The Babykeeper: toilet training with visual aids

We've seen our fair share of strange and / or gimmicky products around here, but the Babykeeper by Mommysentials has to be one of the creepiest. This contraption allows you to hang your six to eighteen month old infant on the door of a public toilet stall while you, um, do your business. Now we're not questioning the safety of the device or the necessity of keeping an eye on your child at all times, but who in their right mind wants their little baby staring at them squatting over a dirty toilet, especially after they've dined at, say, Taco Bell. In the same way that its traumatizing for children to watch their parents engage in "adult activities" (or heaven forbid, be in the same bed), we can't imagine that it's psychologically healthy for Junior to get slung up on the back of a swinging door and be forced to watch Mommy heed nature's call every time they're out and about. The $60 Babykeeper may be the perfect solution for some, but we'll stick to the tried-and-true methods of either holding it in or paying an honest-looking stranger to act as temporary babysitter every once in awhile (this last parenting tip was brought to you by BloggingBaby).

[Via Pocket-lint and Babygadget]

[jr @ Aug 30th 2006 10:38AM]

I'm not a parent, but I've been thinking about this issue recently. I guess because more and more dads are bringing their kids into the bathroom with them.

If your kid is big enough, they can wait by the door or sink, no problem. But the really little ones, what can you do? I've heard dads use the handicap toilets and have their kid in the stall with them as it is. I've even heard the dreaded "taco bell" issue, poor dad and son - dad was making an awful stink and the son was complaining about how bad it was. But what do you do if you're not with your wife??

This sounds doable, you could hang the kid on the othe side of the door as far as I'm concerned, have him/her facing the sinks...

[morty salt @ Aug 30th 2006 10:45AM]

The best thing is just blind fold your child and give them a gas mask and and ipod, they won't care if you had beans, corn or cabbage for lunch. I just don't know why adults use the toilet anymore, what the heck or depends for anyway?

[David Zangmeister, MD @ Aug 30th 2006 11:17AM]

Actually, this is probably a good idea. Children learn by watching. Could help with toilet training.

[Scott @ Aug 30th 2006 11:30AM]

Wow....and here I've been just "holding it" all this time.

[Andy J @ Aug 30th 2006 11:32AM]

You guys are silly bitches...

[Sandra Dumas @ Aug 30th 2006 11:44AM]

This is actually a good product. When a mother has to go, she is forced to either A: Leave her child in the stroller with the door to the stall open so she can see her child (and everyone can see her) or B. Hold baby with one hand while hanging over the toilet and do everything else with one hand. I always opted for A, and just used the last stall. As far as children seeing us while we go, it HAD to be either a Man or a childless mother that wrote this article. Every REAL mother knnows that her babies and toddlers see them go constantly. And every mother who actually potty trains their children on time knows that it is best for kids to be a part of the bathroom experience. If you guys at Engadget really want to keep reviewing baby products then you really really need to hire a Mom to review them! Most of your comments on why this product is silly are absolutely ridiculous. Only your maie, or childless readers would agree with you. I am actually a mother and my only qualm is the expense. Sixty bucks would make me opt for Option A.

[philippe naylor @ Aug 30th 2006 11:50AM]

"paying an honest-looking stranger to act as temporary babysitter"
Exactly what does an honest-looking stranger look like?

I would hang-up my child on the back of door anyday. Sure beats finding him dumped on a deserted road a few days later.

And besides, what is it with natural bodily functions that we are all so prude about? Sure, i dont call my child in every time i go to the toilet, but every once in a while, if necessesity dictates, what harm can come to him?
OMG, he saw daddy take a dump?
Small wonder the shrinks are so busy.
Ok, gotta go, call of nature...

[Confused @ Aug 30th 2006 11:57AM]

Puppy water bowls? Toilet training for children? Is this Engadget.com?

Has AOL forced the Engadget editors to blog about subjects only pertinent to some new advertiser?

[D2 @ Aug 30th 2006 12:04PM]

"you could hang the kid on the othe side of the door as far as I'm concerned, have him/her facing the sinks..."

jr, 'facing the sinks' had me laugh out loud.

