Potty training...which Kind of Seat Has Worked Best for You

For my son I had an actual potty chair first. He would sit on it when my husband or I went to the bathroom. He peed and pooped in it a few times. Cleaning it was not a big deal.

Once he actually started training we got a seat that fit over the big toilet seat. We just bought on at Wal-Mart, not an expensive one, it was only about $10. He did great with it. In fact before he actually got big enough to sit on the regular seat, we did buy a 2nd one as the first one wore out.

I have two girls. I like the one that goes on top of the real toilet. I've used both styles. I think its just easier to transition them from sitting on that to using the regular toilet.

i bought my son a seat (that is also a step stool) and thought thats nasty i dont want to clean up the chair! so i started him straight on the potty. the only special thing is the stool so he can reach the potty. i then found out that a couple of daycares i have contact with the owners also train straight to the potty. this way they dont have to re train to the big potty. my son is big for his age (35 lbs @ 2 1/2) good luck.

I liked this one because the seat comes off and can be put on the big toilet, so the transition is easier. It also has handles which my son sometimes likes.

http://www.amazon.com/PRIMO-Toilet-Trainer-Stool-Pastel/d...

From personal experience, potty training a little girl and now a little boy, the seats that I bought for my daughter did not work for my son. The crucial element that cannot be ignored is the wee wee guard!! Without it, you will experience something similar to the first few days of changing his diaper - fire hose! The only seat I've found (and I've bought 5) that has a high enough, deep enough guard to protect you and your bathroom floor is by learning curve, and has Cars design. I'm attaching the link - it's a fantastic seat, and I've thrown out all of the others.

We never did the little potty thing - I wanted him to get used to the big potty, and I didn't want to have to clean out the potty all the time.

Here's the one that we love:
http://www.amazon.com/Disney-Cars-Soft-Potty-Seat/dp/B001...

We used a few different little seats that could either stand independently or fit on top of the regular potty. But the seat I LOVE is made by First Step and it is a kid potty seat that is integrated into a grown up potty seat. We got it at Home Depot for around $30. So much easier to clean, I don't have to move it somewhere when not in use, and it won't wiggle off or shift sideways (my 3 year old fell in once because the old seat wiggled crooked). This seat looks like a normal seat but has the child seat built in to the lid. Check it out! I have it on two of our toilets and my children love them and feel comfortable going potty on their own. Good luck!

My son started training in Germany, when I bought him a regular seat he kept falling off of it and tipping over cause it was too high, the German toilets were too high and loud also, so I bought a german seat they straddle it and sit down they are sometimes shaped like little dinosaurs or characters, I see them here in the states now too he absolutely loved the ease of it, so I will definitely use the same thing for my daughter...

We are in the middle of this right now. I 2nd the Baby Bjorn potty seat for the big toilet. It doesn't move at all and fits the elongated toilet bowls great. I also recommend the little potty from IKEA if you have one close. It's one piece so you don't have to take it all apart if some urine doesn't go in the potty (it will happen often too). Or any other one piece potty for that matter. We have one that has 3 pieces and I spent a half an hour cleaning it today- blech! I would start with a little potty to introduce it and then move to the regular potty once he's really ready to start training. Good luck!

When my son was being potty trained, we bought one of each- the little potty (ours was a train) and the seat that you put on the grown up potty. My Son preferred the train potty. He felt it was special for him and loved it. He was scared of the big potty! He did not begin to use the little seat until he was actually trained. I think that is depends on your son. Maybe buy both and see what he likes!

I have two boys and didn't buy a "little potty" for either. I placed them on the "big potty" but faced them backwards (toward the tank). The seat side that they sit on is smaller and they always felt more comfortable and didn't feel like they were going to "fall in". Even though they are boys, sitting down is perfectly fine. They will learn to stand and "spray" the whole toilet soon enough! :0)

I have 3 daughters. Each one was different. The oldest hated the little potty and would only go on the adapter seat for the big potty. The 2nd was terrified of the big potty and only wanted the little one. The 3rd is in the midst of training and will use either, but prefers the big one as that's what she sees everyone else using. If you go with the little one, you can sit it in the living room and let him watch a video about potty training while he sits on it bare butt (Bear in the Big Blue House has a good video). And, with the little one, I recommend keeping a small amount of water in the bowl--this makes clean up A LOT easier.

We used the little seat that fits over the big potty. My son (now 5) is really big for his age and his little butt just didn't fit on the toddler potties! We let him pick out the seat & a stool to keep in the bathroom for him to use just for the potty. He loved it! He got to be a big person & sit on the big people potty like everyone else.
It's definitely less mess, which was another factor we considered. We already have a hard time keeping the house clean with both of us working full time, so one less thing to clean was a blessing.
It's also easier in public if they're already used to the bigger toilet, the water in it, and the flushing (all of which which I understand scares some kiddos). I just put him on the seat backwards when we were in public.
Something we did to help with the flushing issue was get him a book (sorry I can not remember the name of it off the top of my head) that taught about a big boy using the toilet & it had a little button you'd push and it would make the flushing sound. My son loved that book & still would be playing with it if we hadn't taken it away b/c the sound thing was broken! If we didn't keep the door knob safety thing on the bathroom door to keep him from going in there unattended, we'd catch him flushing the toilet playing!
One thing to consider if you use a little potty is that you'll later have to transition him again to the big potty. My sis had a lot of problems with my oldest niece cause she got attached to the little princess "throne" she had. Like I said, this wasn't an issue for us since our big boy wouldn't fit, but something to keep in mind.
Best of luck! Potty training is definitely an adventure =o)

For whatever it's worth, my son just like the regular grown-up potty. I got the little seat that fits on, but he didn't even use that. At day care, the kids sit on the potty facing backwards, and that way they don't fall in.

I did find that the training potty was useful for teaching my son how the potty works. We put his teddy bear in underwear, and I would squirt water into the potty for the bear's pee. My son would practice pulling off the underwear, putting the bear on the potty, and then pouring the bowl into the big potty himself. He loved that.

If I have another kid, I'm going to just skip the training potty altogether.

The Baby Bjorn potty chair and adjustable potty seat to go over the regular toilet seat are the best, easy to clean and sturdy.

I like the little seat insert (our's is Baby Bjorn). I think the transition to the regular toilet is easier, cleanup is easier, and storage is easier. We also had a little potty with my first daughter, but she liked to clumb up on the toilet better. As long as he has a stepstool to get up there and you aren't concerned about him falling (you'll be going potty WITH him for months), then tha tis wha tI recommend. (I had girls, and I dont' know if training a boy would be different?)