Best Potty Training Chair

I did not have a chance to read the other answers, but I just wanted to note that 15 months is very young to potty train (especially a boy) - if he is potty trained by his 3rd birthday you will be doing great! Most "experts" recommend starting around 30-32 months old for boys...but each child is different (just note that he may not have the physical capability to "hold" his pee or poo until he is a bit older even if he is mentally ready)

I have two boys and we really like the putting a small toilet seat over the regular toilet - most potty seats detach from the potty and can be put over your normal toilet seat (we bought a small step stool); my son hated going in the little chair (plus it is more for you to clean) but he also learned to pee standing up (he hated sitting and wanted to be like daddy). We put a few cheerios in the toilet at first, so he could aim at them - it made it fun for him so he wanted to go pee in the bathroom not in a diaper.

Be persistant (ask if he has to go every half hour), be patient and be prepared for accidents (have a LOT of underwear 20 pairs or so plus shorts/pants he can easily get on and off). Encourage him through positive reinforcement and try not to make sitting on the toilet/potty too tramatic. We read stories (I sit on the edge of the tub), talk or even sing our ABC's while we waited for him to go sometimes.

good luck!

3 moms found this helpful

We have two bathrooms, so we have two chairs. The first one we got is an Elmo one that if you give him a high five, he offers words of encouragement. It's nice because it sits on the floor. I had it in my house long before we actually began the potty training process figuring it'd give him a chance to get used to the idea. He played with it a lot and sat on it occasionally. Now that he's using the toilet, the part that sits on the floor has been put away and the top can be popped on the toilet. We also have a topper we got at Target that's one piece and shaped like a turtle. From discussions with other mom's, the one piece deal is key for little boys. If you get the ones that have a gap between the seat and toilet, you'll end up with leaks if they sit down to poop and pee at the same time. We also have a travel potty that can sit on the floor or pop onto public restrooms. It folds up and comes with (not cheap) bags to use to collect the waste.

Our approach to training was to let our son decide when he was ready. We talked about it a lot. And offered tons of encouragement. We'd let him run around naked for a bit before shower time in the evening and he'd often ask to try to use the potty. This went on for several months before he would give up the diaper... from between 2.5 and 3. The week before his third birthday, he finally decided he was ready for the "big boy pants." From there, it was super easy. Our reward system was one stamp on the hand for pee, two for poo. He eventually quit asking for the stamps.

Bear in mind, the whole thing is a process. We encouraged him to wear his underwear during the day and let him wear a diaper at night for a few weeks before we gave those up. He's just now mastering the "standing while peeing" deal and he's been "trained" now for a few months. There will be accidents. But I find it amazing how proud I was every time he successfully made it to the potty on his own. Best of luck on your journey!

2 moms found this helpful

I am all for skipping extra steps whenever possible. So we did the half-naked (layers of towels on the couch, extra towels and wipes nearby), use a toilet seat adapter method. And, although it's not our typical parenting style, we totally bribed with candy. One piece (jelly bean, skittles, m&m... something small) for pee, two for poop. I started after Labor Day with an immediate goal of just getting my daughter to sit on the potty without freaking out. It went a lot better than I'd anticipated and she even started using the potty that same day (pee and poop). We got derailed with three(!) colds and a minor surgery I'd had (when sick, sore or overtired, it was just easier to diaper her), but it's been about six weeks since she wore a diaper at naptime, close to the same amount of time since she has been wearing clothing on her bottom half (it was interesting to me that she would pee in panties or other bottoms... I wasn't expecting that) and a week or so since we've been diaper free at night.

I started off asking her to try to use the potty every five minutes. Since she was more likely to say no than to try, I'd set the timer. That took the pressure off me, because it wasn't me telling her it was time, it was the bell. Still, every five minutes was too much (my youngest was one month old at the time, so nursing and potty training made it extra challenging). By the middle of the second day I had a sense of her schedule, and have just tried to pay attention to her cues.

