Best Potty Seat and Doll?

We have a potty that's on the floor which allows my daughter to run over and sit on it when she wants rather than getting out a step and climbing onto the toilet. We also have a book that we read her while she's seated that works really well. It's "My big girl potty" by joanna cole and maxie chamblis.

I would suggest getting both the little potty & the seat cover for the regular toilet. My daughter was at first afraid of the toilet, so she tried the potty, but later preferred the toilet. We got the seat insert and a separate step stool, since the stool can be useful for many things, while the seat insert with connected steps isn't.

When your daughter is ready (when she starts showing interest in the potty), get her some cotton training underpants- Hanna Andersson has good ones. Most kids treat Pull-Ups just like diapers, and it doesn't motivate them at all.

My daughter never had a potty doll- my research on the topic seemed to indicate that they are too expensive for what you get, and hard to clean. We didn't miss it much- when my daughter became interested in using the potty, her regular dolls and stuffed animals started "going potty" too.

My daughter is 11 months old and we've been doing a relaxed version of Elimination Communication since she was about 5 months old. (Basically, assisting her in using the toilet when I know she has to pee after she wakes up from a nap or when I predict a bowel movement is coming on). She has always seemed to enjoy eliminating in this way and I highly recommend looking into the method even though it may not be as effective starting later with an older baby, it will help you as a parent get in tune with your child's needs which is beneficially for potty training at any age.

I chose this method with my daughter because I feel that it is important for young children to stay connected with their elimination patterns. There are several books available on the subject, I borrowed one from our local library and got a lot of great information on it. Our family doesn't make a lot of money, so it just wasn't practical for us to use disposables for 3+ years. I bought a good number of cloth diapers and covers at the start and we use those instead, which if you aren't already using you might want to consider once you start potty training to help your daughter "feel" when she wets herself. (disposables are so good at wicking moisture off the skin that often kids don't know when they've gone!) Gerber also makes some "training pants" that are basically like padded undies that absorb some of the spills but the child can still feel when she wets. (unlike pull-ups, which in my experience with my older step-son only prolonged diaper use). These do get damp on the outside when the child goes so they are best for use around the house. There are also training pants available with PUL covers on the outside to make them more waterproof, but I like the Gerbers because they are so cheap I could afford to buy several packages of them.

My 5 year old step son was diapered exclusively in disposables and then started pull-ups at age 3 and still had no interest in going anywhere but in his diaper. I think that he was so effectively "trained" to go in his diaper it made it very difficult to change to using the toilet after doing it one way his whole life. He is 5 now and in preparation for kindergarten, we began a new method of training him at age 4.5. For a month we used a timer to remind him (and us) to take him to the potty every 45 minutes (with much protest from him) and about 4 months of "potty rewards charts" (star sticker charts that lead to a big toy like an action figure after he gets a certain number of stars) With lots of positive reinforcment, he is finally getting there. But it has been a big struggle and I wouldn't wish that kind of delayed potty training experience on any child. I think it affected his self esteem greatly, even though his parents were giving him a lot of positive feedback and trying not to make him feel ashamed when he had an accident. I firmly believe that the disposable diaper industry has way too much sway in influencing the ways that we teach our children how to take care of their bodies.

Another tool that can help a pre-verbal child learn to communicate their need to potty is American Sign Language! We do the ASL sign for "potty" when my baby uses the potty and that way even though her verbal skills are still developing she can sign to me when she needs to potty. She is just starting to sign back to me after a couple of months of showing her the sign, and she usually signs to me just as she's going in her diaper, but I feel good knowing that she is learning to communicate with me about her needs! Once she starts communicating more predictably we will probably try to start using the toilet regularly. I have really enjoyed elimination communication verses the disposables-until-kindergarten-route because the way I see it, EC is not so much focused on the end goal of being "potty trained" but on the small successes on the way.

So, all that aside, to answer your question, my favorite potty seats are the Baby Bjorn "little potty" and the Baby Bjorn potty insert that sits on top of a regular toilet. I think I ordered both online either through the Target or the Toys R Us website. It is nice to have the option to pick between the two. Often I will go potty first thing in the morning, put the baby on her potty on the floor and we will both go together! Be warned, though, the Baby Bjorn "little potty" is very small, it is the perfect size for a child that is 1 year old but probably too small for a 2+year old. Baby Bjorn also makes a toddler sized toilet that looks nice but we don't have that one. Be careful with the on-the-seat inserts because we had a cheap one that dripped pee all over the place and was disgusting. I guess many of them do that and after doing some online research I went with the more expensive ($30) Baby Bjorn insert because it was the only one I could find that was constructed well enough to not collect urine inside of it. The great thing about this insert is that the 5 year old loves it too. It is an attractive design with a cute bear on it that the kids seem to like.

For more information on cloth diapering, elimination communication, or American Sign Language, these are my favorite online resources:

http://www.simplecloth.com/ (local diaper store owned by a really nice lady)
http://www.diaperfreebaby.org/
http://www.theecstore.com/
http://www.aslpro.com/ (ASL online reference)

We're in the midst of training our little one... we did what you want to do, had the supplies on hand so when she started to show interest we'd be ready. She is now 30 months old and we've had our potties since she was about 15-16 months old--so be prepared to wait! I'll also add that at her 2 year checkup, her pediatrician thought she might be ready since she's so verbal and could follow multiple-step directions for her. So we tried, but quickly realized it was not the right time. Rather than deal with the frustration and power struggle, we backed off.

As for what is "the best", we have tried 3 different potty seats (one for each bathroom) and the seat that rests on top of the big toilet. I think the one we prefer the most is the Baby Bjorn with the removable bowl. It's not a very big one, the bowl rinses easily.

