Makes me ill to think about it

Ok maybe this seems silly but, my boys have really mastered our toilet here at home in about 1 day (with no potty seat of any kind) but of course they prop themselves on the toilet & place their hands on the seat to steady themselves. I don't like that at all but I make sure to keep the toilet very clean, I clean it everyday & sanitize it because I know there will be little hands touchin it.
 
We have not been out in public since they have started on the toilet & the just the thought  of them putting their hands on the toilet in a public restroom makes me sick. Not sure how to deal with that!! yuck!!!! :bad:

 

Do a lot of handwashing afterwards.  Just basically try to tell them not to touch ANYTHING in the bathroom unless they have to.  Supervise them (as much as you can) in the bathroom and demonstrate the proper way to do it as much as possible.  Congrats on the potty training success!

 

I've never been overly cautious about public washrooms - we just always wash with soap and warm water and my kids have never contracted any deathly viruses. I can't say they haven't picked up any regular viruses but I just figure if they have it's one less virus to worry about down the road. ardon:

 

 
Exactly. 

 

I'm a huge germaphobe so I kept a portable potty in the trunk of my SUV.  They could climb back there with the door closed and go.  Depending on their age and and where we were I'd make them go before we went in.  Other times, I'd take them back out to the car rather than use a public restroom.  I keep purell, lysol wipes and plastic bags in the trunk.  Now they're pushing the limit with their size since they are almost 6, but they are better about not touching things in public restrooms too.  

 

 
^Totally this.  I will say, however, the day my darling 3 year old decided to LICK the hold rail in a public rest room I almost threw up.  Apparently you do need to tell 3 year olds not to lick things in a public rest room :bad:

 

My boys almost never poop in public and they pee standing up, so it's not a huge issue really.  You can get a small fold up potty seat that goes in your purse, or carry wipes and wipe down the seat before they sit on it.  Then afterward wash hands well.  That should take care of most of what they touch.

 

Yep, what she said. 

 

 
Yep.  You just wash their hands afterward.  They are not likely being exposed to any more germs than they would be in a daycare, public school, indoor play place, etc.  Just think of it as building their immune system.

 

Same. Wash hands after.

 

I, personally, hate public restrooms. Even clean ones gross me out. Now that the girls are PT, though, I have little choice! I've just encouraged hand washing and I try to just zone out and not think about it too much.  

 

This seems more gross to me. Everyone is handling poop at that point. I mean, indoor plumbing is considered a massive step forward In hygeine for a reason. And purell is great when you can't get to soap and water, but it's not better than soap and water.

 

Skeeves me out? Sure. But-with soap and water, we are good to go. I do constantly tell them not to sit on the floor, touch anything else, etc. But I just don't worry about those things. And aside from a common cold in six years, with three kids, I'd say that's a pretty good run this far(and I'm sure after typing this I will eat my words...).

When they potty trained, I had the portable toilet as well in the car. I also had an infant, and it was just easier in the car than taking three kids to a restroom in those beginning days. And I still leave that toilet in the car for emergencies! Lol!

 

Soap and water.  They are not eating off the toilet seat.  I just make them wash and just in case there is no soap I keep purell in my purse.  I do not use a toilet seat cover and there is no hovering since you don't eat off your butt.  And why would I want to put a toilet seat cover in my purse that has touched the toilet and not gotten washed like hands do.  Nasty.  Using a potty in the car doesn't seem all that hygenic. 
 
Because of my intestinal disease I have zero squishness about public toilets.  I've been in some seriously nasty truck stop toilets (including mens when the womens was closed).  Never caught any bugs.   
 
My degree is in Microbiology.  Trust me when I say toilets are not the germ factories you think they are.  Try the kitchen sink.  I do sanitize my kitchen sink daily.  I would not worry about sanitizing the toilet at home daily.  Encourage the habit of hand washing at home and in public.  Even if one was sick with a stomach bug I wouldn't worry much just ensure hand washing after using the toilet.  In fact there is something to be said for having an environment that is too clean.  Your body has 100 trillion little microbes happily living all over your body.  We couldn't do without them.   

 

trust me, I get the germ factor here.  I typically only dispose of it publicly if we are going to be away from home for a long time.  Otherwise I take care of it at home, same as if they were using it to potty train inside the house.  They don't touch it, only me.  I would rather deal with it that way, than worry about the poop infecting the toilet surfaces that was infected with norovirus in a public restroom.  Little kids often hold on to the sides of the seat of a potty, and the thought sends my anxiety soaring.  I even think about the surfaces people walk on with their filthy shoes, or the vomit splatters on the floor that weren't disinfected properly, and then my kids pants are falling around their ankles and brushing against the floor.  It was a way to keep my sane when going out - especially to parks where they only have port-o potties.  Or when traveling on vacation and stopping at a rest stop bathroom.  I'm also aware that the majority of hand sanitizers don't kill noro, but there are a few select one that do and those are the ones I use.  I'd soak my hands in a bottle of clorox if I could, so I definitely get the contamination factor here.  It still makes me feel safer.  I also don't trust that the sinks are all that clean, the thought of someone barely rinsing their hands before me and then touching the faucet handle, the paper towel dispenser, door knob, etc are also reasons i'd rather use hand sanitizer and avoid the bathroom altogether.
 
This was also why I never used the portable seat covers.  I wouldn't want to take it back home with me.  Though I would be crazy enough to throw it away and buy a new one every time.  I actually used these for awhile.  http://www.pottycover.com/  but they were so large, the panic of removing it and having it not touch me as I tried to dispose of it would send me into a panic as well.  (I get that I am an extreme case here.)
 
As they got older - age 4 or so, I just went with covering the seat with toilet paper and they were able to follow my rules about not touching anything.  It still makes me anxious.

 

I am pretty relaxed about germs.  We live on a horse farm.  A rare week goes by that my kids don't touch horse poop or something that has touched poop (like the wheelbarrow or pitchfork) .  I discourage it but it doesn't bother really bother me. I just make mental note to make sure we wash hands when we go inside.
 
However, i cringe at the thought of my kids putting their hands on public toilets.  Of course they have and then we wash and i try not to let on that i am grossed out.  i think if it was going to be matter of routine, like, that is how they stand to pee... holding the toilet, i might look for other options.
 
Can you teach them to put toilet paper down before holding onto the toilet?
If it is tough for me to witness, i am sure it is really hard on people who have germ phobias.  I hope you find a solution that will make you more comfortable and not make your kids overly concerned about germs.  With washing they really are safe.. that is what i repeat to myself as i am thinking.. eeww, eewe, gross!

 

Just make sure to wash their hands with soap and water afterward.  I always carry disinfecting wipes in my purse so sometimes (depending on where you are at) I might have wiped the seat down first with a wipe, but not always.