# Non-US Dopers: What Do You Call This Device? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 18, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728 "2024-02-18T16:07:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/1 "2024-02-18T16:07:16Z")
[https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-DRM00-Royal-Stepstool-Potty/dp/B01CK4ZYU4](https://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-DRM00-Royal-Stepstool-Potty/dp/B01CK4ZYU4) We call it a “Potty Chair” or a “Potty Training Chair.” “Potty” is the diminutive/juvenile way of saying “pot,” referring (I assume) to the days when we used chamber pots. Most American children under a certain age will say they have to “go potty” (older children will say “go to the bathroom” or “take a shit” or whatever) ,and we refer to the process of teaching to use the toilet “potty training.”\* If you speak a non-American variant of English, what do you call this device? And if you speak a language other than English, what’s the device? \*I’m to understand that the term “potty training” is falling out of favor and that more-enlightened parents prefer “toilet teaching.” ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/2 "2024-02-18T16:19:25Z")
I’m viewing this on a desktop computer with German installed as the system language, so I get the Amazon page displayed in German, and they call it a “Töpfchenstuhl” - which is pretty much the literal translation of “potty chair”. The word sounds plausible to me, but I wouldn’t have known what to call it if I hadn’t read it. I might have come across that word before, but I don’t remember. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/3 "2024-02-18T16:26:17Z")
I’m English and retired (if that helps.) ‘Potty chair’ is fine by me. (I used a china potty when I was a child.) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/4 "2024-02-18T16:30:35Z")
_Who took me from my nice warm pot And sat me on that cold, cold pot, Whether I wanted to or not?_ _My Mother!_ ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/5 "2024-02-18T16:43:34Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Who took me from my nice warm pot that’s cot … ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/6 "2024-02-18T16:45:22Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I’m to understand that the term “potty training” is falling out of favor and that more-enlightened parents prefer “toilet teaching.” We called it a training seat when we were raising our children. And yes, it is a training process: it’s not really ‘teaching’ in the sense of intellectually learning math etc. But I suppose you can call it teaching if you want to. I’m just a bit tired of politically correct language. ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/7 "2024-02-18T16:50:24Z")
Link to one on [Amazon.de](http://Amazon.de): [Töpfchen](https://www.amazon.de/Fisher-Price-HJC38-interaktives-Trainingst%C3%B6pfchen-Ger%C3%A4uschen/dp/B0B7XHKTGW/ref=bmx_dp_i77cko2o_d_sccl_3_1/260-3800212-3989827?pd_rd_w=fNcYD&content-id=amzn1.sym.7df9fb5e-3feb-4608-b891-7f6abaed1317&pf_rd_p=7df9fb5e-3feb-4608-b891-7f6abaed1317&pf_rd_r=MCM1K6K83VBX8W9CC8TX&pd_rd_wg=9Kh1B&pd_rd_r=9420805a-bf8e-4bca-86f2-0ee446010980&pd_rd_i=B0B7XHKTGW&psc=1) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/8 "2024-02-18T17:06:37Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > But I suppose you can call it teaching if you want to. I’m just a bit tired of politically correct language. How are _any_ of these words or phrases (potty chair, training seat, toilet teaching, etc.) politically correct language? ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/9 "2024-02-18T17:17:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How are _any_ of these words or phrases (potty chair, training seat, toilet teaching, etc.) politically correct language? I guess the implication is that “training” is what you do with a pet. Children should be “taught” instead. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/10 "2024-02-18T17:39:23Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > How are _any_ of these words or phrases (potty chair, training seat, toilet teaching, etc.) politically correct language? It depends on your interpretation, I suppose. But the phrase toilet ‘teaching’ just annoys me. At that age you are not dealing with a verbal pupil/teacher interaction. You are _training_ a baby who has the potential to become an adult in how to acquire the necessary behaviours. But let’s not fuss about it, it’s just a verbal nitpick. Call it what you will, no worries. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/11 "2024-02-18T17:42:04Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > It depends on your interpretation, I suppose. But the phrase toilet ‘teaching’ just annoys me. > At that age you are not dealing with a verbal pupil/teacher interaction. Maybe I’m weird, but I have verbal interactions with babies. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/12 "2024-02-18T17:50:58Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Maybe I’m weird, but I have verbal interactions with babies. All parents do, how else would children learn languge? Look, I just took exception to a particular phrase ‘toilet teaching’, which I thought was rather pretentious and a bit silly when ‘toilet training’ describes the process more accurately. You are dealing with a pre-verbal human at that stage. I don’t want to get into any more discussion about this: as I said, call it what you wish. Have a good day. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/13 "2024-02-18T18:18:28Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I just took exception to a particular phrase ‘toilet teaching’, which I thought was rather pretentious and a bit silly when ‘toilet training’ describes the process more accurately. Defication elucidation. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/14 "2024-02-18T18:20:58Z")
Defication or defecation? ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/15 "2024-02-18T18:27:51Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > Defication elucidation. Or is that deification? I am, therefore I poop? OK, I’m officially outta this topic now. Have fun, guys! ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/16 "2024-02-18T18:35:42Z")
My daughter says that potties are so last century. Her two have a seat that fits over the adult-sized WCs and a lightweight step for them to climb up on. > **[TOSSIG white, green, Toilet seat](https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/tossig-toilet-seat-white-green-10272788/)** > > TOSSIG white, green, Toilet seat. This seat makes toilet training easier for your child. Shaped for little bottoms, with soft curves and edges. It’s easy to remove and clean. Hang it on the wall or place in on its side when not in use. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/17 "2024-02-18T18:38:37Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > I am, therefore I poop? For most mammals, it’s “I poop, therefore I am.” ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/18 "2024-02-18T19:14:48Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > \*I’m to understand that the term “potty training” is falling out of favor and that more-enlightened parents prefer “toilet teaching.” “Teaching” instead of “training” might be new , but 30+ years ago, when my kids were young it was either "toilet training or “potty training” and I don’t remember one being much more common thatn hte other. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/19 "2024-02-18T20:33:11Z")
Im Hebrew, it is Seer or Sir. It means Pot, as in Chamber Pot. But not a diminutive. ---
**Author:** ![Jebbilene](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jebbilene/32/3414_2.png) [@Jebbilene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jebbilene)\ **Post date:** [February 18, 2024, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728/20 "2024-02-18T21:08:47Z")
I’m Australian, I’d call it a potty (no ‘chair’). A lot of parents in Australia use an insert on a regular toilet instead, like the one bob\_2 posted, and that’s what I used with my kids. The learning process we call ‘toilet training’. I’m a pre-school teacher, and I think there is definitely teaching involved, but I’ve never heard ‘toilet teaching’ here. Little kids, when they need to go, usually say something like “go toilet” or “do (a) wee”. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-us-dopers-what-do-you-call-this-device/997728.md?page=2)