Summer always has us craving road trips to a beach destination and some fun with the family outdoors. The problem with that is…when you’re in the middle of potty-training a three-year-old, a road trip can sound a little daunting. We’ve finally been able to get into a good routine with Max at home and he’s comfortable here. He’s been doing such an amazing job in the last month and really getting on track with going on the potty. I was a little nervous to go on a full day trip and interrupt his routine but know that a key component of successful potty training is staying consistent so we thought we would give it a shot!
We did some research before taking off and found these: “On-the-go Potty Training tips” and “Away From Home Potty Training Guide” SO helpful. Pull-Ups.com has so many valuable tips and resources available to help make potty training easier whether you’re travelling or just at home. I like learning about all of the different tips and tricks because every child is different and what work for some may not work for others.
Max decided he wanted to wear his big boy underwear on our road trip to the beach. He packed his little Cars 3 backpack with a couple of Pull-Ups Training Pants, some snacks and toys and seemed quite confident he was going to get through the day without any accidents. Max went to the potty before we left and lasted the entire car ride with no accidents. When we arrived at our destination we went for lunch at a little restaurant called The Oasis and as soon as we got there, Max announced he had to go to the washroom. I was so proud that he was letting us know on his own without any prompts.
I quickly learned on this trip that games and incentives are what Max responds to the most. We told Max that if he could get through the whole day with no accidents and let us know when he needs to go to the washroom we would take him for ice cream before getting back in the car. I guess that’s all the motivation he needed, haha. He did an amazing job and got through the day without any slip ups and was so happy to get his ice cream reward before heading home. It was a long day so for the ride back we thought it would be best to put one of his Pull-Ups on incase he decided to nap. Pull-Ups are a great option because of their easy open sides, which allow for quick and easy changes if accidents happen, perfect for on-the-go. Even after we got home it was dry and little man was SO proud of himself.
Have you tried going on a road trip while potty training? I’d love for you to check out the articles I linked above and let me know what tips and tricks worked best for you in the comments below. Ill draw from all of the comments and give one person 4 tickets to see the movie Cars 3! Maybe that can be one of your Potty Training incentives or rewards 😉
This post is in Partnership with Pull-Ups. I was compensated or received product for this post however all thoughts and opinions are completely my own.
We’ll be starting our potty training in a day, just need to get my supplies. This was super helpful and the idea of training while out doesn’t seem so scary. Thank you for including those link, they are very helpful too!
Little rewards were what worked best for us, we used smarties. Luckily once they decided they were ready my girls trained quickly.
Our issue is always with one of our three daycare providers. It seems he never is encouraged to use the bathroom with her. So although the rewards have worked for us and honestly it was as simple as he loves to sing and dance, so having a “celebration song with dance” was the best thing to get him to go. He also loves washing his hands and would do it over and over all day if he could. So our incentives were pretty easy for us. We just aren’t sure how to go about getting the one daycare provider involved in the training. I honestly think its just easier for her to change a diaper than to take him up the stairs to the toilet but thats not fair to him. Unfortunately, she is very close with the family and gets very offended easily so speaking to her about this is tough and just simply not using her is not an option at times.
Potty training was tough with my first son lots of incentives to try however due to daycare requirements we had to train him earlier than he was ready. My second son has shown interest since he was 20 months. So we just sit him on the potty she he asks to get this exposed but we aren’t pushing it!