Need Potty Chair Advice

As others have said, 18 months is VERY young to potty train, especially a boy. Only do it if he wants to, not you. Boys usually do better when they are 3 or even older. I can understand that you do not want two kids in diapers, but you may not have much of a choice. Good luck!

We use the Bjorn chairs. We took a potty class taught by the head doc at Children's Hospital and he said the kids' feet should be able to reach the floor.

http://www.modernmommygear.com/Training_Pants_s/42.htm

Don't buy anything expensive. I bought one that played music when my daughter went. It was exciting for her the very first time she went potty but after that she could care less. Then you have to replace batteries and there are more crevices to clean. I bought one at Walmart for my 2 year old for $12. It has simple clean lines easy to keep clean and shaped like a frog. It's really cute. And it goes up in the front to act like a splash guard (great for little boys). The other one I bought had a splash guard attatchment which is kind of gross and of course it's lost now which is why I bought a new potty for my son.

I have now taught two sons to use the toilet using the Baby Bjorn little toilet model that lifts out and I highly recommend it. It's just the right size and a snap to clean, with no crevices or extra frills to scrub around. It was well worth the money. Less is more, in my opinion.
I suppose it's preference, but it seemed important to me that my kids' feet could rest on the floor, and that's why I went with a little toilet instead of a little toilet seat. I think it would be hard and unappealing to poop while my legs were dangling . . . at least in the learning stages. (Both my sons gradually converted to the regular toilet, no big deal.) And so much about toileting is about convenience--if it's too big of a big chore to climb up, your child might not do it.
BTW, watch for signs of readiness so you're not starting this process and then dragging it out. I started before age 2 with my first son and it took months before he was really reliable--more my fault than his. With my second son, I had a new baby and didn't need any more projects, so I waited until he was three and it took two days and was so simple. Consider just having a little toilet out for him to make friends with and use occasionally, such as right before he gets into the bath tub, so you're introducing the idea but you don't have to hover and nag through the end of your pregnancy.
I got a lot out of the book "Toilet Train Your Child in One Day" by Azrin. It tells you to let your child wear baggy undies for ease of on/off and emphasize staying clean and dry as opposed to arbitrary toilet sitting. It offers a gentle, logical plan.
Best wishes!

Love love love the baby bjorn. Bought cheaper one to start and hated it.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267518

Also, check this out!!!
http://www.3daypottytraining.com/

both worth every penny!!!!!

I never used a potty chair. Just went right to the seats that went on the toilet. I used one that was padded from Target so my daughter would be comfortable and want to sit on it. Mostly I didn't want to clean a chair.

One thing to keep in mind, my daughter was 2.5 when my younger daughter was born. We'd started potty training about a month before she was born. She was doing pretty good but as soon as the baby came we started having ALOT of accidents and ended up going back to diapers. I guess she wanted the attention. A few months later completely potty trained. Just might want to be prepared for a little regression.

I know that your are very excited to have this happen and it you can make it happen then great! 18 months is young for a little boy. The only reason that I say "little boy" is because they are busy and usually too busy to worry about the potty. My youngest son was 2.5 and my middle son was over 3. I would suggest that you try to put him on the potty at 18 months and see what happens. They usually won't even sit down. No worries! Let him progress at his own pace. I'm sure that you have heard from the older generation that they had all their kids potty trained at a little over a year and I did too. We can't rewind time and so no one will ever know. You need to let him take the lead here and you will have a lot less frustration. By the time he is ready he can usually stand in front of the toilet. They like to see what is going on anyway. I used to throw a piece of toilet paper in the toilet and tell my son to pee on it or he really liked to pee on a spider that I had thrown in the toilet. I found it easiest to let him put stickers of cars, ninjas, or bionicles in a book if he would try and eventually he got to put a sticker in the book if he went. You know what is best for your son and I would suggest that you sit down and think about what would motivate your son. Good luck to you both!

I can give the advice that worked for us, Skip the potty chair. Go right to getting the cool, comfy covers for kids that go over the big toilet, a cool stool and do that way.

My son would only play with the potty seat and move it around the house, then you have to sanitize it, they are a lot to clean, especially if you are dealing with a newborn on top of that. That way you don't have to deal with another transition on top of the potty chair. It also helps big time for them to lose the fear of the toilet and when out in public!! If you skip the potty chair and go right to the toilet you will have a lot more success. They are very inexpensive, come in cool characters at Target like $14 or something and you can have one for every toilet in your house. I got a kids stool for every bathroom too.

Also, may I add, I would not start even considering potty training yet. Your son is VERY young on top of the big changes coming with a newborn. Wait, give him time and all the efforts won't be wasted, he has to have all the signs of being ready, able to hold it, wake up dry, know the urge until he can acheive success. Set him up to do it when he is ready not you. Regression happens very easily in boys and a new baby is going to be a big transition for him. If he isn't mentally and physically ready you will drive yourself nuts!!

My daughter potty trained at 2, on her terms, however had big regressions before she turned three, one being the cause of a little brother coming into play. They see the baby getting attention for changing and it will happen.
At about 3 1/2 she chose to do it and be a big girl, it was done 100% when she decided.

my favorite is the kind that is just a smaller toilet seat ring which fits on top of your regular toilet. it's easy to clean. no dumping anything into the toilet because it's already on the toilet. it's padded so it' softer and warmer. it takes up very little storage space. and it's cheaper. we paid less than $7 for one at walmart. ours doesn't have handles, but the one with handles isn't much more money. good luck with the potty training stage! it can be frustrating, but very rewarding!

