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Re: [at-l] kids and the potty (was: trip report: Mt. Rogers (Elk Garden to Fox Creek) (long))

kahlena wrote:

> Ken may I ask how you handled your daughter and the lack of handy 
> toilets.  I have a neice that I'd like to take hiking but she refuses
> to pee in the woods.  In fact, if it doesn't flush, she's not 
> interested.  This may seem silly, but it's definitely a trip stopper!
> 


Kahley:

Well, I guess we did start her out early. I have a picture from her first
camping trip at age 2, while she was in the middle of toilet training. The
potty chair is sitting right outside the door of the tent. :-|

We've had Megan dayhiking since she was born (okay, she was in a kid
carrier, but at least she was out). She walked most of the way since she was
2 or 3, and her first backpacking trip was just before her 5th birthday.
When she was younger, we'd hold her over the cathole. Now she does a pretty
good job all by herself, though we still have to do the digging. She wears
nylon shorts with a built-in liner, so we don't have to worry about
underwear (or cotton). She really doesn't seem to have a problem with any of
this, I guess because she's always done it. 

We did have our first encounter with a privy on this hike last weekend. That
seemed to go over well, though the flies were really bad.

I don't know if this helps any with your situation. How old is your niece? I
think that younger kids can be trained, and older kids can be reasoned with,
but for kids in the middle, you might not have much luck.

Cheers,

Ken


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