Young Kids and the Bathroom while Backpacking!

That is definitely more elegant than what I built. After my wife had hip surgery she lacked the range of motion to do a squat. So I cut the bottom out of a 5-gallon bucket and scored the side and removed the fins under the rim. This allowed the bucket to fold mostly flat. Then once you put a portable potty lid on it with a biodegradable bag under the lid you have a perfectly functional potty for kids and adults. We have all used it many times and I’m well over 200 lbs and its rigid enough to hold my full weight once the lid is installed.

Little kids have been squatting for tens of thousands of years. It’s natural. The problem is the big babies (adults).

We stared taking our kids camping when they were 6 months old.

When my daughter was out of diapers, she refused to enter an outhouse. “Eeeew!” We had to buy a porta-potty.

On her first backpacking trip she was about the same age as yours. This was a concern. So we’re walking down a trail.

”Daddy I have to go #2. Where’s the bathroom” (Fear in her eyes).

”You’re gonna like this. See, we’re gonna dig a little hole. Then you go in the hole. When you’re done, we’ll burn the toilet paper and bury it.”

”Oh?”

”I’ll show you how to dig the hole, then you can dig one yourself with this little shovel.”

”Um, okay.”

Guess what?”

”What?”

”Now that you’re a big girl, you get to light the toilet paper.”

She was excited about burning the paper. Everything went well. About 5 minutes later . . .

”Daddy I have to go potty.”

After finishing the task, about 10 minutes later . . .

”Daddy, I have to go potty.”

She was so happy to dig and burn, with close supervision of course, I don’t think she ever went potty more often than on that trip. Of course follow the agency guidelines for where you hike.

When we got to our campsite.

“Daddy, how are we going to eat? You can’t cook. Mommy has to cook for you and you didn’t bring the camping stove..”

”I think I know how. I’ve been watching her. I have a tiny stove. Do you think you can cook for me?”

”Yes, yes, yes! Can we cook NOW?”

”Yes, but I want to help you with the cooking.”

Just please don’t burn your TP anymore. The forest catches fire too easily and there are too many people who aren’t responsible about such things. In 2008 when I was hiking the PCT someone burned Apache Peak by burning their TP.

Every kid at that age is different and presents different challenges. My kids at that age didn’t have a problem squatting. I held there hands.  Make sure the pants are all the way down or off completely. My oldest really liked nasty outhouses in the middle of nowhere because the flushing of the toilet kind of freaked him out. He also was not happy the first time I told him he had to go to the bathroom without a… bathroom… We argued back and forth for a while. He was finally satisfied when I took sticks and made a little circle on the ground and told him, “this is your toilet.”

I have envisioned putting together a small “swing” like contraption that is made of rope or webbing.  It would be strung between two trees like a hammock and could be tied at any height to accommodate any butt.  In the middle could be something like fabric with a cut away in the center to allow “deposits”.  Easy and quick to set up.  Adjustable and washable.

I have envisioned putting together a small “swing” like contraption ….

Quite a few people have made similar things.  These guys used to sell one:

https://www.facebook.com/applebyoutdoor/

I’m not sure if they are still in business.  The website is down and the product is no longer offered on Amazon.

If you just think about how long critters of all kinds have been pooping…..yeah your kid will be fine and get over it…..or he/she will grow to be that guy/gal who holds it in for the entire weekend of “camping”. Yes there are such people…..

Parents make a bigger deal of pooping outdoors…..kids if left alone will do just fine.

Just talk to your kid about it and they’ll know what to do. And yes you’ll need to help clean themselves up.

I speak as a parent of now grown “kids”.

Note: Much easier to let them just go in a secluded spot and then bury it after than trying to make them aim for an imperfect hole. Make sure you just clean up and bury it deep enough. And please pack all TP out!

And if out in the West this summer (especially California) do NOT burn anything! We’re already in Fire Stage 2. This is not usually later in the summer…..

From nps.gov/yose:

“Stage 2 fire restrictions are in effect.

Wood and charcoal fires (including twig stoves) are prohibited except in open campgrounds, open picnic areas with park-installed grills, and residential areas.
Portable stoves that don’t use wood are allowed. Allowed stoves are those that use pressurized gas, liquid fuel, propane, or alcohol (including tablet/cub stoves).
Smoking is prohibited except within an enclosed vehicle, a building in which smoking is allowed, designated campgrounds, designated picnic areas, paved developed areas, and designated smoking areas.”

Pooping outside is easier than peeing outside for girls. Girls can make a heckuva mess when they pee! pants off is easiest at age 3. Squatting to pee is a skill probably better taught to her by women so she learns what to do with the pants. Bring extra quick dry pants for her. Or maybe a hiking skirt?

I hated outhouses when I was a kid – spiders and all. I still prefer being outside to being in a dirty stinky spidery outhouse where it seems a portion of the population just can’t aim correctly (with # 1 or #2). There weren’t pee devices for women when I was a kid, but maybe your little one would take to using one and make it all easier.

Most critical – don’t make a big deal out of messes. If you can be matter of fact about it, calm, then she probably won’t hate the whole thing and associate the camping with making mistakes.

I have twin girls and took them for an overnight on the AT when they were 4.  There was a privy but neither of them were willing to use it because of the smell.  They thought squatting behind a tree to be pretty cool and just a part of the experience.  It’s a pain to take their pants off (boots have to come off and go back on), but it’s definitely worth it until they get some practice.

They’re now almost 14 and don’t think at all about stepping off the trail to pee in the woods.  I do carry wipes for them for #2 and they simply put those in the ziplock with the TP they used and I carry it out (“I’m not putting THAT in my backpack”).  They will someday, but if Daddy is willing to they’re happy to let me.

+1 to Karen’s excellent post.

I know the conversation is about really young kids, but I just remembered a trip I did where a dad was confronted with his daughter’s period and neither had any supplies to deal with the situation. He came over to ask me if I had any supplies but I had had a hysterectomy years ago and no longer needed them. I felt really bad. What a way to ruin backpacking for a girl! I remembered when I was 8 years old I was on a backpacking trip and happened to see my best friend’s (she would have been 9) bloody undies in a paper bag. Probably a good idea to start carrying supplies earlier than you think just in case.

When my youngest son was very little he always sat on the toilet to pee, he wasn’t interested in doing it standing up.  That is, until we went backpacking.  Then he had a great time peeing all over the place!