Does anyone take anything for a kids potty in the BWCA? We are talking about and preparing for our trip this year, and I'm having a hard time knowing what to expect when it comes to using the latrine with a kiddo.

shouldertripper: "Does anyone take anything for a kids potty in the BWCA? We are talking about and preparing for our trip this year, and I'm having a hard time knowing what to expect when it comes to using the latrine with a kiddo. "

What ages are you talking about? My kids go into the woods with me as soon as they can walk so they get used to the ground pits. The only thing we bring to "help" is a thermacell to keep the bugs off. I would imagine if children aren't used to the pit and have to use if for the first time when a little bit older you could face some resistance. Not sure what else I can suggest that would help...

For us, using the latrine the forest service provides was a seemless transition. No need for anything extra. In fact, I don't think we even considered needing/wanting to bring anything else as a backup.

We didn’t bring anything extra either. But I did have to hang on/let them hang on to me when they were little because they were afraid they’d fall in and I’m sure I’ll have to do that with Bruin.

Thanks for the input everyone, I really appreciate hearing about your experience. I am planning to take my 5 yo son this year, and also thinking longer term about future trips when my two younger daughters are a little older. I was hoping not to need to bring something extra that's bulky, although the thermacell is a great idea and I was on the fence about bringing mine. I might try to see if we can find a campground or something with a similar style latrine to be sure.

I may be overthinking it, but I really want to be as prepared as I can for his first trip so that it goes as good as possible to really help spark that love early on! My son is a very observant and curious kid, so I think he will be absolutely captivated by all the new things to explore.

We did not take one for my son's first trip (at 3 years old) and turned out he was scared of falling in the throne. He had used pit toilets before but this was his first time camping. He refused to sit long enough to do a #2. He is an adventurous kid but also thrives on routine so I think he had just reached his "this is different" limit. We were only out two nights so not a huge deal but still not pleasant to deal with.

Later, when we took my daughter camping for the first time (also 3 years old), we did take her potty. Turned out she was chill about using the throne but having her potty by the tent was very, very nice for when she woke up in the middle of the night and had to go to the bathroom.

We just base camped on an entry lake both times so not a huge deal to portage it. Bulky, yes, but it didn't weigh much and we just tied the plastic bag we carried it in onto the outside of one of the packs.

My kids are old now but back then we carried 2 things. The first was a travel potty that was no spill. It was very small and could be sealed to empty at a later time. This was very handy for 2 year old girls on car trips. The second is the Folding potty seat this worked great for the toilets in the bwca or in Porta potties at boat launches.