tell me about your potty.

[hildare]

i am going to start looking to possibly buy one, but was wondering what brands/kinds or attachments most people use. 

is it better to have dc use the regular toilet with fittings so he/she goes where he/she sees parents/siblings/etc. go?  curious about what other people are happy with or your observations on the best arrangement...

[lifeguard]

We use the cheapest plastic toilet seat reducer I could find. I actually started with a nicer, padded one but the hole in it was too small for ds' penis to hang down comfortably whereas the cheap one has an oval hole.

We never did a potty, between lack of space & a desire to just not go down that road I never got one. It's worked out great for us & ds will happily go on any toilet now - which makes being out in the world much easier.

[SpuglyRoo]

I'll second using the regular toilet.  The only downside I can see for that is sometimes DS pees such a tiny amount that I can't see or hear it, he would tell me he had done it and I would be like "really? are you sure?" instead of congratulating him.  But I don't have to dump it and wash it out and he will be able to use any toilet instead of needing to carry around a potty seat insert or a potty chair while we are out and about. 

We bought our fixer upper house when he was just turning one and the bathroom was horrendous.  We had to replace the toilet and so instead of buying any old toilet we specifically looked for the shortest one that Home Depot had in stock.  The 2 or 3 inches mean that DS doesn't need to use a step stool to use the toilet and they aren't a big deal to an adult (actually, since they recommend squatting to poop while you are pregnant for constipation issues, it kind of puts you more in the right position).  We have a half bath attached to the master bedroom and a normal sized toilet is in there in case there is a reason someone can't use a slightly shorter toilet.

Just wanted to add that we have a ranch house so there is no  staircase to contend with.  If you don't have a bathroom on both levels of your house, a potty chair might be convenient so that there is less running up/down to where the bathroom is (and possibly not making it--kids wait until the last possible second it seems). 

[Zimbah]

I use a potty with DD and am happy with doing that.  She's too small to climb safely onto a loo even with a step, if your son could manage that then he might be happy using the loo.  She likes being able to go and use the potty on her own (although I then wipe).  DD not fully potty trained yet though.  We also have a seat insert that she sometimes likes to use, and a folding potty that can be used either on the floor as a potty (with a bag) or put on the seat of a normal loo.  Also she seems to find it a lot easier to poo with her feet on the floor i.e. on a potty, she's never pooed on a toilet.  I do'nt blame her, I think it would be pretty weird to go with your feet not on the floor!

[cparkly]

We began with a Baby Bjorn Little Potty when DS was just a few months old. We love it. It is a single easy to clean piece of plastic, easily transportable, and has a splash guard

DS primarily uses a potty adapter seat on the regular toilet with a stool. I can't stand it. It is hard to keep clean and his pee seeps between it and the regular toilet seat almost every time that he goes. I will be buying one of these soon.

DS still uses the little potty when he feels like it. We bring it upstairs to the bedroom at night. He loves to poop on it! I think because he is squatting and that is a great position to get business done in. When he was younger, we would bring that little potty with us around the house and even when we would go out.

[JudiAU]

I like (all) the bjorn models. There regular potty is great and easy to clean. If LO is very small they make a little one too. They also make a well designed addition to a big potty. 

I like the regular little potty because it is easy to get on and off and because we can place it directly next to our play mat. Makes it faster/quicker/more interesting to hang out while learning to poop or quick pees. We like the "Diaper Free Before 3" approach which is sort of a scheduled approach. 

Most potties are horrible designs and the elmo/songs/modern design don't work. 

When we travel for long distances we throw the bigger potty in the car. Always keep the potty seat in the car too. Most travel potties aren't comfortable or sturdy if you have a big kid. 

