# Help us pick out a potty chair **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [January 24, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754 "2009-01-24T03:20:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Survey1215](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecb155/32.png) [@Survey1215](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Survey1215)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/1 "2009-01-24T03:20:01Z")
We are going shopping tomorrow for a potty chair for our 19 month old daughter as we begin toilet training\*. Any suggestions/recommendations/warnings? - After being subjected to a nosy co-worker’s long-winded monologue about how we’ve waited too long to start this process, I understand that opinions vary on this process. But the bottom line is that we’re starting now. Later this weekend I may jump into the Pit for the first time and talk about how I feel about ‘know-it-all’ parents. ---
**Author:** ![Tabula\_Rasa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@Tabula\_Rasa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabula_Rasa)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/2 "2009-01-24T03:24:12Z")
You might consider a one piece that fits over the toilet and a sturdy step stool to help her get up there and to have a place to put her feet. If she never has to make the transition from little potty to big potty and you never have to dump and rinse, it could make everyone’s life easier. Other than that, whatever you get, try to avoid grooves, crevices, foldy bits, anything that might attract and hold, um, deposits. A sliding dismount is pretty common in the early days of potty use. ---
**Author:** ![Elret](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Elret](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elret)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/3 "2009-01-24T03:28:49Z")
Hmm, it sort of depends on your daughter`s preference. We ended up getting a couple of different styles before we hit on the one that worked for us. The one that eventually did the trick was the cheapest, simplest little seat that just fits on top of the regular toilet. Oh, and 19 months is not too late. Don`t worry about ages or times or what anybody else thinks, just watch your daughter and take your cues from her. And good luck! We`re about a month in to total diaper-free daytime and it`s great! (For the record, we started at around 18 months and while we had some success, it was really hit and miss until she decided at just over 2.5 she was ready. Then it all just clicked and it was no more diapers for her.) ---
**Author:** ![Wednesday\_Evening](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Wednesday\_Evening](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wednesday_Evening)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/4 "2009-01-24T03:49:24Z")
For my oldest, we just used a seat that fit over the regular toilet seat. But he was 3+ when he started, so he was old enough/ big enough to use it. My youngest started showing interest a little before she turned two, and I didn’t think she could manage the big seat easily, so I borrowed a potty from a friend. I don’t know what brand it is, but it has a handle on each side so she can grip it as she’s sitting down. It’s a nice feature. Other than that, it’s fairly simple. She’s still not potty trained at 2.5, but I don’t really care as long as she’s trained by the time preschool starts in the fall! ---
**Author:** ![Auntbeast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Auntbeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Auntbeast)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/5 "2009-01-24T04:07:29Z")
I bought a neato potty chair. It’s green and white, very stylish! She puts toys in it. My daughter has limited her eliminations to a diaper, the toilet or the floor. I would recommend the type that fit on the actual seat with a bit of a step for them. Of course, my daughter is 3, so the size differential make break that idea for you. (psst! check consignment shops, if you are gonna try a bunch of different ones, that is the cheap way to do it. I’m taking my “never been used” potty chair down there soon.) ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/6 "2009-01-24T04:54:15Z")
[Simple but it works quite well](http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2309032). [This style is also good](http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2627245). [Ours looked kind of like this](http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3161941). The lip thing in the front was crucial- we have two boys… I would not go with something that goes on top of the adult toilet at first- too far off the ground- scary! And kids will be more comfortable with their feet flat on the ground. ---
**Author:** ![Hedda\_Rosa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hedda_rosa/32/1204_2.png) [@Hedda\_Rosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hedda_Rosa)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 7:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/7 "2009-01-24T07:10:00Z")
While we’ve had both kinds over the stages with our now 6 year old and 4 year old, I think a little potty chair feels safer and more comfortable at first than the seat-for-the-adult-toilet thing. Plus you can move a potty chair into the living room if you need to. For the boy, we just bought the cheapest potty at Target, but we took him with us and made him a part of the choosing, so he felt some ownership over the whole thing. Then, because it didn’t have Thomas Train on it - apparently a major tragedy - we bought an enormous book of Thomas stickers. When we had a successful potty experience, whether the goal was just sitting on it or actually producing some inventory, he got to put a sticker from the book _on the potty_ to tightly reinforce the success/potty/sticker loop. Good luck - oh and your coworker is full of shit. 19 months is not too old; every kid has to get to certain developmental cues before he or she can toilet train, and every kid hits those cues at their own pace. ([EC](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elimination_communication) not withstanding - I am not here for that debate.) ---
**Author:** ![ThePylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@ThePylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThePylon)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/8 "2009-01-24T14:12:42Z")
Get one of [these](http://www.amazon.com/Mommys-Helper-15301-Cushie-Traveler/dp/B000F1O8T8), too, while you’re at it. If you have more than 1 bathroom, it’s great, and fits in almost any bag (even has it’s own little bag). And don’t worry about the when - you can help motivate, but they usually decide that themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/9 "2009-01-24T14:24:45Z")
Neither of my kids had a potty of any kind. Well, the first one did but it was never used! If you pick up the kid and plop her at the very back of the toilet seat with her back against the tank, she will have her legs wide enough that she can hold onto the seat with her hands and will feel safe. You can also try sitting her backwards facing the tank. We found that if you get stuck into the potty routine you have to carry it everywhere and going out becomes a major, major hassle. If you can get them used to using the real toilet from the first time it is much easier for all concerned. Once our kids were big enough to go to the toilet by themselves (which wasn’t till they were past three, I’d say) we had a little step to the side of the toilet so they could hop on and off themselves. ---
**Author:** ![BetsQ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@BetsQ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BetsQ)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/10 "2009-01-24T18:05:21Z")
We have [this one](http://www.amazon.com/Baby-Bjorn-055115US-BabyBj%C3%B6rn-Potty/dp/B000056J7L/ref=pd_bxgy_ba_text_b) from Baby Bjorn. We like it. One advantage of the little potty chair is that in the early stages when things take a while you can easily sit on the floor next to it and read books/sing songs/make funny faces with the kiddo. Or, in a pinch, move the potty into a room with a TV, but don’t tell anyone I ever did that. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Pyper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Pyper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pyper)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2009, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-us-pick-out-a-potty-chair/482754/11 "2009-01-24T18:26:37Z")
I can’t recommend a certain brand, but the little one I just potty trained has a potty that has a detachable seat. He started out training by sitting on the little potty. Then, when he got the idea, we showed him how to put the little detachable seat over the regular toilet seat. He now puts the little seat on by himself, and scoots over a stool so that he can reach it to sit down. Oh, and according to research, 20 months is the _earliest_ you should begin potty training. (If she’s 19 months, I say try it and see.) Edit: I found the potty that we used: [http://www.thefind.com/family/browse-graco-soft-seat-potty-trainer](http://www.thefind.com/family/browse-graco-soft-seat-potty-trainer)