Toddlers using public toilets

[MCK588]

What do you do about kids touching the toilet seats? There is no way I can get my toddler to squat with her feet on the seat and pee, like I would like her to do!

Do you bring one of those plastic, folding toilet seat covers, or use something else? Or do you just pretend for that one week that it's not as gross as it really is to sit on the seat? Help! Have a DS that stands so no worries there, but also a DD2 that will always have to deal with this issue and I'm starting to get neurotic!

 

[widget]

Why not carry some anthiseptic wipes and clean the seat before they sit on it. A lot of the toilets have those paper seat covers on the wall which you put over the actual seat and they flush away when you are done. Or when we were small my grandmother always put three strips of toilet paper around the seat and told us to hold her hands and not hold onto the actual seat! We must have looked wonderful!

 

[AnaheimGirl]

I don't worry too much about germs at DW or elsewhere when using public toilets. We always use the little paper seat protectors if available, but even if I can prevent dd2 from touching the seat, she's still touching everything else in there! I just make sure she washes hands really well when we're done, and doesn't touch her face or anything before doing so.

 

[SueM in MN]

Out of these things, which has the most germs?
amusement park turnstiles
escalator handrails
picnic tables
playground equipment
Port-o-Potties
shopping cart handles


And, out of this list, which has the most germs per square inch?
desktop
elevator button
keyboard
phone receiver
toilet seat

Answers to Where the Germs Lurk.
A big hint, it's not what most people think.

if you do choose to have your child squat over the seat and "hover", please also teach them to clean it up thoroughly when they are finished (and check it out to make sure they have done it). It is really annoying to go into a restroom and find most of the seats have been sprinkled (in a ladies room, no less) and not cleaned up.

 

[mrsminniemouse]

On our last trip DD2 was newly potty trained. She had been very reliable at home before we went.

I put a paper seat cover down then a folding potty seat on top. I tried to hold her hands so she did not touch anything- she did not always want me to. Afterwards I would spray the potty seat with a mini anti bac spray and put the seat back in its own pouch. I would wash Dd's hands thoroughly. She like the fact that most restrooms at WDW have low sinks which she could reach- this was easier for me than lifting her too.


I must admit we both had a couple of meltdowns in the restrooms. She would refuse to go or mess around on the potty- it was very stressful. She did NOT like being told when to go and would claim she did not need to. She is very independent and wanted to be in charge of her potty trips, trouble is you need to go when it is convenient when you are out. In the end we put pull ups on her (told her they were panties) , she did not wet them once and I still took her to the bathroom often but it just gave me peace of mind that she wouldn't pee while cuddling Cinderella or on a ride or something............


We live in England and you dont see those paper seat covers in restrooms here. I bought lots of handy packs from Walgreens to bring home.

Incidentally, We would use anti bac wet ones on our hands before we ate every meal. I imagine you touch some yucky stuff at WDW and a tummy bug or cold is the last thing you need on vacation..........

I will be 20 weeks pregnant on our next trip. Hope I can fit in the toilet cubicle with DD!!!

Mandy

 

[Gillian]

I don't think it's such a big deal. Nothing to stress about, at least.

I always sit on the seats (sometimes with paper or the covers) and touch stuff in the stall if I have to. I just wash my hands really well afterward and try not to touch the tap handles, door knob, etc on the way out. I do the same thing with DS - wash him really well and keep him from touching stuff.

I haven't ever caught anything from a toilet seat.

 

[Gillian]

if you do choose to have your child squat over the seat and "hover", please also teach them to clean it up thoroughly when they are finished (and check it out to make sure they have done it). It is really annoying to go into a restroom and find most of the seats have been sprinkled (in a ladies room, no less) and not cleaned up.

Thank you!!

The worst is at work, where you know the people, and someone is a sprinkler.

We're the ones who make our own restrooms icky.

