Potty Training - Do Those Foldup Portable Pottys Really Fit Public Toilets?

Hi J.,

About 6 months ago I was in the same dilemma as you going back and forth between these two items on One Step Ahead's website! I thought the idea that they folded up was great (so compact to fit in a diaper bag), but was discouraged by some of the reviews for both that said they don't fit well on elongated toilet seats. I mean honestly, the whole reason I would be buying it was so I could use it out of the house and the majority of public restrooms have elongated toilet seats, so if it didn't fit well on there, then what was the point of getting one? So I ended up changing my mind about them and ended up doing more research online. I ultimately went with another product called the "Potette Plus 2-in-1 potty" by Kalencom. I had a good friend who had one and loved it and honestly I think it's the greatest and wouldn't buy another product again. It is a little bit larger than the folding potty seats, but it is a versatile product in that it can be its own free-standing potty (in a pinch) or can be used as a potty seat on top of a regular toilet. I use it mainly in public restrooms (that's what I really was looking for), but the free-standing potty part has come in super-handy when we are somewhere there are no restrooms (certain parks, long car trips where there are no rest stops, etc.) or someplace where I can't just quickly run in and take my daughter to the restroom. For example the other day my son was asleep in the carseat while we were driving somewhere and my daughter all of a sudden had to go really bad. So rather than find a place where I would have had to lug her and my son out of the car into a public restroom, voila! I just pulled into an empty parking lot, set up the potty right next to the car, she did her business, and we were good to go again. My son slept through the whole thing!

Basically how it works is that it is a potty ring that has folding legs that can make it stand upright as a free-standing potty or fold completely out to the side to support it on top of a regular toilet. As a free-standing potty it comes with these plastic bags that have a very absorbent pad in the bottom of them that are biodegradeable so you can just toss them when done. This potty seat is smaller than the other potty training seats you can buy that fit on the top of regular toilets too. It comes with it's own plastic storage bag to tote it around. Originally I was worried about carrying it around with me because I thought it might still be too big, but I found it fits easily in the open side pocket of my regular-sized diaper bag. So no problems there.

Here is a link to the exact one (red) that I bought off Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016L0MMS/

They have other colors too and you can read some of the reviews if you want. You will have to buy the refill bags separately though if you need them. The potty comes with 2 refills when you buy it, but I bought a pack of 10 refills just in case. Although I mostly use mine as a toilet seat in public restrooms, (I have only used like 3 of the bags so far), it's great to have them when your child needs to go right away or for the convienence!

Anyhow good luck choosing and good luck potty-training!
M.

P.S. One final note, if you do decide to go with this product, make sure you buy the Potette Plus product and not the original Potette on the go potty. The Potette Plus is the one that has the ability to be the free-standing potty plus the toilet seat, while the original potette is just a free-standing potty.

3 moms found this helpful

yes, yes yes yes!!! I bought a Dora one...I think public bathrooms are gross, so with my kids I would just put it down and they could sit on that. It was worth the buy for me.

2 moms found this helpful

Can't comment on the seat, but here's a tip for using those auto-flush toilets, that often start roaring while a 'little' is still trying to use the potty:

Moisten a square of toilet paper with a dab of spit, and stick it over the motion-sensor eye. It will stay there long enough not to trigger a flush till you're ready. Be sure to pull the tissue off on your way out of the stall. This really helped my grandson not to get freaked out by a poorly-timed flush.

2 moms found this helpful

I never used either... I have a Potette and I love it.. it is the 2 in 1 Potette that can beused on a toilet or stands on its own for when there is no toilet available) it has padded bags that fit onto it so you can use it at the park etc...).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0016L0MMS/

It comes with its own drawstring carry bag too...

2 moms found this helpful

I would not get the one with handles.Though it does work it feels like it's going to fall in the toilet when you sit down on it. My daughter was always too scared to use it. We upgraded to the cushion one and she was fine with it. I still wish she would use it but she's too big now. Public restrooms gross me out too.

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J.,

I have the princess one that i got from Walmart. This is a life saver, we use this so much when we are out. My baby girl has to go to the bathroom in every store. I carry it in my purse inside a Ziploc bag with her flush able wipes and Clorox wipes to clean it after each use. I think it was well worth the money for us. I hate public restrooms. So this is a great thing to have!

1 mom found this helpful

I'm so glad you asked since I'm looking to purchase one of these in the next few days too. Here's another I found at Babies R Us...I wonder if anyone has any experience with this one too... http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3518178

*UPDATE* I just found this one on diapers.com and it got really good reviews so I ordered one. http://www.diapers.com/product/productdetail.aspx?product...

1 mom found this helpful

Yep - got the 1st one you list here from OneStepAhead and love it! My almost-three-yr old daughter hasn't had any problems with it. You just have to make sure when you put it on the toilet seat that you push it back all the way so that the front "lips" of the potty seat are up against the actual toilet seat (sounds more complicated than the way I'm describing it!). She might have gotten a little pinch once b/c we hadn't opened the seat all the way properly the first time we used it, but other than that it's been great. Fits right in your diaper bag - which is fantastic. And, it's easy to just wipe down.

1 mom found this helpful

They don't fit well. I have one that is similar to the first one (not the cushie one) and it does the job for when we're out. I have a little boy so he stands to pee which is much easier in a public restroom. I have this one in case we're out for a day and he has to poo but I've really only used it twice maybe. I would say it was worth the $10 I've spent on it because squatting or kneeling on the floor in a public restroom to hold him on the toliet is my only other option which is not fun at all. I've never had it fall in the toliet.

1 mom found this helpful

i bought one that goes on the toilet (the fold up one) to put in the diaper bag and i think it depends on the potty. the ones that are longer don't work with it at all. it became more hassle than it was worth...i ended up just carrying lysol wipes in my bag instead :) as far as at home, we use the coushy kind that fit over the potty and never had any issues at all. the one we have has little handles on the side too so that helps alot.

1 mom found this helpful

We got a potty like that and it never worked because it started to cave inward with the weight of my son when I put him on it. I don't think he would have fallen into the potty but he was so freaked out that he didn't want to use it again. I then got a really good portable potty that doesn't fold up as small but definitely fits in my bag - it's good to put on toilet and set up on it's own with a plastic or the disposable absorbing liner you can buy with it. Here is the link: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=313274...

1 mom found this helpful

I purchased one at Wal-Mart and it works great. I store it in a gallon size zip lock bag and whip it down with a wipe and it was great my son never had a problem.

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I can second Rachael Z. I have the first one you listed from One Step Ahead. Haven't had trouble with it on any potty yet. I lift my son onto it and place him quite far back in order to spread his weight over it. The Potette looks pretty cool too, but I opted for this one to start with (and for traveling), and figured if I didn't like it, I wasn't out much money. But so far, it's been just fine. We even use it on big potties that aren't public b/c he thinks it's fun to use!

1 mom found this helpful

One step ahead sells good stuff. We had the one without cushions and it did work but the one with cushions might be better.

PJ

1 mom found this helpful

I don't have either of these. What i have is a portable potty that he can use in the back of the car if necessary. We also have the seat from his little toilet in a bag, and take that if necessary.

1 mom found this helpful

omg really? i never used one of those, just use the protective covering supplied by the store in the bathroom stall

1 mom found this helpful

HI. I had the cushie one from Walmart for my girls and now I have one for the new little ones in my life. I have never seen one break or fall into the toilet. Spending less than $15 for a cushie seat is soooo much better than buying a potty chair that you have to clean (ewww) and then have to train twice...once for the potty chair and then again for the real toilet. Best wishes & good luck!!