Are all potties created equal?

[09Mom]

We are about to get DD a training potty and I see a decent price difference. Are all potties the same or is there really a difference.

The ones I am leaning towards are the Cheer for me one or the froggy one.

[AnnieW625]

We went with the Bjorn potty topper, and a very bare bones potty. We opted for something that resembled a potty as much as possible and had no music as I thought anything fancy would be a distraction to the real thing.

[wendibird22]

We had/have a Bjorn potty and another kind. Love the Bjorn. Worth the money. So easy to clean. That said, the free standing potty was nice when she was first learning but now we make her go on the bid potty with a potty ring. Cleaning out potties is no fun plus she had to learn to use a real potty for school and out in public. With DD2 I might skip the potty seat altogether for that reason.

[brittone2]

Target used to sell a knockoff of the Little Bjorn. I picked up 3 on clearance years ago and we always just used that. One single molded piece=easy to clean IME.

[maylips]

I thought how you did and the first potty I bought was a clear one, thinking I could see what she did, rather than rely on her word. She didn't like it at all. I bought the Bjorn and she loved it immediately. The seat back helped a ton but I also think it was more comfortable overall. So I ended up paying more since I bought 2 seats, rather than going on the advice here and just buying the Bjorn in the first place.

[katydid1971]

We bought the Bjorn seat and ring and they are great. DS still uses the ring. I bought two small knock Bjorn seats at Ikea for $3 (I think) I keep one in the car for on the go potty training and one for the upstairs bathroom. MIL bought an Elmo seat for DS and DNs and ended up throwing it away because she lost pieces then bought a Bjorn one like I suggested in the first place. I love all the cute colors the Bjorn ones come in, we have the bright green one and a friend had the red one, both are so cute (can a potty be cute?!?!)

[09Mom]

Has anyone tried this?

http://www.amazon.com/Mommys-Helper-Contoured-Cushie-Step/dp/B000AV5LZ8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1284396946&sr=8-4

[GaPeach_in_Ca]

I love the frog potty, $12 at Target. I bought 2, one for at home and one for at daycare. I think it's really easy to clean, count me pleased.

[Tanya]

We have the Bjorn ring and the Bjorn potty (two piece one). Easy to clean, the ring fits our elongated toilets. The little potty is easier at first if they want to get on by themselves, etc. Then, I prefer the ring since I don't have empty the potty, etc.

We just have a plastic step stool in front of the toilet. Actually, now it's just in front of the sink because she uses the regular toilet and can get up now without a step stool.

[mom2binsd]

Has anyone tried this?

http://www.amazon.com/Mommys-Helper-Contoured-Cushie-Step/dp/B000AV5LZ8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1284396946&sr=8-4


We had something similar for DD, honestly it's awkward to step up to.

We had great success with just using the potty for DS, he didn't fall in and we helped him up. A stool is also helpful.

I think the potty seats that are just a smaller ring are the best, why would you want to have to clean a potty out???? And if you start on the big potty you get to flush!!!! And then there's no transition.

You can also get potty rings to take with you too.

[Canna]

We really like the $4 minimalist ones from IKEA. Nice size, easy use, easy to clean. We had one upstairs and one down. Don't see any need for a fancier potty.

[brittone2]

With respect to ring, seat, or little potty, I think kids all have different preferences.

DS1 strongly preferred a small potty to a ring on the big toilet. He also had constipation issues on/off through toddlerhood and I think the firm supportunder his feet with the little potty on the floor was helpful (a stool under the feet when using the big potty is good, but I think he was more comfortable and secure on the tiny potty on the floor. DS1 always preferred urinals when out in public and wasn't wild about the noisy public restroom toilets until he had been PT'd for a while.

DD used the tiny potty a good bit in the beginning but easily and quickly transferred to a stool plus the regular old toilet, no ring necessary.

[crispychicky]

I think the potty seats that are just a smaller ring are the best, why would you want to have to clean a potty out???? And if you start on the big potty you get to flush!!!! And then there's no transition.

You can also get potty rings to take with you too.

I agree with this. We tried both rings & stand alone potties when we first tried to potty train my DD. With the stand alone potty, she would just stand up and run away. When she was up on the big potty, we had to help her down, so it kept her there longer in the beginning.

This is what we used and I loved it. No slipping and fits both our elongated & round toilet seats.
http://www.amazon.com/BABYBJ%C3%96RN-Toilet-Trainer-White-Black/dp/B0009PAN7Q/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1284401957&sr=1-1

[MommyAllison]

Has anyone tried this?

http://www.amazon.com/Mommys-Helper-Contoured-Cushie-Step/dp/B000AV5LZ8/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1284396946&sr=8-4

Our church had this in the 3yr old room, and though it seems like a good idea, it didn't work out so well. A child has to step up, then turn around on the step if they need to sit. Boys who tried to stand, or sat but didn't "point down" always made a big mess and there was pee all over the seat, steps, etc. There were too many little cracks to ever get it *really* clean. The church replaced it with a ring and a stool, and it works much better.

[jjordan]

My kids LOVE sitting on the potty and we love having a separate potty (rather than just a potty ring) for when they're first learning. We also LOVE the Baby Bjorn potty - the two piece one, not the small one. It cleans up great. The kids have used various other potties at other houses, grandma's, church, etc, and I don't like any of them nearly as much as the Baby Bjorn.

We never did do the potty ring - we just help hold them on a full-size toilet when they need to use one. It doesn't take long for them to be able to use it without help.

[lil_acorn]

buy a ring and avoid the mini-potty if you can! Luckily both my boys took to the ring...I had no interest in cleaning the portable potty.

[edurnemk]

We had/have a Bjorn potty and another kind. Love the Bjorn. Worth the money. So easy to clean. That said, the free standing potty was nice when she was first learning.

:yeahthat: My mom has a different one at her house, can't remember the brand, and the Bjorn is just so much better: no leaks, comfortable for DS, easy to clean (we also have the Bjorn potty ring for the big toilet, DS refuses to poop in the potty still so I have no problem cleaning the potty seat). DS loves his Bjorn potty seat. I got it on sale at Amazon for like $22

[crl]

Well, ds was a big 3 y.o. when he finally potty trained and I never bought a little potty. He rejected rings so we went straight to the regular toilet. We'll see with dd but I think I'll try the same thing.

Catherine