 

[minkydog]

Out of these things, which has the most germs?
amusement park turnstiles
escalator handrails
picnic tables
playground equipment
Port-o-Potties
shopping cart handles


And, out of this list, which has the most germs per square inch?
desktop
elevator button
keyboard
phone receiver
toilet seat

Answers to Where the Germs Lurk.
A big hint, it's not what most people think.

if you do choose to have your child squat over the seat and "hover", please also teach them to clean it up thoroughly when they are finished (and check it out to make sure they have done it). It is really annoying to go into a restroom and find most of the seats have been sprinkled (in a ladies room, no less) and not cleaned up.

Very good post, Sue! I'm with you on this one. I'm way less worked up about toilet seat germs, since I always wash may hands afterward, than I am about the germs I can't see lurking on handrails, door knobs, and my waiter's fingernails

 

[lclark0621]

We use a padded folding potty seat that goes on the toilet. It works like a charm!

 

[Nicolepa]

Toilet seats are the least of my worries. I've caught my kids licking the handrails as they go thru the lines. That is probably the grossest thing I've witnessed as a parent.

 

[Twende]

I always carried a folding potty seat in it's own little carrying case. It was not so much fo rhte germs but I wanted something to reduce the size of the hole in the seat!

DD's always had tiny butts and I was always afraid they would fall through if I let go of them!!

 

[mickeyfan2]

When my niece was young and I had to take her into a public toilet this is what I would do. I would have her lock her arms around my neck and then I would hold her legs in a sitting position over the toilet. She found that worked for her. I would be afraid is she was standing on the seat and peeing that she might slip and fall in.

 

[littleprissboutique]

Hi,

I always wipe the seat down with a clorox wipe, then wait a sec for it to dry, or dry it with a paper towel. Then I use these:

http://www.travelingwithkids.com/pr...cName/nature-calls-travel-potties-accessories


I just bought some a month ago, and they work great. The are big, so they cover and hang over the potty. They have a plastic bottom with sticky pads. This way it stays stuck to the potty and nothing comes up through it. The top is soft. LOVE THESE

 

[apostolic4life]

Toilet seats are the least of my worries. I've caught my kids licking the handrails as they go thru the lines. That is probably the grossest thing I've witnessed as a parent.

That's just gross...........

I hope I am not in line behind you!!!

 

[Schmeck]

To the OP - you thought of having your daughter put her feet on the seat? Thanks for not doing this, as that would not be kind for the next person to use that toilet...

 

[jennifer293]

I do not fret over the toilet seat, but my DH on the other hand he is a freak about the girls on the toilet seat. But ya know what he doesn't get to come to the potty with us so what he doesn't know won't hurt him..LOL

We just wash hands really well.

 

[NotUrsula]

Really. The thought of someone standing on the toilet disturbs me much more than someone sitting on it. We clean our bodies much more often than we clean the soles of our shoes.

For the record, I am nearly 44 yrs. old, and I have NEVER used a toilet seat protector of any kind in a public toilet. I sit right on the darned seat, and I am pleased to report that I have never had a bladder infection, yeast infection, or mysterious skin rash, either. In recent years, however, thanks to the epidemic of "hoverers" peeing all over the seats, I have begun to wipe them down with toilet paper before sitting, so as to avoid sitting in the puddles that the phobic seem to think it is just fine to leave behind them. If women keep tinkling all over the floors and the outside of the toilets this way, pretty soon ladies' rooms won't smell any better than mens' rooms.

You know, Americans think that they have a corner on toilet cleanliness, but for all our obsessions, I don't think that is so. I changed jobs recently and at my new workplace 90% of the ladies who work there are from the third world. The bathroom stalls stay tidier than at any other place I've ever worked: no urine on the seats, no strips of toilet paper all over the floors, no piles of paper towels near the doors. It's really nice.

 

[MCK588]

I'm the OP and want to say thank you for the folks that provided some practical advice (the link to the oversized seatcover was great) or some encouraging words about not needing to worry so much about it.