[Courtney-Ostaff]

I wasn't going to do a potty, but a friend gave me one. My house has tall! toilets, so I bought a step-up/seat in one, and tried it with her. She didn't mind, but the darn thing was still too short -- and she was too small!  So we gave up, got the thing out of the box, took out the batteries, and set it in the living room. Worked like a charm, and we're still using it, over a year later.  She empties it herself, now!  When she can comfortably sit on the seat, or figure out how to get up there!, then we'll give it up.

[sapphire_chan]

We have 3 baby bjorn little potties. One for the car, one for home, one I got for my parents' house and ended up taking to use on our trip home.

For the big toilet we have a seat reducer that was the cheapest one available at Target the day I was shopping. When she was in her toilet phase, that was great.

I also have a fold up seat that was supposed to be for the diaper bag, but only got a couple uses since dd preferred to be held over the larger potties. Now that she's larger, she just sits on the very edge of public toilets and I support her hips.

It's been really convenient to be able to just slide a potty under her wherever she's playing, it's also great to have the option to just pull over and set a potty up on the back seat (there are no good places to pull over going past the loop on I-90/94. Guess how I know.) Another advantage is that she can get it herself and can be left to amuse herself with books and toys and just get checked on periodically.

Otoh, she does most of her pottying at home, in our car, or at crunchy friends houses, so she doesn't have a ton of experience with having to be in the bathroom to use the potty (and has to basically be shut in to the bathroom with me and some toys before she'll consent to sit down). She also thinks that you use a potty in houses and that big toilets are only for stores, so we pretty much have to carry the car potty in with us when visiting families without toddlers.

Ymmv, my friend's ds who had/has just as many potties as dd will happily clamber up onto their toilet and use it. I'll admit I'm tempted to teach dd, but don't know how and think it's probably not particularly safe if the kid isn't already nimble enough to work it out alone.

[ellemenope]

Originally Posted by JudiAU 

I like (all) the bjorn models. There regular potty is great and easy to clean. If LO is very small they make a little one too. They also make a well designed addition to a big potty.  

This.  I guess we have the bigger version now.  We love it.  We started out with the little one, but if I could do it all again I would have just bought the more expensive one right off the bat.  Just because it is easier to clean out the white insert than to clean out the whole potty. 

DD is way too small to get up on the toilet even with an insert and stool.  Another child her size might have no problem, but she is a cautious child...  She is also very independent and has been since the beginning.  She just loves the idea that she can run in whenever she wants, go, wipe, and pull up her pants, all on her own. (She was doing this at about 19 months.)  I am sure that if I hadn't bought the potty and thought she would just go on the toilet using the insert  (We had one of those too,) she would not have potty trained that early.  In fact, I still don't think she would be potty trained now.  I really believe something really appealed to her about that little potty and being able to do it all by herself and so easily.  And, FWIW, she never had any issues about being set on a large toilet yo go.  So, when we were out and about we never had any problems about pottying in a public restroom.

[ellemenope]

Originally Posted by Courtney-Ostaff 

 She empties it herself, now!  

 That is amazing!  How old is she?  We went through a phase a couple of months ago where DD was trying to do this, but I would get a panic attack. lol.  We basically had to tell her she was not allowed to do this, period.

Now, we are trying to get it through to her that she is not to stick her finger in her butt under any circumstances.  I swear she is the grossest kid ever.  If it is gross, she does it.  She told me, "But, that is how I can tell if there is any more in there."  I was like...speechless.

[Courtney-Ostaff]

She's 3.  She just likes to help. She actually follows me around and asks to help. :)

I'd ask yours whether or not she could feel with her butt whether or not there was more in there!! ;)

[cyclamen]

We have one of those little potties.  I think it's a good size.  We also have a ring.  She likes to put it on the toilet but won't sit on it.  She's a bit of a shorty though.

By the way, what do you do when you have a 19mo old who knows what the potty is, what it's for, will sit on it, will tell you when she has to go probably 60% of the time, will tell you when she has gone, when she hears other people going, and really doesn't want to pee/poop in her diaper, but won't pee/poop in the potty? 

