The Jump Seat

Anyone who has ever potty trained a child has experienced the "hurry up and run" situation in random places. No matter how many times your child goes potty before you leave...even if they happen to go literally 2 minutes before you head out the door...this situation is inevitable. This past week, I was lucky enough to have this experience twice--in two different locations.

The first event happened two weeks into potty training when we realized that 17 pairs of princess panties are not enough to get through a week. So, I loaded the girls in the car and headed over to Wal-Mart. Apparently, just the thought of new puppy-printed panties is enough to make a 2-year old girl need to go potty. After encouraging Kallie to hold it for a few minutes, the urgency became apparent and we rushed to the bathroom. Now--keep in mind that carts and merchandise are not allowed in the bathroom AND I had both Kallie and Whitney with me. So, I ditched my cart, merchandise, and our coats next to the drinking fountains just outside the bathroom. (I may not have been so bold, but saw another mom had done the same thing...) I slung my purse over my shoulder, hitched Whitney up on my hip, and took Kallie by the hand into the bathroom. When I got in there, I headed for the stall usually reserved for disabled people. Having a party of three, I decided I needed the extra space just to maneuver everyone. NO ONE wants to put their crawling child down on a Wal-Mart bathroom floor, (or ANY bathroom floor!), so I held her on my hip with one arm while trying to help Kallie assume the potty position. The 5 seconds between getting Kallie on and off the potty were quite do-able. But, once she was done, I once again had to shift Whitney around while trying to help Kallie finish up. At one point, I needed two hands to assist my 2-year old, so I had no choice but to tuck Whitney between my legs and hope I could hold on until I had a free hand. By the time we finished our 3 minute pit stop, I was exhausted and thoroughly frustrated that, especially in Utah--where families generally have more than 2 kids--there was no place to put a baby while helping another child go potty.

Fast forward to Thursday morning. Although I had a major cold coming on, I decided to take the girls to the library. After spending about an hour picking out books and movies for Kallie, I headed upstairs to the QUIET section of the library to get a book for myself. Of course, as soon as we stepped off the elevator, Kallie insisted that she needed to go potty. I parked the stroller outside the bathroom, grabbed my purse, slung Whitney on my hip and headed in for another Gladiator challenge. Once again, we selected the large stall...but this time, to my complete surprise, I saw that there was, attached to the wall, a "jump seat" for children to sit in while their parents used the potty. I snapped the seat down, buckled Whitney in, and helped Kallie with both hands! No juggling a squirmy toddler and a pee-pee dancing preschooler while trying to keep my cool! It was such an improvement over my previous experience. I left the library bathroom feeling completely grateful that SOMEONE on this planet realizes what a hassle it can be to take your kid(s) into a public restroom. Now, if we could get everyone to have this same realization, we could change the world--one stall at a time.