Potty Training Are You Ready to Go Public

							Title:
Potty Training: Are You Ready to Go
Public?

Word Count:
650

Summary:
Potty training has been going well
and you wonder whether maybe it_s t
ime to move beyond the safety of ho
me. However, you know that potty t
raining at home is very different t
o potty training in the big wide wo
rld but you aren_t sure how differe
nt and what to do to prepare yourse
lf and educate your child on what t
o expect. Read on for tips on what
 to expect
Keywords:and how you can prepare.
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tty training pants,potty training p
roblem,potty training help,potty tr
ain,how to potty train boy,how to p
otty train your child,toilet traini
ng,toilet t
Article Body:
You_ve done a lot of the hard work
and potty training is now going wel
l. To get things running smoothly
you_ve been staying home and it_s b
een working. You_ve got a good sys
tem happening between the two of yo
u and there have been relatively fe
w accidents in recent days. You_re
  even starting to feel like this po
tty training thing is no big deal.

You wonder whether maybe it_s time
to head out, to move beyond the saf
ety of home. However, you know tha
t potty training at home is very di
fferent to potty training in the bi
g wide world but you aren_t sure ho
w different and what to do to prepa
re yourself and educate your child
on what to expect.

Just because it_s new and perhaps a
 bit intimidating, you can_t stay h
ome forever. No really, you can_t!
   Of course, it_s tempting to put t
hem in pull ups so you won_t have t
o worry about any potential acciden
ts. The only problem is that it is
n_t really sending your child the r
ight message about the path ahead.

You know that your child can go for
 at least an hour in between potty
visits so if you time it right you
might be able to get there and back
 within the hour. Well, maybe. Bu
t bladders, especially children_s b
ladders, aren_t always like that.
You know what it_s like when you ge
t excited or nervous, you need to g
o to the bathroom more. Your child
 is like that too, only they can_t
hold on like you can. So you may w
ell find that your child needs to g
o more when they are out, not less.

So what can you do?
1. Explain to your child what will
 happen when you are out, how it wi
ll likely be different from home an
d any concerns you may have.
2. Get them to go, or at least try
 to go potty before you leave.
3. Find out where the toilets are
as soon as you get wherever you are
 going and go straight away. It_s
much easier doing this calmly befor
e they really need it than in the r
ush of a sudden urge.
4. If you_re out in public, as you
 move around always be on the looko
ut for those tell-tale bathroom sig
ns so you know exactly which direct
ion you should head if you need to.
5. If you don_t have a portable po
tty with you, try getting your chil
d to sit backwards on a regular toi
let _ some children find this easie
r because they have the wall or toi
let cistern to hold onto and don_t
feel like they are going to fall of
f the seat on to the floor.
6. Take some spare clothing, a cou
ple of plastic bags, and some baby
wipes and paper towels with you in
case of accidents.
7. If they have an accident in a s
hop or restaurant _ let the staff k
now and race to the bathroom with y
our child. Sure it is embarrassing
 but you won_t be the first. All y
ou can really do is apologise _ qui
ckly _ and leave a big tip.
8. If your child has an accident a
t a friend_s house then it_s your r
esponsibility to clean it up. Best
 to take your own paper towels so y
ou can quickly spring into action w
ithout having to ask for everything
 and make it a big deal.
9. Don_t forget to take your sense
 of humour _ accidents or not, you_
re going to need it. There may be
several false alarms with your chil
d wanting to find out what happens
when they say the magic trigger wor
d. If you feel this is happening,
try not to get upset with them. In
stead try praising them for telling
 you and being so responsible about
 their potty training, even though
you know it_s not easy.

Good luck!