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Despite all your best efforts, having a child who is potty training doesn’t mean that the world stops just so you can teach your kid to tinkle in a potty.
Whether you need to just go out for the day or have a big trip planned, figuring out how to not regress in your toilet training efforts can be REALLY challenging!
All the fancy books tell you not to potty train a toddler if you have a vacation or trip coming up.
Well, as a family that travels A LOT, if we went with that method, our son would be going off to college in diapers. We knew that we would just have to find the best travel potty seat for our needs and hope for the best! And if you are looking for other general tips for traveling with a toddler, here are some great reminders!
Best Travel Potty Options
Mobile Users, scroll to the right to view whole table
| Travel Potty Seat | Image (Click For Current Pricing) | Best For Traveling Via | Pros | Cons | Price (Click Image To Compare Prices) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potette 2 in 1 Travel Potty |   | Flying, Car | Full potty seat AND Seat Cover is great for multiple needs of travel. Compact and Sturdy | Fits on MOST toilets, but not all very well | $$ Click Here For Current Price |
| Oxo 2:1 Travel |   | Flying, Car | Compact chair or cover= great for travel/on the go. Has a travel bag | Seat may not fit on all public toilets. Requires additional bags for stand alone potty. May not be best for older toddlers (size) | $$ |
| Cool Gear Travel Potty |   | Car | Folds into a briefcase for easy car storage | Not ideal for boys (too small pot), Not as sturdy as a full potty | $$ |
| Baby Bjorn Potty Chair |   | Car | Sturdy. No set up required | Not small or compact, therefore not great for travel other than road trips | $$ |
| Foldable Seat |   | Flying, Sight Seeing | Extremely Compact. Folds into small bags. Low price | Careful not to pinch little legs, Need an adult to keep sturdy/ in place | $ |
| Disposable Seat Covers |   | Flying. Sight Seeing. Out and About. | Easy to toss in purses and bags. Sanitary, Affordable | Best for toddlers more potty trained than not | $ |
Potty Training While Traveling Tips
1) Know That There Will Be Accidents
Part of potty training is having accidents and when you are out site-seeing, on a road trip, or flying, your little one IS going to get caught up in the excitement, often leading to wet clothes.
Don’t sweat it and just plan for the accidents and be prepared.
2) Carry Spare Sets of Clothes (MULTIPLE!)
Just like when you used to plan on how many diapers were needed when traveling (and then packing spares), consider the same with underwear and pants.
When traveling, while our little guy was still getting the hang of using the bathroom on his own, we used training underwear, which are a bit thicker than underwear, but not diapers. This allowed us to not have to backtrack on our progress, yet if there was an accident, it wasn’t as bad as thin underwear.
Click Here To See Amazon’s Wide Variety of Cute Training Underwear
Note: Some people recommend just doing pull up for your travel days. This is an option, but know that potty training is going to take longer and there will probably be regressions with this. Sure, it will take more effort on YOUR part to keep the potty train chugging along, but nobody said parenting was easy!
3) Have A Wet/Dry Bag On Hand For Soiled Clothes
Since we cloth diapered, we have tons of wet/dry bags on hand. (Not sure what a wet/dry bag is? Here are some of our favorites)
But these are still PERFECT for potty training while traveling!
Get one that has a two pouches, one for clean, dry clothes and the other for soiled. These bags keep smells and liquids from seeping out, making them perfect travel day-bag additions.
4) Make Frequent Stops
You probably don’t need to be told this, but even if your tot has been potty trained for awhile, don’t rely on him or her to tell you if he needs to go if you are traveling. Between the excitement and the potential fear of different bathrooms, they may not pipe up as quickly. Have your kiddo sit on the potty often (we do once an hour).
We tell Lil B that he doesn’t have to go, but he does have to try. Using this language takes the pressure off but reinforces that we aren’t leaving until we see a bit of effort.
5) Beware of Automatic Flushers
I mean, c’mon. These things can get us adults! Imagine the panic it could ensue on an unbeknownst toddler! Ahh the horror!
Since the automatic sensors often don’t even detect the small little bodies of our tots, the flusher can be quite unpredictable. Before heading into the stall, grab a piece of paper towel or have something like a pack of wipes that you can put over the automatic sensor to disable it.
6) Continue Your Current Method
Just because you are traveling doesn’t mean you need to stop potty training. Sure, our “naked potty training” method probably wouldn’t be greeted so warmly out in the public, but after the initial days of full force potty training, we continued life as normal. This meant accidents and frustrations along the way, but that is just part of the game.