We also checked out a couple potty DVDs from the library, just for fun. We also have quite few picture books/board books about going potty. THe one she likes the best is the DK book about Big Girls using the Potty... it's got real pictures and LOTS of pink (ugh, I hate pink). http://www.amazon.com/Big-Girls-Use-Potty-Publishing/dp/0...

Just use your intuition, you'll see what works for you and your daughter. Our daughter is mostly there, she is still not big on #2 in the potty, but we are not pushing her, just guiding her.

Best wishes!

we got a free-standing plastic potty, but I hated the whole clean-it-out thing, especially after poops

then I found the Potty Pal (through our local cloth-diaper service), which is a lid/potty seat/regular seat combo you install on your toilet in place of your lid/regular seat. Although a little confusing for guests if I forget to warn them ;), this thing has kept me happily not dealing with a separate, need to clean, trip-over-it potty for 8 years (4 kids).

Disadvantage: I didn't have a potty I could bring into the living room, with us in the car, etc.

For travel/shopping, I trained the kids to "hold Mommy's leg" while they sat on the side-edge of the regular big toilets.

I'm not sure where you live, but if Portland OR area, be sure to sometime take her into the Family Bathrooms at Washington Square--they have those mini-toilets and mini-sinks, my kids each freaked out with excitement and awe the first time they saw those during while they were training ;)!!!! Nothing like an eager kid :).

We did the same thing. Bought a potty chair and my daughter loved it for a month or two and would go in it all the time. Then the novelty wore off and occassionally she would go in it. Then one day she said she didn't want diapers anymore (she was 20 months old). So I bought her the potty seat that goes over the toilet (tried several and fell in love with this one) http://www.punkinbutt.com/potty-patty-potty-seat-p-1963.html

I also bought the Potty Training In One Day Kit with the doll and book and we already had the chair. I read the book and prepared myself. Then we started teaching the doll how to go potty and about accidents. Then we started having my daughter go in the potty. I quickly learned that when she would sit on it saying she had to go potty and then get up and say no a couple of times, that she actually had to go poo. She would then go in her pants. Once I figured out that pattern, I would sit with her and read a book and tell her stories so she would relax on the potty and teach her to wait for it to come. She got it eventually.

The hardest part was for her to learn the signal early enough to make it to the potty before an accident. At first she would say she has to go as she was going. Slowly it was earlier and earlier until she could tell me and I knew it wasn't a case of pull over right away, but I could go to the next exit and find a restroom, get her out of the car and inside to a stall and on the toilet before she'd go.

In between, my lifesaver were these underwear that have a waterproof outer but were still underwear to her.

http://www.punkinbutt.com/waterproof-training-pants-potty...

The book is really great! It was helpful in training ME and helping me understand what she was going through and how best to handle all the different issues. We did not use the one weekend method, but instead took a couple months. She was still potty trained by 23 months old, so I was quite happy with our easy approach as it created no pressure and she was interested early enough to not create a deadline for daycare or anything for us. I know if she was 3 instead of almost 2, I would have taken the weekend approach instead as she would have a better connection with her body.

Good luck and remember to keep it fun so they want to keep doing it!

A.

I would say: "Don't waste your money yet!". When she is ready, just take her potty shopping, make it a big deal and you are more alike to be succesful. I would recomend the folding potty sit for outtings. Get the soft one as the hard one might pinch her. I take ours when we travel, too and it has been a life saver. You can use it anywhere, just put a sit cover for protection (and less cleaning later) and than put the sit and your girl is set to go. Meanwhile, don't push her, she will get there. Good luck!

What I have found to work best is to have multiple potty chairs in the areas of the house that she spends her time. We bought the one piece potty chairs from Ikea. They have no cracks or crevices for nasty germs to hide and are super easy to clean as well as only costing 3.99! Also, they come in many colors, so your child can choose her favorites. We had one in the bathroom, one in the livingroom, one in the hallway, one in the kitchen. We left our children naked and with a potty close by to remind them and make them want to try, potty training was a breeze.

Hello,

We used the Baby Bjorn potty chair and we liked it very much. We used the book "my big girl potty" My daughter would even look at the pages during nap time until she fell asleep. she didn't want anyone to know she was looking at it. Once she figured it out she never wet the bed and only had two accidents trying to make it to the potty.

FYI, if you're interested in the baby bjorn. I have a hot pink that I would sell for $12.00. It's in great condition.

Gook Luck!
M.

We got our first potty at that age, just a really basic one that sits on the floor. I do not like the big plastic potty chairs so we gout ours at Ikea for about $5. They are easy to clean and not too many nooks and crannies, which can egt nasty. In a pinch it could go in the dishwasher...
I usually let her sit on it before bathtime, when she's naked - she has gone on it a couple of times and is definitely interested - just usually not fast enough in telling me that she has to go (she's almost 2 now).

I like the toilet seats when they are older and ready to go on it - at this age I really don't want her playing around the toilet.
Good luck.

First, 14 months is really too young - particularly since SHE isn't showing any interest yet. There is a good chance that things will backfire and she may seem "ready" for a while, then down the road, totally rebel and start to have accidents...But, we used the seat the covers the toilet seat (no need to clean up unnecessary messes, also, there is a travel one so kids don't need to be afraid of public full size toilets). Good luck!

I have twins and although my potty training efforts have not been successful, I use one of each. I use the Baby Bjourn potty chair. It has the best deflector that i could find. I have boys so I can use all the help I can get. Then I have a insert for the toilet seat. Actually one prefers the potty chair and the other prefers the insert. As for a doll I haven't seen that. Good luck!