DIY Bathroom Tips for Little People

The following is a guest post from Julie from As Jules is Going

 

I have 2 recently potty trained girls {4 and 2.5} and a 21-month-old running right behind them! Life is hectic and I feel like I can easily drop balls all over the place if  I’m not creative.

One of the most recent biggest struggles with my girls being potty trained {and them taking themselves- HA-lleluiah} is getting them to complete all the steps of using the restroom. Elmo’s Potty Time anyone?

• When you feel like you have to go- stop what you’re doing and Go.
• Wipe yourself dry using toilet paper.
• Flush the toilet.
• Wash and
• Dry your hands.

Whether you consider those last two steps to go hand-in-hand or not, they are both very important steps for our children to remember. I am constantly reminding them to wash their hands. I can often be heard hollering through the house, “Did you flush? Wash your hands!” If and when they do complete these last two steps, THIS is what I find:

This was so frustrating! I always made sure they had a step to reach the counter. I even switched from a “hand towel” to a full bath towel so it would hang longer. None of that mattered. They would still end up on the counter trying to turn on the water as well as reach the water for washing hands. Water everywhere! Towel always on the counter or the floor. GROSS. Not only was it snatching extra germs but looked super tacky when friends & family visited. Here are some of the things I tried that Have worked:

First, I simply hung the bath towel and let the front hang as low as possible and then used 2 strong chip clips to hold it into place. SCORE! I haven’t found it on the counter or floor since! I’m sure simple clothes pins would work but my littles tug at the towel pretty hard so we used there {big & less attractive} heavy duty chip clips. Maybe some day I’ll get matching ones. ;o)

The second thing I’ve found helps keep my children off the counter and the water in the sink is this water extender. I just saved an empty baby shampoo bottle.

I have another one in “their” bathroom. Any size bottle works. I prefer the clear one. It blends in better and is less noticeable but use what ya got!
After cleaning it out well I cut it apart to fit on the nozzle. Now, does anyone have an idea for extending these old school knobs?

Hope that helps your littles with their independent hand-washing while keeping them from making more messes for you busy mommies to clean up in your spare time!