in normal underpants.
- They are just gorgeous and will make your little angel's bottom even cuter than normal.
- They will want to wear these very special "Big Kid" pants made just for them! (helps to lose the nappy if they are attached)
Take a look at our Toilet Training Checklist to give you a more detailed list to tick off to help you with Leaving the Home.