Wooden or Plastic?

I don't know what area you are in but I have a wooden potty chair that I am not using anymore. It was handed down to me by a friend who loved it because it has a high back like a regular chair and a magazine rack on one side for the books. The little potty holder still is plastic but is stored under the wooden part of the seat with the hole. I loved it because it also looks great in the bathroom and I had to clean it just as much as I would have a plastic seat. e-mail me if you want to see it... ____@____.com

S. - Your daughter is still pretty young, but if she is showing an interest....wow!
I have never heard of a wooden potty chair. Maybe I am living under a rock.
Personally, it was much easier for me to potty train my children by just sitting them on the "big potty". We got a seat that goes over the adult toilet seat so their teeny little butts didn't fall into the water, and just put them on that. That way they learn how to pee and poop (cuz it's a little gross cleaning that up from the small potty) into the big potty so when they transition it's not as hard.
Have fun! L.

50 or so years ago we only had wooden potty chairs. I haven't seen a wooden one in years.

The best way to find out the ingredients in the plastic is to ask the company. You can usually look the company up on the Internet and send them a message or call by phone. I think that there may be different kinds of plastic in these chairs, depending on who made them.

I doubt that your family's exposure to the plastic will cause any harm. Do you not have any plastic in your home?

The only times I've read that plastic can be toxic is when we eat it or breathe it. Plastic potty chairs have no odor. Some may have an odor when first unboxed. You can remedy that by letting the chair sit out away from everyone for a few days giving the fumes
time to dissapate. And you won't be eating it? lol

By the way my 2 grandchildren were potty trained on the adult sized toilet. They didn't like the little one.

I think moderation is the key because we cannot eliminate everything that someone has said is toxic.

Hi S.. The plastic that you want to avoid is vinyl or PVC (and they are basically the same thing). The only potty chairs that may be made of vinyl are the potty seats that fit on top of the big toilet. All of the potty chairs that sit on the ground, I believe are made from either #5 (polypropolene) or maybe #2 plastic. Both of these are considered safer. The concern really comes with eating from plastics, warming things in plastic, freezing in plastic, etc. I agree with some of the other posters that we just trained our boys on the big toilet. We had one of those flipdown seats but they didn't really want to use it very often. We also had a stand-along baby bjorn potty chair on the floor and they didn't really use that one either. I am sooooo glad that they learned how to use the big toilet because now they will use public toilets when we go out. we don't have to bring any potty accessories with us when we go somewhere. Best of luck to you and every child potty trains a little different.

I never really considered this...but won't a wooden one have to have som plastic (or metal I guess)...Wood seems kind of yucky - if the child misses...how would you clean it?

The reality (at least in our situation, and our son was fully trained right after his 2nd birthday) is that they don't spend that much time in contact with the seat...so it shouldn't really matter...it was also MUCH easier (in my opinion) to just us the regular toilet...that avoided problems when we were out and he had to us a regular sized potty, and there was no mess to clean...so, sorry I can't help with the chemical answer, but I guess my answer is that I don't think it should matter much because the tushie is only in contact with the plastic for a short short time!

Hi S.,

I was also interested in finding a potty made of a material other than plastic and found a ceramic potty in this catalog:

http://www.novanatural.com/

It is basically a tiny chamber pot, easy to clean, and very simply made. We've been very happy with it.

Good luck!
D.

I seriously doubt that any of the potty chairs or seats are toxic. I really can't believe that so many people are freaking out about it. I know many, many people who have used plastic with no problems. Wood on the other hand....That just seems unsanitary! Wood is not usually something you can disinfect and even if you wanted to try, do you really expect to be washing down your wooden potty chair a dozen or more times a day??

I personally think that wood is capable of harboring bacteria and difficult to clean (I won't use wood cutting boards). My kids hated the potty chairs and we used an insert on our regular seat and gave them a stool to climb up. They both potty trained quickly and had no resistance to using toilets outside the house. Even if you tried a wooden seat, the ones in public are plastic.

Just my honest opinion.

We had a potty chair but I quickly realized that cleaning it was gross. We got a plasitc attachment that fit into the hinges of our regular seat so it came up/down like the regular seat. It was from Seagals in Beaverton. Then I put a stool in front of the toilet to make their legs fit the height. This worked for both of my kids.

Isn't your regular toilet seat plastic?

I am all with you on the natural vs. plastic thing. Even if the plastic does not give off toxic substances any more, the production of plastic items puts toxins into our air and water. Plastics have their place, but I believe we should use alternatives whenever we can.
If you can find a ceramic or metal potty, I would go with that - I don't think the wood is very hygienic for this use.
We have a hand-me-down used plastic potty - you can run it through the dishwasher to sanitize it. At least this way you won't add yet another new plastic item that will NEVER degrade to our landfills.

I don't know anything about the plastics in chairs, but my guess is that as long as your baby is not sucking on the chair, it shouldn't be an issue. A wooden chair seems like a bad idea to me, but I don't know. First of all, there are chemicals that treat the wood, and chemicals in the paint or stain or sealer that is on the wood. Also, wood can not be cleaned well when your little on pottys on it.
I prefer the little potty chair sold at IKEA. It is a one piece chair, so it is VERY easy to clean without any cracks or seams for bacteria to grow. Also, it is only $4, so we were able to buy 4 and have them all over the house... making potty training so much easier and more efficient!
You might also consider just getting a potty seat to go on the full size toilet.

I'm with the others who agree that wooden seems unsanitary.. I won't use a wooden cutting board either.
If your concerned about the landfill issues, help out another family and buy a potty seat off Craigslist.

You say your a working mom.. what does your daycare use? Plastic? Wooden? talk it over with them becaues you both need to be consistent if you plan to do this successfully.
also.. I personaly hate those little seats that sit on the floor. they are gross and messy. Not to mention that you will have to train her at some point to pee on the big potty. so I would just start there.

just a guess, but I think you can sanitize a plastic chair better than a wooden one (and use natural cleaners if you like) and since the kid isn't eating off of, chewing on, or licking the potty...I don't think a wooden one would be necessary or sanitary. Heck...you can get a wooden seat for your potty and they can just learn on the big potty..much more cost effective I would think.

We didn't buy a little potty....not worth the price for us.

J.
Are you a CityMommy Yet?
http://portland.citymommy.com

I saw some wood ones (or at least the looked wood) on Amazon, but I agree about the sanitation issues. You could check with the mom's at Safemama.com, if they don't already have something about potties, you can email them and they are quick to get back to you. I use there site all the time, especially after learning about BPA, PVC and all those other chemical issues came out.
Enjoy your baby girl, and I now how you feel about wanting to be a SAHM! =O)