Holiday trips don’t have to derail your attempts to potty train. With a littler perseverance and planning, you can help you child make this all too important transition with minimal hassle. Just make sure you bring along the right supplies, and follow these handy tips for holiday training success.
Bring along the same potty chair your child has been using at home. If he’s been using the big boy toilet rather than a potty, you may consider buying a fun potty chair to make the experience more pleasant while you are away from home. There are great options with various characters, sounds, and other features your child will enjoy.
Make frequent stops if you will be driving a long distance. While pulling over once every hour may not be feasible, you can still stop a little more often than you would normally require. Remember, kids have smaller bladders than adults and can’t hold themselves quite as long especially one that is new to the potty concept. You can use disposable training pants in lieu of underwear just to make life a bit easier on the road (and to save your family from having to clean up messes upon your arrival), but don’t use that as a crutch to avoid stopping. Remember, if you get lazy now you may setback whatever progress you had made.
Purchase fun games, puzzles, drawing supplies, and books for your little one to use while he is on the potty. Even if you don’t this at home, you may be more likely to get him on board if you add them now. Being in a new place is scary, especially if you are trying to learn something new and complicated at the same time. These items are relatively inexpensive, and they will continue to be useful even after potty training is over.
Avoid using Christmas (Hanukkah, Kwanza, solstice) gifts as reward of punishment. Even if he doesn’t go in the potty right now, and even if he has an accident Santa will still come and Christmas will still be merry. Put yourself in your child’s shoes. It may seem like common sense now, but when you have been on the road for nine hours and then your child won’t cooperate, you may be tempted to go to great lengths to get things back on track. Resist. Being away from home is stressful, so prepare to have accidents before you leave the house.
