Need Recommendation on What Potty Chair to Buy

We used the Baby Bjorn potty chairs because there are only two parts to them so they are easy to clean. No lid, no music, no cutesy anything--just a white molded plastic potty with a bear on the front and a little bowl that fits inside. We also used the toilet seat insert on top of the big toilet.

Hi L.,

I found the type that is a little seat that fits on top of the toilet worked very well. I just put a step stool in front of the toilet and then all you have to do is flush as usual instead of having to clean up a mess. Also I found that the little seats you buy are not very stable and the child feels like it's going to tip over.

I have three kids and with the first one I did the little potty chair, BAD idea! She was great but cleaning the potty all the time was icky! and then there was the problem with going in the BIG potty when we went any place, so we had to retrain her again onto the big potty. The other two kids I trained them right on the big potty with a step stool and potty seat insert, this was best! There are several different kinds of inserts so you can decide which fits your style of toliet best and you can also get a folding portable one to take with you when ever you leave the house! Good luck!

We bought a small potty chair for our first, but that thing was a pain to clean, and once the novelty wore off she wasn't very interested in using it. What worked better for all 3 of our kids (we did keep the potty chair and tried it with each of them - it was more often used as a step-stool to get to the sink) was one of those padded oval seats with 2 side handles. You set it right on to the regular toilet seat, it's just the right size for their little bottom so they don't fall in, and it has the 2 handles to help them balance. It stores easily at the side of the toilet. When they were little I had to lift them up there, but by age 3 they could get up by themselves.

HTH!

A.

Hi L.,
That is so cute your little one is signing for potty. I started my little one on a small potty chair at 18 months. She used it a couple of times for peepee, but wasn't very happy on it. I tried the little hard plastic molded bowl close to the floor, but she has never used that one. She doesn't even like the seat attached to the toilet. She prefers just a regular toilet. That is what they use at school and I am finding she is most comfortable just using what they use in school for a lot of things.

She is 29 months right now and is using the toilet about 75% of the time. I started her early, but have just let her go at her own pace.

Best of luck.
C.

I've heard it can be very hard to transition a child from a potty seat to the toilet. I have also seen this trasition first had. So to avoid it, I bought my daughter a soft seat, just big enough for her that goes directly on the toilet. I accompanied it with a stool so she can get up and down by hersleft. She does absolutely fabulous with it! I highly recommend this alternative to a potty seat.

Because she's 15 months old, she may have an easier time sitting and standing up from a Baby Bjorn potty with the removable bowl. She may take an interest in dumping the contents in the toilet (with your supervision to avoid misses)

The Baby Bjorn potty seat was a hit at my house. My son still likes to use it at 2 even though he also uses the toilet with the Baby Bjorn toilet seat insert when he has to go to the bathroom.

When my son was that age we got him a chair that has three parts to it. The overall seat turns into a step stool. The seat comes off and can be used on the normal toilet. The potty part comes out, of course, so it can be dumped and cleaned. It was just 12 bucks or something like that at Kmart. It might be called the magic potty or something like that. We like it just fine. I like the way it grows with him. He is two now and not potty trained (I'm pregnant and almost due and didn't want to push things plus I've heard they regress when the baby is born) but he does go to the bathroom in his potty chair before his bath and sometimes during a diaper change. He goes when he asks to go. We will start to encourage it more soon (after a little adjustment to the new baby) but mostly we want it to be at his speed. Now he likes to use the big toilet and the seat is great for making the big toilet more comfortable for him. The step stool helps him get on the toilet. So basically- you don't need anything too fancy. :)

I got the fisher price potty that looks like a real toilet and even has sound effects. It is very cute and a huge hit. However, I eventually took the batteries out because my girls (twins) were more interested in playing with the flushing handle than trying to go potty. The novelty does wear off and they always want to do what mommy and daddy do, so eventually I got a potty seat that fits on the regular toilet. It's cushioned and has Sesame Street characters all over it, which was a source of entertainment sometimes while we waited for the pee or poo to come out because we named all the characters. I also got a little stool to fit under the toilet so they can climb up to the potty with little help and they have somewhere to rest their feet while going potty.

The best thing about the Fisher Price potty is that it has become our "travel potty." We keep it in the back of our SUV. When my girls were first wearing big girl panties, I'd make sure they tried to go on the potty before we left the car while we did our errands and excursions. It's also a life-saver when you can't find a restroom and it's always a sanitary place for my girls to go, rather than those icky public bathrooms. Just keep a box of ziploc bags (to dump the potty in to) and a box of Clorox wipes (to sanitize)in your car.

we found that our daughter only liked the ones that were cushie. the hard plastic ones seemed to bother her. i also bought a potty on the go for when we are traveling or they only have port a pottys she refuses to use them as they are sometime really gross.

I've used the Graco soft seat trainer for my son and now my daughter. It seems to have the biggest opening and I've found that to make a difference. My only complaint is that urine gets between the soft seat and the frame. Periodic bleaching is necessary otherwise there's a terrible smell of urine.

I'd consider the Bjorn because it's all one piece. The Graco has a lid, which seems nice, but it allows me to forget to clean the potty, especially when my daughter goes without my knowledge.