Like, she'll demand I remove her diaper (she'll go in it if she's forced too, but I feel bad making her when she knows she doesn't want to), but she can't seem to go on the potty.  She'll just get up, run away, and pee on the floor five seconds later.  She'll also only poop on the floor.  We have hardwood so it's not as gross as it sounds.  Anyhow I swear to god the last week she's begun cleaning it up with a tissue and flushing it.  I'll only know because once in a while she'll miss a turdlet and I'll step on it or she'll just tell me, "Doo doo" and point to a spot on the floor where there's no doo doo.

I mean, this isn't really a problem except when we go out and I have to wrestle her into a diaper.  Which I have been doing the last week and I noticed she doesn't tell me as much when she has to go as she was the last month or two.

[Sleepymamaov2]

We have 2 white Baby Bjorn potty chairs with removable insert and pee guard.  I had to train DS1 to "sit back" so that he wouldn't get pee everywhere, but we've loved it.  We keep one upstairs and one downstairs.  DS1 loves his privacy and will often close the bathroom door to do his "business".  He'll open the door when he's done to show off what he "made".  This model is great because DS1 can read books or play with appropriate toys while on the potty.  I use a toddler chair or step stool for his table while on the potty.  They're easy to take along when we visit friends or relatives.  We just throw his potty into the bathroom.  A couple of tips: 1) For easy cleanup:  Fold up clean toilet paper on the bottom of the removable insert and simply dump into the toilet after each use.  Spray with cleaner of choice and clean out with more toilet paper.  That way everything just gets flushed down the toilet, and you'll have less mess to clean up (i.e., nothing smeared, yuck!).  2) Hold the toilet seat down over the removable insert as you dump so that you don't get splashed.  Double yuck!  We started with the smaller Baby Bjorn made for babies but DS1 has enjoyed the larger version because it has a high back.  We have also have the toilet trainers that go on top of the toilet seat, but DS1 is a little shorty and had to be fully supervised while on the toilet.  We were afraid of him falling off.  We also have the foldable one as well, but it doesn't have a pee guard so we often got peed on if we didn't grab some toilet paper and put it over his wee-wee. 

Hope that helps....Good luck with the potty training!

[Courtney-Ostaff]

Originally Posted by cyclamen 

By the way, what do you do when you have a 19mo old who knows what the potty is, what it's for, will sit on it, will tell you when she has to go probably 60% of the time, will tell you when she has gone, when she hears other people going, and really doesn't want to pee/poop in her diaper, but won't pee/poop in the potty? 

Puppy pads?  

[hildare]

Originally Posted by ellemenope 

Originally Posted by Courtney-Ostaff 

 She empties it herself, now! 

  She told me, "But, that is how I can tell if there is any more in there."  I was like...speechless.

 

[melon]

Just a heads up if you have a BOY!!! This is the only one (of 3 that I've tried) that keeps the pee contained, and doesn't seep between the seats. It does get pee all over the inside of itself sometimes, but it's one piece of hard plastic, so very easy to clean.

http://www.amazon.com/Munchkin-Secure-Comfort-Potty-Colors/dp/B0035ER51K/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1295621718&sr=1-1

[SubliminalDarkness]

I'm a big fan of just using the adult toilet. We don't use any toilet rings or anything either. The kids just splay their legs out on either side. Works great for boys to be able to sit and pee(our boys and DH pee sitting). 

[Comtessa]

We have one of these: http://www.hipmountainmama.com/pottychair.html in natural wood.  I was really opposed to getting one more big plastic thing in the house, so this is really a nice little piece of furniture.  It's also really expensive, so we were lucky that my aunt likes to spoil us/her and got it for her for her first birthday!  For us, it was a good thing because DD has been fairly resistant to the potty so far (she's 20 months, so we aren't pushing her).  The only time she'll use it, though, is when one of us is on the 'big potty' -- she needs the company in order to actually 'go.'  :)