DS terrified of public restrooms/toilets...Anyone else?

Re: DS terrified of public restrooms/toilets...Anyone else?

• AgrippaRidesAgain member

  January 2012

  DS absolutely refuses to flush public toilets.  He used to run away screaming with his hands over his ears, and shake for a good five minutes afterwards.  We've been working on it since the summer.  We are finally at the point where he will let us pick him up and he will use his foot to flush the toilet.  I'm hoping that sometime soon we will move on to just holding hands, and then eventually him doing it himself.  It has just taken practice.  We flush toilets everywhere we go just to get him used to it.

  
  

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• CD+AL member

  January 2012

  My DS is also scared of the flush, esp. the auto-flush toilets.I drape a strip of TP over the sensor eye if it's the kind that comes up from the top of the toilet away from the wall.  I keep a small pad of post-it notes in my purse/diaper bag to cover the wall mounted ones, and in a pinch, I can stand over the toilet (one leg on each side) with DS sitting on the toilet in front of me (my butt blocking the sensor eye) while he goes so that it doesn't flush on him.  That's helped a lot b/c he can leave the stall and stand right outside where I can still see him while I make it flush, and it's not so scary.
  

   
  

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• Pesky member

  January 2012

  I talked DD through it.  First I made sure to put post-it notes in my bag so I could cover up the sensor, so it would not automatically flush until DD was ready.  I would tell her "okay, it's going to be loud and may smell funny and may even be dark but we will pee fast and ska-doodle.  Wow, that was a loud flush!  These potties are super loud.  I'll be sure to tell you before I flush it so you can put your hands over your ears." and so on.  I would also keep some purell or other hand sanitizer in my bag so we could skip handwashing in there if needed to hasten the process.  I also let her know that I preferred the potties at home too, it was okay not to like these potties, but sometimes, I just had to go and you use what is there quickly and get it over with.

  You might want to try with bright bathrooms at first and start him off that way to kind of easing him into those kind of things.  Target almost always has one that is unisex right by the pharmacy and doesn't have those super-loud handblowers, just towels. 

  
  
  DD -- 5YO
  DS -- 3YO
  

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• ashg8r

  January 2012

  DD was scared too - we did 2 things:  1 - (I think I read this suggestion on here) Sat on the toilet with her between my legs. It helped her feel more secure.  and  2. keep a small potty in the car (we still do this for emergencies, or when we're somewhere without a bathroom, or as a much cleaner/easier alternative to a port-a-potty.  There are still certain places she doesn't like going, that have especially loud toilets or hand dryers, but will if she really has to.
  

  

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• Quiksilver620 member

  January 2012

  I got DD Dora potty covers for public bathrooms and try to remember to have some post-it notes in my bad to cover the auto flush sensor thing. DD now always asks if it's going to be loud and I tell her no because I'll wait until she's out of the stall to flush
  

  

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• mrsblueeyes member

  January 2012

  This isn't so much an issue any more but at 3-3.5 years it was.  He refused to go to toilets at the parks since it was dark and scary, so we would find a tree in a private place and let him go outside (not ideal but it beats an accident)  I also had to know where all the "quite" bathrooms were at a mall-like the bathroom in the Macy's homestore.  When it came time to flush, I would let him walk outside of the stall while I flushed, that helped a lot since it can be pretty noisy inside the stall.  He seems to have outgrown this particular fear. 

  

  
  

  

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