Most people are extremely understanding. Whether an accident happened and you need some help cleaning up or if you need to get into a stall quickly, typically strangers or happy to help…or at least give you an empathetic look!
What Is a Portable Toilet Seat vs a Portable Potty Chair
First, let’s chat about the difference between a portable toilet seat and a portable potty chair.
A travel potty seat is a nice, compact little addition that you set on top of a toilet while you are out and about. It converts just about any adult sized toilet into a child-friendly option.
A portable toilet chair is a full potty for toddlers while they are potty training.
But when it comes to travel, there are tons of options in each of these categories, giving parents a lot of choices about what is the best travel potty when on a trip, vacation or even just heading out for the day.
We’ll discuss more about what kinds travel toilet seats for toddlers are best depending on specific kinds of travel.
What To Consider When Traveling
Cleanliness
This is a tough one, considering you might need to be packing up your potty seat in your bags. The last thing you need is dripping pee. Here’s a few options to consider to maintain a hygenic situation while traveling and potty training.
- Get a disposable seat cover. Depending on what stage of potty training your kiddo is in, this is a great sanitary option if they are ok with you holding them over a normal toilet seat.
Here is a great 20 pack to keep you going your whole trip. - Folding Travel Potty Seat. These are perfect if you are limited on packing space but your little one still needs a potty seat covering a big toilet. They fold up easily (and many have a carrying case) that can be put into your carry on bag or purse and then cover an adult sized toilet, just like a training seat would.
Click Here To See Folding Travel Potty Seat Colors and Designs. - Sanitation Wipes. I mean, what parent doesn’t walk around without sanitizer now a days? When we are traveling in the car and just take our full toddler potty seat, after he is done using it, we carefully wipe it down with a sanitizer to maintain cleanliness.
Alternatively, you can also get really handy disposable liners that go inside the potty chair. All you have to do is dump it out and then toss the liner. No wiping, no messes! I’m actually going to go this route on our next road trip. Here are the ones I’ll be trying out.
Easy To Travel With
This is all going to depend on what type of travel you are doing.
If you are flying, then a potty chair is NOT a great idea. Although, that works really well for road trips with toddlers.
If you are out site-seeing, you’ll need something that can be easily packed into your bag (like the above covers or foldable potty seat)
Think through where all you are going, how you are getting there and what you can tolerate as far as lugging around and packing. We’ll chat more about this in the next section.
Kid Friendly
And no, I don’t mean is it super cutesy.
Some kids just simply won’t sit on an adult toilet until they are a bit older or more familiar with the whole process. So, it’s important to find a travel potty seat that they feel safe and comfortable with.
What’s The Best Portable Toilet For YOUR Travel
Road Trips: Travel Potty For Car
Have you read our Ultimate Guide To Surviving a Roadtrip With a Toddler? Check it out for screen free activities, tips, snack ideas and more.
When it comes to road trips and car rides with a toddler, there is not always a rest stop as soon as your tyke yells “I NEED TO POTTY!”
And we all know that as soon as you hear those words, you don’t have time!
This is when a full travel potty chair is handy to just have in the trunk of your car.
You can pull over and, if need be, plop them on the side of the road (away from traffic) or if your car allows, have them sit in the trunk or back.
Bonus Tip: Consider using a waterproof liner to protect your car seat in case the inevitable accident happens. Something like this Britax Liner is a great option since it’s so easy to put in and out and clean.
Flying: Portable Potty For Toddlers When In the Air
The problem with a portable kids potty while flying is that you REALLY don’t want extra gear to lug around, yet the thought of you or your babe getting all up in a plane’s toilet doesn’t exactly sound appealing either.
If you have space for your cushy portable toilet seat cover for toddlers, then this is a great, familiar option. However, if you are limited on luggage, I can’t recommend the foldable seat or just a disposable cover enough, like the ones listed above.
Conclusion
Life with a toddler isn’t always the easiest.
Life with a potty training toddler is hard.
Life with a potty training toddler while traveling? It can seem exhausting and overwhelming!
But you’ve got this! Just because you are out sight-seeing, traveling, flying or road tripping it, doesn’t mean that you can’t continue to have success with potty training.
Have you ever traveled with a potty training toddler? What tips and advice do you have for fellow readers? Any favorite gear you recommend?