Travel Potty Chair by Cool Gear, You Make My Heart Sing

You make everything... groovy

Welcome to parenthood, when you have to interact with other humans' waste besides your own!  For free!  Also, if you act like you hate it too much, you can psychologically scar your children!  Anyway, what's the worst part about going somewhere like a fair, playground, concert, street festival, etc?   (Tough question, but try to find just one thing.) The fact that your children will immediately have to use the potty, even if they just went ten minutes ago in the house.  Often, your only choices are really wretched and trauma-inducing port-a-potties, or else returning home.  Unless you are smart enough to call it a day and go home, and I never am, you need another option.

Enter you, my love, you gorgeous thing, the Travel Potty Chair.  I can wax rhapsodic about this thing for hours, but I will try to stay on task.  The Travel Potty Chair is a wonderful contraption that has lasted me through two kids (and the baby will use it too one day.  Tradition!).  You can fold it up so it is about the size of your under stroller basket, pop it in there, and wait for one of your kids to have to pee.  At that point, you flip it open and they sit on the little seat and pee directly into the gallon ziplock bag you have already inserted in advance, because you're so organized and awesome.  At that point, you open the lid, remove the bag, zip it closed, and store a bag of urine (hopefully) in the stroller till you get to a garbage can.  (Stop envying my life, Victoria Beckham!)  Also, there are two compartments on the side, in which I store extra bags, toilet paper, and Xanax.  What?  I said napkins. Or something.

Where do you use it, you ask?  It depends on how easily you embarrass. The world is your oyster here.  However, I often go back to the BMW Z4 (ha ha, I mean 2006 Dodge Caravan with unrepaired bumper damage from the time I skidded into a tree in the snow two years ago), and set it up in the passenger seat.  You can also set it up in the open trunk for a fun tailgating feel.  I love you, Travel Potty Chair.

Now for even more bang for your buck, in a pinch you can use this YOURSELF if you are on the small side and the park restrooms are closed and your baby is asleep in the stroller and cannot be transferred into the carseat without waking him.  How do I know?  Well, my friend, I'm sorry to say that is between me and the elderly man who got a glimpse of me and almost went into cardiac arrest.  For even more versatility, it can be placed in your preschooler's room in case she has to pee in the middle of the night.  This is helpful in the event that, like my poor daughter, your child has a debilitating physical condition which prevents him/her from walking softly down the hall in a manner that does not sound like four medium sized elephants running from poachers and wakes everyone in the house including your sleeping baby.  (However, for this tactic to work, you must describe the potty as "special," e.g. "If you're really good, I'll set the special potty up in your room for if you have to pee in the middle of the night, but don't tell your sister because she is going to want it for herself.")

This travel potty is $26.79 on Diapers.com which is a great deal considering you never have to wash it out as the bags are disposable, you don't have to take children into port-a-potties or deal with accidents,  it is well made and sturdy, and you also get to look really cool to all your friends without kids (actually you should prepare for a reaction of undisguised horror when you share this awesome purchase with them, but when do they react to you in any other way anymore?).  Buy it now, and thank me when you're standing there smugly holding a bag of urine looking at the fools on line for the port-a-potty.  (Some of them may look back at you strangely due to your bag of urine; disregard.)

Note: I was not given a free Travel Potty Chair or financially compensated for this review.  Nor did I wish to be, as my relationship with the Travel Potty Chair should remain sacred and unsullied by the taint of commercialism. (Note: I do not have these ethical standards about other items; contact me with an offer.)