Is It Easier to Potty Train on the Big Toilet or on a Potty Seat?

It depends on the child. Mine never really liked the little potty chairs very much. But if you use the regular potty, you should get one of those snap on seats so that they don't feel like they are going to fall in. And you might consider getting a step stool for them to use also. It makes it less scary for them (and easier to do #2) if they can have their feet flat on the step/floor.

As far as ease for the parent, I would say the big toilet, b/c then you don't have to "empty" it afterwards.. but then, they will pee out of it quite a bit too, so that will need cleaning too...
But if they get accustomed to the big toilet, it is easier to manage when you are out in public ...

good luck with this... it is an adventure.. try to remember to look at it that way... :))

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Hi, I potty trained my son on the big toilet. We used a little tikes step stool and he always stood up to pee in the big toilet. A friend told me to put cheerios in the toilet and have aim at them but i never did that he just liked climbing up on the step stool. Good Luck!! S.

1 mom found this helpful

HI K.
I am sooooooo for the big potty....no mess...or little! You can buy the seat that fits to make the "hole" smaller so his little fanny doesnt fall through. I trained four boys this way...tried the small potty ONCE and never went back to it after "clean up"......and the bottom line is...you are TRAINING them....so you can "train"them to use the big boy potty and give rewards....he'll be jacked and YOU will be too...no clean up! But then again, I have twins who are 14 and I promise, I have NO IDEA why there is a potty in the bathroom...because the place is a MESS....the whole "shake it off" thing does NOT help with cleanliness...
Best Wishes! :)

Hi, I know others have already said it, but...big potty, and here's why.

1. Less mess. (Who wants to clean poop out of a plastic receptacle? Eeeew!)On the big potty he can flush it himself without it sitting there until you clean it up. I have read that when potty training on the little potty chair, the child should be expected to dump the receptacle by himself, but I think that is unrealistic. At that age, how can they not spill?

2. Less play. He might see little potty chair as more of a toy and view the process as fun and games, rather than getting down to business. We had a potty that played music, and to my sun it was a plaything, and he just wanted to keep pressing the music button and play around.

3. Easier to go in public because he is already comfortable with the big potty. Once they are trained, it is important not to fall back on diapers/pull-ups, so you want him to be comfortable with a public toilet.

We had a potty chair and he went pee-pee in it a few times, but when it came down to the real training, we went right to the big potty. (seriously, I cannot imagine having to clean poop out of that thing on a daily basis.)Make sure you have a step stool so he can get up on the potty himself. You many want to try the seat inserts that other moms have recommended, but I did without that too, so I would never have to worry about bringing it with me anywhere.

potty train on the big potty.
If you start out on the little potty then it gets nasty to clean up and the child will only want the little potty when they are in public and they will take longer to get them to go on the big potty.

Yes the little potty is cute to look at, but stay far away from it. All it is, IS A BIG HEADACHE.

big toilet... you skip a whole step by doing it in the big one as opposed to the little then the big!!!!! good luck

K.,

For me, it was easier to train on the big toilet. For #1, I trained him to stand up. I went and bought a step stool and that's what he stood on. For #2, of course he had to sit down but I would put the potty seat (it disconnects from the potty) and put it on top of the toilet seat. Most pottys offer this option because manufacturers know that toddlers are apt to falling into the toilet because they have smaller butts than adults.
I went the other route with my first child, which by the way is a girl, but after a while it got kinda old having to dump the potty into the toilet. After that I started using the toilet only.

I potty trained both of my boys on the big potty, they just straddled the seat or got on their knees. They hated the little potty chairs for some reason My boys were 2 and 2 1/2.

The most important part of potty training is teaching children to release the muscles holding everything in. They are very good at holding it until they can't anymore, but teaching them to relax and let go when they are on the potty is tougher. Physically, one needs to have their feet rest on a hard surface in order to relax the sphincter muscles. If you are going to potty train on the big potty, it is best to have a stool that the child can rest his or her feet on while sitting on the big potty. There are also adapter seats that sit on the toilet seat and have handles that help the child balance on a seat large than their bums. I think the only thing that makes potty seats easier for kids is that it is shorter allowing them to rest their feet on the ground. A stool and the big potty seat should be equally as effective.

I have to agree with the parents so far. My sons are being trained on the big toilet only. I trained my gyrl on a potty chair, then I had to RE-train her to go in a big toilet. Its just an unnecessary step, in my opinion. Just another way for the to get money out of us.

I actually went to Burlington Coat factory, and for $5 got a potty seat that attaches to the toilet. When an adult needs to go, you just lift the potty seat and it doesnt go anywhere. A step stool is highly recommended, too...but those can come inexpensive too....

I wish you all the luck in the world!!!

I used only the big potty for my oldest girl & she liked it that way - My oldest son took to the big potty as well. My twins however would not even consider sitting on the big potty at first. So it is really up to you - if you do not introduce the little potty - they do not know not to use the big potty & like everyone has said - the cleaning is a pain - I detested that part & as soon as I could get them to transition (it took several months) to the big potty - I got rid of that thing.

I think it depends on the kid. We started with a little potty so he would get comfortable (some kids are scared of the big potty)--soon he wanted to use the big potty and we got him a seat for that. It's harder without the seat--especially in the beginning since the have to balance themselves and try to use the potty (think about BM here--it's hard enough to strain and try to poop on the potty--even harder if you are trying to balance).
In the end, you child will let you know what he likes the best. Being that he is 22 months--I would go with a simple little potty at first (like the baby bjorn--who also makes an awesome seat for the big potty) Once he gets used to that--they move him to the big potty. We tried our son on the big potty at first and had no success at all until we moved him down to the little one. He used that until he was about 2 1/2-3 years and now uses only the big potty. We have a seat for him at home, but he uses the regular potty w/o the seat when we are out.