She has had a few accidents. For example, today I put her to down for her nap without getting her to the potty first. She was pretty upset about having an accident... I feel like it was my fault, not hers. Mostly she stays dry and seems to feel pretty confident about her pottying skills. We keep things positive. If she doesn't go, but sits on the potty, we say she had a good try. She's never purposely peed herself and we've never treated her badly for anything that has happened. I think that's the biggest tip right there.

I don't feel like potty training is done yet. I'm still helping with wiping, and she won't always go without being guided. But she is starting to go more often on her own, which is encouraging. As for the candy, I only give it to her now if she remembers... happens about 50% of the time. The last step for us will be to use public toilets and those at other people's homes.

Hope that helps,

S. :+)

2 moms found this helpful

My oldest took forever to potty train, so patience is key. I bought her a princess potty chair and she wanted nothing to do with it. All she would use were the fitted seats that go over the real toilet seat. Not saying how yours will be, that was just my experience. My oldest daughter would go #1 all the time, never #2 in the toilet. As gross and awful as the experience was, we let her see that we did a #2 in the toilet and ever since that day she did it without a problem. She just had to see someone else do it first.

Skip the "potty chair" and just use the toilet. Both my boys have done fine with the actual toilet and I didn't have another disgusting mess to clean up. You can buy the little insert that goes in the seat so they fit more comfortably in it, but honestly, it works and is so easy.
I've also read so many posts from people who got their kids to use the chairs and then had trouble "transitioning" them to the toilet. Who needs one more step in potty training!
Other than that, buy lots of underwear and cheap pants for when there are accidents. Just put them in underwear when you are home and bring them to the potty every 30 minutes. Put beach towels down on your couch and other places they sit that aren't so easy to clean.
Good luck!
-M

I highly recommend the Baby Bjorn potty seat. It fits boys nicely!

I used the Baby Bjorn potty chair.

I have both a potty chair and the seat that goes on top of the regular potty.
My son wants nothing to do with either of them.
He insists on sitting on the potty like we do.

Just food for thought.
I'm in the middle of it with my 2.5yo, so I have no words of wisdom. Just wanted to share the potty chair bit.

With my son, we started training at 15 months. Even though he was interested in the potty, he was too young to really understand the concept of it. So after a few weeks we let it go. Tried again at age 2...he still wasn't ready. Then the day he turned 3, he decided on his own to start using the potty at preschool. Never looked back after that. A few accidents here and there, but that's it. He wore a pull up at night until about age 4 because he is such a heavy sleeper that he wouldn't wake up to pee. We bought a Baby Bjorn potty seat and a potty ring. He preferred to sit either on the potty ring or right on the toilet.

With my daughter, she prefered the Baby Bjorn potty since it was low to the ground. She would freak out sitting on the toilet because she was afraid she would fall off. With her I didn't even stress potty training. I learned from my mistakes trying to potty train my son too early. She decided the day she turned 2 1/2 to go potty at preschool. We've had a few regressions here and there, but overall she goes on her own. She is now 3 1/2 and still wakes up in the morning wet so wears a pull up at night. But during the day she is fine. She still prefers to use the BB at home, but will use whatever potty or toilet is there when we are out of the house.

I also have a foldup travel potty in the car. http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.mytravelin....

I got our first one at Right Start for about $30. We used almost daily and between two kids it got a minor crack on one of the sides after 2 years. I got a used one on ebay for $15 shipped. Now we have one in each car. I just use Ziploc freezer bags (never use the cheap sandwich bags...they will leak. Ziploc bags have never leaked or torn on us). We take an annual trip from San Diego to S. Dakota and we have used this travel potty in the van when it was too windy to use it outside, at the park, at the zoo, pretty much everywhere.

Good luck with the potty training!

We never could get him to use a potty chair. He used our potty fine. We didn't get our son to even attempt till about 2.5. We would try and nothing so we didn't nag him about it. So at 2.5 we tried again and he really took to it. He was very easy.....many accidents but thats to be expected. But the horror storries of crying and screaming on the potty we never had to deal with. Good luck....will be a messy few months :)