Friday, April 04, 2008
Your Very Own Porta-Potty
Posted by Missy W. @ 9:35 AM
OK, so after this review, I really think I’ve covered my potty-training bases.
Sy is pretty good at holding it if we are in the car. She loathes having accidents and more importantly, loathes getting her outfit dirty. It’s times like this when I wonder if she is really my kid. We have emergency diapers in the car and the piddle pad in place, but sometimes when you gotta go, you gotta go. Like at our favorite park that has no bathroom. Enter the Fisher-Price Potty On-the-Go (F-P doesn’t seem to have the illustrious commode on their own site).
The Potty On-the-Go comes in a handy little carrying case (about 25% bigger than a laptop case) and easily fits together. It even comes in fashion colors of uh, powder blue and powder gray. It’s fairly sturdy on its tripod base and is easy for the kids to sit on. They basically pee into a bag below that you can just tie off and dispose of. The potty comes with about six bags to start and some absorbent pads to throw into the bag to soak up some pee. I laughed when I realized it was just a nursing pad. A multi-tasker! Micky just throws in a wipe when they use it. The carrying case is simple, doesn’t scream I HAVE A POTTY IN HERE and most importantly, is machine washable. It has little pockets for wipes or toilet paper as well.
The first time Sy tried one of these, it was in the back-back of Micky’s SUV. Unfortunately, she was parked on a really busy street and I’m pretty sure Sy thought she was going to get hit by a Mack truck if she sat upon that tiny little throne. She said noooooo way and that was that. We’ve had ours for a while rolling around in the back of the car but I’ve never had to use it. Yesterday, we went to the Park With No Bathroom and Sy really had to pee. So I pulled out the potty and placed it in between the middle row seats of the van (yes, yes, minivan. I love it if you have to know). She had plenty of room and thought it was hilarious that she got to pee in the car. She made sure she drank a ton of water at the park so that she could pee in the car again before we went home. I took my chances that the pee would not wobble and fall over in the car and left it like that til we got home to toss the bag. Whew. No accident. Can you imagine the smell? No thank you.
But here’s why the product is only getting three stars in my book. I know this thing is portable, on-the-go and not a long term urine receptacle, but I just feel like it is so wasteful. The bags they set you up with are quite large and I felt really bad just using it twice and then throwing it away. They recommend you use generic 4 gallon trash bags and regular nursing pads. That’s a big bag! I was wondering yesterday if I could use one of my larger compost bags in there. I can’t imagine it would decompose that quickly. It’s an experiment I’ll have to do at home in the backyard and update the review. I am certainly not taking my chances on that in the sports car minivan.
Snapshot:
Easy to carry, use and clean, the Potty On-the-Go is great for road trip emergencies.
Wasteful bags make me only want to use this in the more dire cases.
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June 11, 2009 @ 03:12 AM
fashion and vintage said:
Thanks for the comment and for sharing the news. Unfortunately, she was parked on a really fashion and vintage busy street and I’m pretty sure Sy thought she was going to get hit by a Mack truck if she sat upon that tiny little throne.