Hi H.- (perhaps advice from a mama of a son is best but just in case)...my daughter's potty trained and we used the baby bjorn-and she loved it. Had a first steps one upstairs-quite a bit cheaper but not as nice. She still uses it from time to time on her own. It's very stable and has a backrest for extra support. She's 2 1/2 now and began using the potty just after her 2nd bday. All potties are a chore to clean, so as soon as he's comfy going on it, grab a few of those toilet seat ones to pop into place and teach him how to do it :) We found that we had to have just the right height stool when we started using these seats. That was harder to find than anything else-a few extra trips to Target. What else...oh another bonus of teaching him how to go on a toilet will be when he goes in a restroom out and about. He won't be confused about how to go. It's a fun journey and such a big leap for them. Good luck!

Buy something that has cushion, little boys tend to have really narrow sitbones and the potty chairs can be really uncomfortable....

Other than that..Goodluck! I couldn't even imagine being able to potty train a 16 month old boy just before having another baby.

Goodluck!
R.

We have used a Baby Bjorn little potty ($10), and right now I'm trying to think of why & what advantages there are. We did Elimination communication starting when my dd was 5 months (you could start as early as birth). The Baby Bjorn was bought at 7 months. I think especially at that age little potties are nice so you don't have to hold them while they go. Once she started walking, it was also nice because it satisfied her independence needs. She could go and sit down herself without needing help. She's now 16 months, and we've thought of getting a potty insert because sometimes she seems to prefer the big potty, but right now she either uses her little potty or I help her balance on the potty, whatever she prefers (or if we're away from home).

In case you haven't heard of elimination communication (EC), the main difference is that you can start from birth, and that it's viewed as a process rather than a "cold turkey" approach. It is possible to get a young baby to a potty for most of the pees/poos, and as they get older, they gradually require less and less assistance. But even EC'd babies go through regressions. My dd had one when she started walking that lasted a few months until we figured that she wanted to be bare-bummed to be more independent (we usually use diapers as back-up). If you're interested in this type of approach for potty training, there's a yahoo group.

You could get one that is a 2 in 1, so that it can be used on a little potty chair and on a regular toilet. As a nursery coord. and mom of 2 boys, I haven't seen many potty train that early and those that were even 2 had lots of accidents, so just be ready for that. I also found that boys did better sitting backwards on the potty - less spraying everywhere else, and an easier transition to standing! I've heard that cheerios make a great target as well!!

I never tried a potty chair, but I used the seats that you put on the big potty and I liked that. I would maybe try that if he isn't afraid of the big potty... then when you're out somewhere else w/o a potty chair he won't be afraid to use the big potty (and you can just hold him on the big potty when you're out... it's not like you have to carry the seat around with you!). Just get a little step stool and I'm sure he'd be fine, then there's no mess to clean up! Well, at least not as much ;-)

YAY! Another mom not afraid to potty train a boy early! My son is 16 months and has now been potty trained for over 3 weeks! I love it! Be prepared for some crazy looks from people (even my son's MD told me he would call the Guiness Book of World Records if I succeeded), but it is worth every moment you put into it.

As far as potties, I bought a Bjorn potty ($10 Amazon), which my son has never used...he wouldn't sit there long enugh to use it. So I purchased a Munchkn padded toilet seat ($14 from Target) which I loved (with the one exception that when my son pees too high, it seems to catch the pee in the ring and then when I go to remove it for us to use the potty, there is pee dripping and all over our seat...I have worked past this by keeping Chlorox wipes by the toilet for a quick clean up and when his seat starts smelling, I put it in the shower with me and rinse it off and let it drain that way...). We did decide with the problems with the toilet chair leaking all the time (my hubby got frustrated finally with it...) and now that he is consistent in the potty, we are going to go and find a bigger, heavier-duty potty chair that we can see if he will sit on that one by himself more (found one for $25 online, but are going to the store to see if we can find a similar one there...if it hadn't just snowed over a foot, so we can't get out right this minute, but plan on going to pick it up tomorrow...). I let you know how that one goes!

I would also advise you to forget the pull-ups if you had planned on using them (or only use them at night). I started my son on underwear from the beginning and though I had lots of laundry at first (daily), he is now having very infrequent accidents, so laundry is back to normal and I don't spend a dime on diapers/pull-ups at the store!

Don't let anyone tell you that your son is too young to potty train! As long as you realize that it is you you potty train first and then in a few weeks, he will catch on himself, you will do fine! I might also mention that I also am due with #2 end of Aug and am loving not having to change ANY diapers until then! Good luck and feel free to e-mail me if you need ideas on starting!

S., 26, WAHM mom of potty trained 16-month-old and #2 due end of Aug as well!!!

You do want a little seat, at least to start. Pushing is much harder when you're not able to touch the floor. We just use the basic model from Target, or wherever. I think it's somewhere in the $10-$15 range, but I could be wrong. It's worked well for us for two kids. Once they get the hang of it, we switch to a on the toilet seat and let them use a stool. I know there are some seats that transition for that. If you're looking to potty train around the time the baby comes, I'd recommend reading "Toilet Training in a Day". We've used it with both our boys and I have a friend who love it (5 kids). Neither of us have had a problem with regression due to a baby. GL!