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(hanni g) wrote:

hello everyone,

I plan to go on holidays with my son (5 1/2 yo.), including a long car
trip. A good friend of mine usually let her kids (5 and 7) wear
diapers or pulllups, when travelling, sightseeing or such things (You
know what kind of sights the kids want to see ;-). The kids are
actually dry, exept from the older one, who wets the bed. So diapers
are no big deal for them anyway.
I just wonder if I should do the same. My little one is potty trained,
but if says "I have to go" it usually means "I have to go! QUICKLY!"
;-). This might be more comfortable for both him and for me. Just for
the case there is really no restroom nearby (or at least some trees or
bushes ;-).
How do you handle such things? Any experiences, or advice of any kind?
Thank you!

Greets, Hanni

I have been on many long car trips with my children at various
different times in their lives. I wouldn't do it. Maybe your
friend's child is comfortable with it, but she's in a different
situation than you are really. Unless he can't go at least 2 hours.

I like (? Marie - can't remember who it was) who said that she taught
her children that even if they didn't think they had to go, that it
was polite to start off with an empty bladder and they should try to
go because they might have a little pee in there.

And then stop every so often to give them chance/require them to pee.

My first trip from Maryland to California my kids were three and one.
We started off about 7, got gas at 10:00 and went to the rest room.
Got gas at 2pm and went to the rest room. Stopped about 5. She
didn't have a problem with that at all.

The next time we went from California to Florida and they were 6 and 4
and we followed the same schedule except that we stopped for lunch.
And we were traveling with my dad who had to stop about every two
hours anyway. We did have one incident where the youngest suddenly
had to go (we were in the middle of the desert) and we told her there
was nowhere to go and she'd either have to hold it or we could stop
and she could do it by the side of the road. She decided to hold it.

I'd work on figuring out (paying attention to) how often and when he
normally goes and schedule around that.

grandma Rosalie