We made a strategic decision to potty train during the winter when West was just over two and half years old. A few of his daycare friends had already transitioned and he seemed anxious to leave diapers beyond.
3 Day Potty Training Method
We used the three day potty training method, where you remove the diaper, lock yourself inside for a few days, and have your kid sit on the potty a lot. It worked well for us. We found A Complete Guide to Potty Training from Busy Toddler to be really helpful.
A lot of people recommend doing the three day method during the summer, because your kid is going to be naked from the waist down, but we were unwilling to lock ourselves inside for three days during prime adventure months.
A lot of information on potty training talked about when you might start to feel comfortable leaving the house or running bigger errands after doing the three day method. For us, that was inadequate. We planned to leave the house right away and ski/hike/road trip etc. It struck fear in me that potty training might be some kind of long lock down. But as with all parenting things, you do what works for your family and we would not be kept inside. Below you’ll find a few tidbits for what we learned about potty training during outdoor adventures and on the road.
Potty Training During Outdoor Adventures
Buy a travel toilet
We ordered the OXO Tot 2-in-1 and it goes everywhere with us. West is currently four months into the potty training adventure and he still prefers to use this during hikes versus standing up to pee. Whatever works for him. It’s also excellent for road trips.
Don’t be afraid to get out
We went on a short hike the weekend after we did the three day potty train method. We did the same as we had been doing at home, which was to put him on the travel toilet often, at least every 30-45 minutes. I figured the worst that would happen is he would have an accident, but he did great.
If it’s winter, skip the snow suit
We took him nordic skiing in the Burley trailer and downhill on the mountain during those early days. The snow suit is not amenable to a quick need to pee so we stuck with snow pants.
As with all outdoor adventures, be prepared
This is the most obvious one for potty training, but you never want to leave home without one or two changes of clothes, plus some wipes.
Potty Training on the Road
Pull-ups are your friend
Most advice I read said not to use pull-ups for excursions, but I got the impression most of these people didn’t have multiple road trips planned shortly after potty training. We did and we used pull-ups, because he often naps in the car. We also used pull-ups because it was winter and pulling over on the side of the road to pee in 20 degrees is unpleasant.
You can travel after potty training
I also read tips from many people that said not to travel in that first month or so. That was not an option for us. We had multiple five hour road trips planned in the first three months. I was scared, but as mentioned above, we used the pull-up and it did not set him back. We brought the same little toilet we use at home with us on the road so he was familiar.
As with all kid transition, it gets easier
Now four months into potty training, we have been experimenting with leaving him in regular underwear for the parts of our drive that don’t involve napping. He is doing great. We just got back from a long week on the road to Sedona and he was a pro. We made sure he sat on the travel toilet at every stop.
