A Potty for Potty Training?

Updated on May 05, 2007
B.D. asks from Bend, OR
17 answers

My 18 month old son is already showing signs of being ready to start potty training (hides to poop, follows us to the bathroom, poops at regulr times during the day, etc.). I wanted to see if anyone had an opinion about the different options for what kind of potty to by for him. I know I could either get his own little potty that sits on the floor or a seat that sits on top of the toilet. Are there any preferences out there and why? I am new to this and could sure use any help available! Thank you!

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D.D.

answers from Portland on

I potty-trained all my sons and Child Care children without the use of an actually potty chair. I had not problems with using the regular toilet. If there was an aiming issue with boys facing fowards, I would just face them backwards (towards the tank, legs over the seat) and it helps get the pee into the toilet! Keep books, stickers, potty-area-only toys nearby to help with the appeal of sitting there.
He may be too young to actually potty train, but every child is different, and there are boys that will potty-train that early. My oldest son was interested, but it took a long time to be fully potty-trained from when he first displayed interest (a year).

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M.B.

answers from Eugene on

I tried the stand-alone floor potty and the little seats to put on top of the big potty, and neither really worked. What finally worked for my daughter (after over a year!) was taking her to the store and letting her pick her own potty. She weighed her options really carefully, then selected a floor potty that sings and talks. She's been a perfect little potty user ever since, and now uses the big potty too.

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K.M.

answers from Anchorage on

Well, I was actually going to recommend the Fisher Price potty - it worked great for us! Maybe it's distracting for girls, more appealing for boys? (I have a son as well).

I say try the Fisher Price potty. You can always turn it off if you don't like the music. And we never found the sensor to be too sensitive at all.

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M.D.

answers from Bellingham on

Hi- I tried the potty that goes on the floor and my son started training, but never went any further. Then I got him one called the royal thrown and when they go potty in it the potty will play music. My son loved it and used it until he was ready to get up on the big potty. He now is 3.5 and uses the big potty on a normal basis with the potty seat so he does not fall in. Goodluck!! M.

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L.H.

answers from Portland on

I found a toilet that has a removable top that fits in the toilet seat and the base turns into a stool. This has been perfect. Depending on my daughter's whim, she can sit on the big potty or on the little one all by herself. (Winnie the pooh 2 in 1 potty, got it at walmart for about $30)

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H.W.

answers from Seattle on

Baby Bjorn! It's a great little potty chair. It's around $20, has great back support and seems to be very comfie. We started infant elimination communiation with my son when he was 2 weeks old and have been using this potty with him since he was about 2 months. He LOVES sitting in it! When he was really fussy with gas, etc. we just put him on it and it would cheer him up right away. It has a nice little splash guard too, but when he was really small we had to tape an extra little cup at the top to avoid any messes : (.
If you decide you would rather put it on the potty, you can take out the middle portion and it fits right on the seat. I find it a little high though...
Good luck!

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B.B.

answers from Portland on

regarding the potty training, I think it's a bit early. I mean...interest is good. that's when both my 12 year old and my 2.5 year old started showing interest is about 1.5 years, but interest is different than committing. I just put the potty chair in the area (bathroom) so they got used to seeing it. no pressure at first. many children who are potty trained too early backfire and start regressing at 2.5 or 3 years.

just my 2 cents.

also, love the baby bjorn 2 piece. easy to travel with and sanitize.

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T.W.

answers from Medford on

we bought the fisher price potty and it was a disaster it rewarded her for nothing because the censor was too sensative so she kept thinking that she went potty when she hadn't not that we didn't reward her just for sitting on the potty cause thats an important step too its just that it kept saying that she went potty when nothing happened then it just became a singing toy so I took it apart and put the seat on the toilet and she started complaining that it hurt and I would take her of and her bottom was all red. so we switched her to just a soft seat with a bigger hole and had to bribe her to sit on it she is not fully potty trained just 3 mo. later and doesn't even need the seat in public restrooms any more so save yourself the hassle and go simple.