[Jeff_Daddy @ Aug 30th 2006 12:06PM]

I don't know about other people's kids, but the problem with mine is keeping them OUT of the bathroom when I'm making a stinkcake. They don't seem to care about the smell until age three or so. Also, anything that can keep a toddler immobilzed in a public men's room is okay by me. They touch everything they see and put most of it in their mouth. Frankly, I don't like the idea of this product, but I keep a mental map of public restrooms that are family friendly with stalls big enough for a stroller.

[Magic Manatee @ Aug 30th 2006 12:17PM]

Why not just go for the cheap and easy option of just putting them in a bin???

[score it @ Aug 30th 2006 12:18PM]

nothing like hanging your kid out to whiff out foul ass produce...
this would be a hit if only you could give them score cards and have them rate your creations

[jiltedcitizen @ Aug 30th 2006 12:19PM]

How many bathroom stall doors are going to fall off now from fat little kids hanging around. Why buy this at all? Just use the pants belt loop and the coat hanger usually on the inside.

[Tripp McNeilly @ Aug 30th 2006 12:38PM]

What happens when a purse snatcher reaches over the stall door to grab a purse and they end up with a baby? This idea is hilarious. I actually laughed out loud when I saw the picture. It's like a puppet!

[Rick Lyon @ Aug 30th 2006 12:47PM]

As a dad I laughed to. Then I showed my wife and she said that's awesome! That they have these out already. So maybe as males we find this silly but I'd like to hear more opinions from moms of young ones.

[JC @ Aug 30th 2006 1:07PM]

That's what the coathangers on the doors are for. Why reinvent the wheel?

[cuby @ Aug 30th 2006 1:16PM]

best part of the picture? the tot is doubling as a toilet paper dispenser! that's what i call convergence.

[MB @ Aug 30th 2006 1:41PM]

It's not a bad idea at all. I wish we had one of these when our kid was little.

[Ethel @ Aug 30th 2006 2:38PM]

Guys must be idiots! David Zangmeister has it correct, watching parents eliminate and clean up is the best tool for toilet training and gosh, most moms when they use the toiler sit down - and they aren't having a bm either! My own mother said many times it wasn't until my sister and I were in grade school that she didn't have a kid on her lap when she had to use the bathroom (poor mom!).

In the Eugene (Oregon) airport they even have a seat for a toddler - like a koala changing table - with belt to hold your kid in the family bathroom stall. When is changing your own mommy diaper (tampon, pad, whatever) this is quite useful. Of course, I am not sure how having them watch that is useful in toilet training.....

[sarah @ Aug 30th 2006 2:48PM]

okay, yes, it is very funny, especially the visual.

but seriously, who writes this article?

you can't put your child on the outside of the stall SOMEONE COULD TAKE THEM. children are abducted in this country all the time.

you can't leave them with a stranger, same reasoning.

they will touch everything, so it's terrible to let htem lose, even in the stall with you.

sometimes you do not have your stroller and sometimes oyu just can't hold it. pregnancy did not make me any less human, you know?

i think it's ingenious. not that i would want to bother carrying one around.

personally, i have been waiting ot pee by myself since i had kids, but since i can't do it anyway, i would much rather have them safe and sanitary!

[Reverend Bernie @ Aug 30th 2006 3:02PM]

Best solution to keep the little ones from running amuck: Velcro BabiesTM! Picture toddlers and babies in little velcro suits dangling from the walls. The seperation sound acts as a security measure (SSCHRIIP! My BABY!!).

I wish I could take credit for this, but one of my classmates in broadcast school came up with this as our final project for a commercial. Now I wish we would've chose it.

[MommyBear @ Aug 30th 2006 3:56PM]

I have to agree with "Sandra Dumas":

"If you guys at Engadget really want to keep reviewing baby products then you really really need to hire a Mom to review them!"

This was so obviously written by someone male or childless, probably both, that it was painful to read!

I wouldn't hang my son on the door, but I wouldn't leave him with a stranger, either. Have you not read the timeless classic "Everyone Poops"? Makes more sense to have him watch and learn that to try to explain what that stuff is and what he's supposed to do with it at a later date. Potty training is tough enough as it is!