Also, I haven't found any potty seat that can be transferred to the toilet to be stable at all! Don't move to the big toilet until they can do it themselves. I purchased a simple step stool from Target for the toilet (for my son) and one for the sink, so they can wash their hands.
good luck

As a lot of moms have said the seat that goes over the toilet seat is great. Just wanted to add that I found a "portable" one to use in public restrooms, that folds up and fits into your purse very easily. I tried the Babies R Us brand and didn't like it so much, but found a Seasame Street that works great. Also buy some of the foam hand sanitizer from Bath & Body Works- great for yucky restrooms that you don't want to hang out in too long!
I would suggest not getting potty chair with all the bells & whistles- too distracting and simply not necessary. Hopefully you will be diaper free soon!

I'm so not into cleaning a little potty chair...so, we just got a little step stool and a Sesame Street toilet insert that makes the toilet the right size for little ones and put that on the toilet. My son is 2 1/2 and totally potty trained...and I never had to clean anything but the actual toilet in our house...no cleaning out poop and pee from a plastic potty. I got a lot of pressure from friends who said I'd so regret not getting one, but honestly, not a single regret here!

I always liked the one that folded up, and when you unfold it, it goes over the toilet so that it has steps, hand rails on the sides and a seat that modifies the toilet seat to be kid sized. (I hope you know what I mean, cause I have NO idea what they are called)
C.

I didn't even use one. We got one for our son that you put on the toilet so there is minimal clean up and he wouldn't even sit on it. I just sat him backwards on the toilet so he wouldn't fall in. I do think a stool for her to climb up on is a good idea but where you will have to be right there to help her wipe after, why spend money on something that isn't necessary?

We have the seat that goes on the toilet itself (the kind where you can lift it like a lid when adults or older sibs use the toilet). Got it from Bed,Bath and Beyond. We also have stepstools in each bathroom to slide between the toilet and the sink to wash up after.

I recommend using a Baby Bjorn potty chair because they are comfortable for the kids to sit on and there are VERY few places where germs can hide. You can find them at BabiesRUs.

This is the one that we have and both of my kids have liked it very much. My son usually uses the regular toilet now (he is 3.5 and likes to stand) but he'll still choose the potty chair occasionally. http://www.pottytrainingconcepts.com/Baby-Bjorn-Potty-Cha...

The seats that fit over the regular toilet are nice as well because they are also more hygenic than most potty chairs and you don't have to transition children to the big potty afterwards. However, I have found that my children can have more independence with the potty chair. My daughter can step on the step stool to get on the toilet, but often the insert will want to slip and I get nervous that she'll end up falling in. Since your daughter is on the younger side, I'd recommend the smaller potty chair. Oh, and Baby Bjorn also makes a tiny potty for smaller children that is one piece.

Good luck!

I would take her to Babies-R-Us or another store like Walmart and let her pick it out. That way she has more encouragement to use the potty, because she got to pick it out.

Good Luck!

Hi L.; As you probably already know,children progress quite differently.If your daughter is a smart lil cookie, and she is showing interest in using the potty...By all means let her have a go at it.Alot of mothers are finding out to late, that transitions make things alot more complicated!Not just for your children,but for you to.If you start your daughter on a special toilet seat,one close to the floor,you will find it more difficult,when trying to get her to use a regular toilet seat. She may even opt to wet her pants!For instance,if your on a trip,or out shopping,and she needs to potty....You take her to a regular restroom, She will hesitate,may even refuse to use it,because it is so different than her own at home.she will feel alot more comfortable using something she is use to.You don't want her to be frightened of falling in,and those soft cushioned little seats that fit on the toilet are great.You wont want to take that with you everywhere,but your daughter,will better rough it when your away from home,(Because you were smart enough,to "save her another transition"Best of luck to you and your sweet daughter.

Kids are not concerned with what the potty looks like. Don't give a choice, buy it when she is not with you.
The Baby Bjorn seat is a super easy to clean seat. It is 2 pieces, the bowl is large and the seat is attractive. It is $5 more than the Fisher Price, and well worth it.
REMEMBER you have to clean it!!! The easier to clean, the more you will encourage her to use it, and she will potty train faster!!

I like Mommy's Helper Contoured Cushie Step-Up Padded Potty Seat because it sits on the toilet (no mess to clean up) and has attached steps so she can learn to go on her own once she is able. My son loved it because he could go without me.

take her shopping with you and line up a few of the potties at the store and see which one she fin ds the most interesting. I personally got two. I have the fisher price potty which looks like a little toilet and a little pink patty potty. My daughter never had a choice cause I used to sit her on the potty before bath time since she was 9 months old. although once she started walking and was able to choose which potty she wanted, she always chose the potty that looked like the one we use. She's been completly potty trained since she was 24 months old and I believe her being able to choose which potty she used helped hert feel comfy enough to go alone.Good luck and keep at it.

L.,
Your daughter is a little young to start going on a potty chair. When she is ready,not before two years old, she will continue to use whatever potty chair,or potty seat you put on the toilet. If you try too young, she will get frustrated and go back to going in her pants. I had one that potty trained at 2 1/2, and another that potty trained well over three years old. I took him to the pediatrician because I couldn't understand why he wouldn't use the toilet when he knew how to use the toilet, but he wouldn't do it. The pediatrician said, "He knows what to do, he understands it, but until he makes up his mind to do so. Relax." I backed off, and with a month or two, he started using the toilet/potty all the time. So, please don't rush it.

E.:)