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A.H.

answers from Portland on

My son uses a small potty. He can do it all himself and seems to prefer having his feet touch the floor. However, he does use the big potty if we're out of the home and have never had an issue with that either. I would recommend training your son to sit down to pee though. Standing makes an awful mess. :)

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L.J.

answers from Eugene on

My son turns two today, and we are almost completely potty trained. YAY! we had the little potty chair, but he hated it to the point where I thought he wasnt ready, and stopped for a bit. We got the seat on the toilet, and things progressed much better! I think it has to do with the fact that no one else in the family is using a tiny little chair, he wanted to be a big boy!

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K.I.

answers from Spokane on

I like the kind that fits on your toilet, they have side handles for your lil'one to hold onto and the one we bought had a step that came with that my oldest got a kick out of using. The one we bought was interchangeable and could be a lil one that sits on the floor also.

I loved potty training,it is so exciting when they finally get it!!

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A.F.

answers from Portland on

Just DON'T buy the Fisher Price potty that sings and "senses" the pee or poo going into the potty. It is super cute but WAY too discracting. And the sensor doesn't work. In the middle of my daughter sitting on it, it will say YOU DID IT! And start singing. And she didn't! So she'll jump up and dance around. Or flush it just to hear it sing.
It's a cute idea but it doesn't work.
Go for something very simple!
Good Luck!

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J.E.

answers from Seattle on

Its to early! He is showing interrest thats normal. Let him go when he wants. But in reality you have another year or more before he can realy do it. Dont push it. Its just fun right now, so just have fun!!!

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P.P.

answers from Richland on

We also used the potty seat that fit on top of the regular toilet for my son, and he seemed to like it best. He had a little potty chair at his grandma's house and he always seemed to pee on the floor when using it.

What caught my attention about your question was that he hides to poop. My son did the same. We were able to get him to pee on the potty relatively easily. It was the whole "poop thing" that he didn't like. It was like he was scared to. I know this sounds strange, but our pediatrician said to try this. When he would start to hide, we would put him on the potty, with his diaper on. After a couple of days he was ready to try without the diaper.

We then told him that if he went poop and pee on the potty for a whole week, marking the days on a calendar, his daddy would buy him a new fishing pole and take him fishing. He has not pooped in his pants since.

I hope this helps you out!!

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J.S.

answers from Spokane on

Hello B.. I bought just the generic Walmart brand potty "Safety 1st" and its both a little potty chair that you can take the seat off and put it on your toilet and the base becomes a stepstool. It doesnt have any distracting gadgets or music... its just a potty chair that gives both options. My daughter loved having her own potty chair the first time potty training...we had a lot of struggles....the second time however she did not want the little potty she wanted to go in the big potty so we put the little seat on our seat and the stool up to the toilet and she loved it. We still use the stool cuz she's not quite tall enough to get on the toilet by herself. Now I dont know how it works for boys but I found with girls...when they use the little toilet seat on the big toilet their pee shoots over the seat to the floor and such... be sure to use the pee guard that comes with the seats for boys cuz Im sure they've got a longer range. lol

Good luck and remember to stay postive! :) J.

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C.C.

answers from Seattle on

I am currently finishing up potty training my son, and I found a top of the toilet seat potty seat works better...it's much easier to clean, and there is an easier transition to the actual toilet when he gets a bit bigger and more comfortable. Besides, if you're going on a trip, slipping in the flatter potty seat is easier than taking an entire chair with you (and it slides right next to a toilet even in a cramped bathroom, so it doesn't get in the way).

I have known mothers who start with a regular seat...but both my children had trouble with that. Good luck!

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A.H.

answers from Seattle on

Hello, I used a little potty that sat on the floor for my little girl. It also had the option of sitting on the normal toilet. My little girl liked it on the floor because she felt like she was doing it all by herself and it wasn't as precarious as sitting on top of the big toilet. They aren't really expensive if you shop around a bit. Maybe little boys are different and like the excitement of being up high. Good luck, it's such a wonderful feeling to have a potty trained child. It has now been almost 3 weeks since I've had to change a poopie diaper. It's fabulous. So stick with it the rewards of early potty training are wonderful. Good luck.
A.

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