But I'm not worried. The vast majority of those childless readers who found this amusing will soon enough find themselves in a stall with a toddler. Sandra and I will have the last laugh!

[Mike @ Aug 30th 2006 6:54PM]

Anyone else find it a little odd that none of the pictures on the site provide a shot of what the hooks look like on the other side of the door? Just a thought.

[juepucta @ Aug 30th 2006 7:37PM]

Just hang the rugrat outside the stall.

Avoid putting up any "free kid" signs on it though.

-G.

[arabrabneslin @ Aug 30th 2006 8:00PM]

Please I hope no one would leave their child with a friendly looking stranger-- there have been many cases of kids abused by seeming friendly strangers who have offered to help out...

[o0joshua0o @ Aug 30th 2006 9:00PM]

Great idea. Toddlers are hard to deal with in the bathroom. They want to run everywhere and grab everything. It sounds like you'll need to bring your own air freshener, though.

[SunshineMom @ Aug 31st 2006 8:38AM]

OK, I agree ... a childless man wrote this article.

While I wouldn't (and physically couldn't) hang my youngest on the stall door, what first came to mind was the one time in public I peed with some other kid in the stall with me. My kid, I'm OK with it. Someone else's kid that was crawling under the stalls? EWWW!!

I've seen those Koala toddler seats once. Fortunately, the kids I had then were old enough to stand outside by stall door and wait on me so I didn't need it.

There needs to be some way to contain a child while peeing; I'm so tired of floating over the toilet holding a toddler.

[storm72 @ Aug 31st 2006 11:27AM]

For some reason I can see Children and Family Services paying me a visit if I used this with my kids.

[Wade @ Aug 31st 2006 12:42PM]

What's the big deal? I crap infront of my kids all the time. The writer of the article makes it sound like we should be ashamed to have our kids witness an act of nature! I think it's a useful product, but a stroller could work just as well, and could be turned around for those who want to raise screwed up children who will be trained to think going to the bathroom is a dirty, dirty, naughty, act.

[KK @ Aug 31st 2006 3:47PM]

My mother hung me on a hook once..........once.

[Loban @ Aug 31st 2006 4:56PM]

While I don't think this is necessarily a bad idea for a product (albeit a rather strange one), that kid in the picture looks WAY too big to really need this thing. Can't he just stand on his own? He looks 2 years old.

I see this as a great idea for infants though, they don't really know what's going on anyway, no harm in watching mommy or daddy pinch off a loaf.

[Ken @ Sep 4th 2006 12:18AM]

Having worked in doing rest room maintenance as part of my other duties, I do not see hanging them on the doors as being very safe. The most obvious reason is some one could snatch your kid over the door. But, through mostly experience and logic, just the fact that the doors themselves from time to time come off, mostly in the handicap stalls, because of the wheel chairs banging into them all the time. What happens if junior get roudy or doesn't like being hung up there, or is asleep and starts wiggleing around and falls off with the door or the door pops open which they do anyway? If they fall they will probably be scarred/tramatized for life one way or another. And forget about even using the coat hooks, they fall off just from coats and bags. The hanger is OK, but I would hang them next to you on the side wall between the stalls, at least there they are a bit safer from falling and you could maybe catch them if they did. Perhaps a couple of suction cups on the lower half near the diaper area would also help them stick better and detour someone from just lifting them off. Oh and be sure to put them over the front of the tissue dispenser, its much cleaner and sanitary in front than in the back of it. Which gives me an idea for something else that would work better. Hmmm

[Ken @ Sep 7th 2006 9:22PM]

Well I thought I was onto something better/safer. I looked at a company that already makes plastic diaper changers that fold up and mount to the wall in the restrooms. It appears that they had already beat me to the idea. Same exact idea. Bummer. I hate that when that happens.
[url]http://www.brocar.com/103BQS.htm[/url]

[Ken @ Sep 7th 2006 9:27PM]

A fold up seat inside the stall. Ooops, bad link try this. http://www.brocar.com/103BQS.htm

[John @ Dec 18th 2006 8:57AM]

Corporal Baby of the 101st Toddler Airborne was unlucky and got his parachute hung up in a tree when he dropped into Normandy on D-Day.