I love WDW and love these boards, although I mostly lurk I've always found great advice here. With that, I have to admit to being quite surprised at some of the replies that were posted. First, as we all know in cyberspace, it's not easy to always get our point across as we meant it. Honestly, as a mommy, I really would prefer that my dd squats over the toilet, although I said that in jest since I thought it was obviously a fantasy scenario rather than a real one....I'm not sure the mechanics of our bodies would allow for it to even work. However, I did not think anyone would take such offense and take it to the level of suggesting I teach my dd how to clean up after herself and making mention that I check that she did it correctly (hello! was that even a necessary comment?), or making me seem disrespectful of all other visitors to that particular restroom. C'mon!

First of all, kudos to all of you that sit down on a seat and get on with your day. Even though I don't, and especially if I did, I clean the seat off before I get near it. I also clean the seat after I use it. I just figured we all did that. I would never assume that the person before me had the same cleaniness standards. I don't care if their **** is made of gold, I'm still wiping that seat down before I drop my drawers! So in all reality, I would be much more concerned with stray hairs, stray bacteria, etc than a tiny little princess's Stride Rite soles that most likey haven't seen much more action than the footrest of her stroller or her daddy's shoulders.

So I am a good person, I do wipe my seat before I pee, and I do wipe my seat after I pee, case closed. Next topic.....

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm sorry you felt offended, and I (and others like me) truly appreciate it that you make a point to leave the stall area as tidy, or more so, than you found it.

The question touched off sparks and drew those responses because it was guaranteed to be read by a lot of hoverers, and lots of hoverers not only have a thing about not touching toilets with their posteriors, but also about touching any part of a public restroom with their hands. For that reason, they often use lots of messy paper "barriers", but then fail to remove them because they don't want to touch any surfaces, or even flush the toilet. [Not quite such an issue at WDW because at least the toilets auto-flush.] They also often leave puddles of urine on the seats of toilets, and don't think that that is a problem, because, after all, no one actually *sits* on a public toilet seat, right? Wrong, and this was a good opportunity to vent our frustrations and tell them so. It really offends us that so many people who seem so concerned about thier own cleanliness would be selfish enough, or just clueless enough, to leave such a foul mess for the next person.

I've lost count of the times I've been in the next stall and hear a mother carefully explaining how to lay down a mat of strips of toilet paper, then telling the child afterward, "No, don't touch the paper; leave it there. NO, don't touch the handle; it's dirty! Here, see how Mommy uses this paper to open the door; that's so we don't get our hands dirty." And then I leave my stall, glance over and see that the one they were in looks like a tornado hit it. It's maddening.

 

[SueM in MN]

However, I did not think anyone would take such offense and take it to the level of suggesting I teach my dd how to clean up after herself and making mention that I check that she did it correctly (hello! was that even a necessary comment?), or making me seem disrespectful of all other visitors to that particular restroom. C'mon!

if you do choose to have your child squat over the seat and "hover", please also teach them to clean it up thoroughly when they are finished (and check it out to make sure they have done it). It is really annoying to go into a restroom and find most of the seats have been sprinkled (in a ladies room, no less) and not cleaned up.

I'm sorry if my words offended you. I should probably have chosen words more carefully.
I was not aiming this comment to you in particular, but to people in general who choose to teach their children to "hover". I don't take offense to people choosing to do it; if someone want to "hover" that is their business. If it leaves a mess for other people, then it becomes my business.
You (in particular) may not have needed the information (and I thank you if you choose to "hover" and are responsible to leave the toilet in good shape for the next person to use).
But, I do think the information is important (and, yes, was really necessary) because I have been in too many public restrooms (and have heard too many conversations like NotUrsula recounted) to think that everyone is cleaning up after themselves or their children. I also know there are parents who have taught their children to clean up after themselves, but (kids being kids) they are excited to get back to having fun and don't do what they were taught. I appreciate the parents who realize that and do check.
If I find a "sprinkled toilet" when I am by myself, I can just go to the next stall until I find one that is clean. When I am with DD, the only stall we can use is the handicapped stall. Because we don't have any other options (except for leaving the bathroom and hoping the next handicapped stall is cleaner), I have been faced more times than I like to think about with cleaning up the mess left by someone else.
So, maybe the subject is a little more on my mind than most other people, but I have a disabled child who does need to touch things to avoid falling in the bathroom. I get upset when my job becomes harder than it needs to be.