16 answers

Potty Seat vs Kids Potty

Hi Moms

I am going to embark on the adventure of Potty training this spring/summer and want to know which is better: using a mini "kids" potty or just getting a potty seat to go over our toliet. One of my friends said to use a potty seat vs "kids" potty, but she has two boys and I have a girl, does that make a difference in what I use. Any suggestions or opinions?

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WOW... Thanks for all the responses. I have lots of reading to do tonight.
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Featured Answers

We used a potty seat just like you mentioned, it attached to the top of the potty; and we had a little step stool for them the climb up onto to reach it. I did it just because I did not want to hassle with the cleanup involved with the kids potty. This worked perfectly fine for both my son and daughter. The kind I bought was designed for travel and folded up so I could fit it in the diaper bag when we were out and about.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

I used a potty seat that just sits on the regular toilet. It's not only cheaper, more cleanly, but it avoids another transition. What happens when you're out and about and there's not little potty chair. At least they are already used to the idea of sitting on the regular potty.

More Answers

We used a potty seat just like you mentioned, it attached to the top of the potty; and we had a little step stool for them the climb up onto to reach it. I did it just because I did not want to hassle with the cleanup involved with the kids potty. This worked perfectly fine for both my son and daughter. The kind I bought was designed for travel and folded up so I could fit it in the diaper bag when we were out and about.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

My boys just played with the potty chair, put toys in it, and sat on it in front of the tv like it was an easy chair.

So I tossed it and got a padded potty seat. Worked great for us. I did attend a potty training workshop for kids with special needs and the instructor made a point of saying that some kids could have trouble adjusting to a regular potty after using the little chair. So this worked great for us.

for our first daughters 2nd b-day she got a potty chair(actually 2)and a potty seat. it is nice having both (we only have 1 bathroom, and the potty chair works good for that) there are days that my second daughter uses one than uses the other the next time she "goes" to the bathroom.

we liked the chair. It can be put in front of the TV for them to sit by themselves and watch a while... plus, I'm not tied to the bathroom.

I have three kids (currently potty training my 3rd) and I have to say every child is different and sometimes they change their mind too. My oldest wanted the seat for the potty and she was easily trained, my second child was a little harder and wanted the potty chair (or maybe we encouraged it because she was harder and we put the chair in the living room), now my son wanted just the toilet, then his own seat, and now the seat for the toilet! LOL

It also makes a difference if they go to a daycare or grandparents a lot and what they use there. My sitter puts the children on the regular seat backwards (which we tried with my son at first). This gives them something to hold so they don't feel like they're falling in and if they're a boy it doesn't spray all over! But it's also a little extra work because the pants have to come all the way off so they can straddle the seat.

Best of luck!

I have two girls and I used the mini seat. I didn't want the hassle of having to clean up the mess from a kiddie potty. Also, sometimes they would go on their own and not tell me only for me to find a present in the toilet...imagine finding that little suprise in a kiddie potty after a few hours!

Bottom line, I would highly recommend using the mini seat, easier clean up, and you won't have to potty train on the kiddie potty THEN on the big potty. It's also cheaper. I even found a seat online that attatches to the big potty and then flips up...like your lid would...so you don't have to take off the seat and find a place for it.

I can't remember the name, I just used one from the store and it worked great!

Good luck...

each kid is different....my daughter used the potty chair but my son didn't....he wanted me to sit on it so he could cuddle with me while he was on the toilet....he didn't even want to use the converter.....he would use the potty chair if someone else was on the toilet when he had to go (we only have one bathroom) so I say start cheap and try to use just the toilet if your daughter shows fear (pretty common I think) then get a potty chair

I've used both... The mini kids potty is easier for them to get on themselves however it's not so fun for a mom or dad to have to clean it up after every use... My daughter is more into the potty seat now but she can't climb up on the big potty by herself when the potty seat is there (she can do it without the potty seat though).

So it's really personal preference. If you want your daughter to be able to climb onto the potty by herself (some kids are very independent and prefer this) and don't mind cleaning up the mess, go with the mini kids potty. If you'd rather help her up each time and would like to avoid the mess, go with the potty seat (which is also much more compact for travel).

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