Surviving Air Travel With a Potty-Training Toddler: Tips for a Stress Free Flight

Three weeks after starting to potty train our toddler, we flew down to Florida for a week to visit family! Here is what we did to survive air travel with a potty-training toddler and what we learned along the way.

I want to start by saying that every child is different, and potty training looks a little different for every family. I’m simply sharing my experience and what I did when it came to traveling while potty-training my toddler in hopes that it helps you out a little.

My husband and I are experienced travelers and fly often. Our toddler had even flown multiple times before this trip, just not while potty-training. Flying with a toddler in the midst of potty-training was new territory for us so we did everything we could to prepare!

Surviving Air Travel With a Potty-Training Toddler: What Every Parent Should Know

Read on for some tips and how to prepare. It’s not as scary as you might think!

We were three weeks into potty-training when we traveled and I felt that was soon but it went well overall. I wouldn’t take a trip any sooner than that after just starting potty-training.

You need the time before the trip to learn your child’s cues and rhythm so you can better plan out bathroom breaks.

Surviving-air-travel-with-a-potty-training-toddler — View from the plane!
Photo Credit: Theresa Bauman

Potty Training Before a Trip

When we started potty training, my toddler was just under two and a half years old. I dove into the book Oh Crap! Potty Training—literally on day one. I knew when we were going to start, but I hadn’t gotten around to reading the book in advance.

I had heard a few tips before starting but quickly felt lost. So, I speed-read that night! Our holiday trip was already planned, and canceling wasn’t an option. We had to figure out how to make it work.

By the time we were leaving for Florida, my toddler was doing fairly well! We had reached the stage where she wore pants with no underwear. In case you’re unfamiliar with this method, it’s a progression. Three days with no pants, followed by a period with pants but no underwear to avoid confusion with pull-ups. She was on a “potty schedule,” sitting on the toilet every two hours.

Traveling, of course, can throw kids off their routines, so we prepared ourselves for some accidents along the way and while on vacation.

Travel Day Plan

Plastic bags: for any accidents, so we could store dirty clothes.

Extra clothes: one set for me and my husband, and two sets for our toddler.

Doggy pee pads: for added protection on the plane. We ended up not using them but I was glad we had them!

Pull-ups: just in case things got too stressful and we needed a break from the potty routine until we arrived at our destination.
Travel Potty Seat: a small fold-up potty seat that suctions to the top of normal toilet seats. This helps a small toddler feel more secure on the toilet.

Our First Travel Day With a Potty-Training Toddler

Our flight left early in the morning so when we woke our toddler up, we had her use the bathroom. We waited to have her use the bathroom again until just before boarding out first flight.

The first flight was about 2 to 2.5 hours. During the flight, we took her to the airplane bathroom, but she didn’t pee!

Pro tip: If you can’t hear them peeing due to the noise, check the toilet paper when you wipe, it's it wet you know they peed!

Not going on the plane made me nervous. As every potty-training parent knows, when your kid is on a schedule and doesn’t go, all you can think is, When will it happen? Luckily, she went as soon as we landed, and we were able to relax a bit.

Due to the short layover, we didn’t have enough time to take her to the bathroom again before boarding. She didn’t pee on that flight either. Once we landed, we rushed to the bathroom, and thankfully, she went.

Our first travel day with a potty-training toddler was a success—no accidents! Although I was anxious every time she didn’t pee on the plane, I was proud of how well she did overall.

As expected, traveling disrupted her routine. She had two accidents the next day while we were at our family’s house.

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Dealing With Accidents

The biggest fear about traveling and potty training is accidents. And rightly so!

I can admit they are frustrating and sometimes even embarrassing, like when your toddler wets their pants three times in one hour right after you told the booking.com host she was potty-trained. Yep, that happend!

She even had an accident while eating lunch at EPCOT because she had just downed a cup of juice.

If your child has an accident, ITS OK! Trust me, it will happen, and most people are very understanding.

We’ve even had people offer to help clean up the area while we cleaned up our toddler. Depending on where you are, like a hotel or restaurant, they will want their housekeeping staff to use cleaner to clean up the mess, rather then you just wiping it up.

When your toddler has an accident while traveling, deal with it just like you would at home! Make them sit on the potty to make sure they are done, then clean them off and change their clothes.

This is where the plastic bag comes in handy so you can carry wet clothes until you are able to wash them.

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Understanding Accidents

“Why did my child have an accident? Could it have been prevented?”
-Not always! But sometimes, you can look at what they ate or drank right before the accident and understand that their little system just couldn’t hold that much.

Here’s what I learned, make sure your kid is hydrated so they do have to use the potty. BUT not TOO hydrated that they have to go more frequently!

My toddler sittingi n the window seat of the airplane reaching to touch the window — My toddler looking out the airplane window!
Phot Credit: Theresa Bauman

One morning before our flight home, she ate an entire container of strawberries (which acted like a diuretic), and she couldn’t hold it. She started peeing every 30 minutes. Despite our best efforts, she had two accidents before we left for the airport.

On the way to the airport, she had another accident. At that point, we decided to switch to pull-ups for the remainder of the travel day. We were running low on spare clothes!

It’s totally ok to switch back to pullups on your travel day if things aren’t going well. You can go back to potty-training when you’re at the your destination! Just be careful not to confuse them by not potty-training for a few days on your trip. One off day while traveling won’t hurt.

Recap and Other Final Thoughts: Surviving Air Travel With a Potty-Training Toddler

I never viewed the trip as a deadline for potty training. I knew we’d still be in the middle of the process while traveling. Instead of stressing over her needing to be at a certain point in potty-training, we focused on being prepared.

For anyone embarking on potty training, I highly recommend Oh Crap! Potty Training (not sponsored)!