Other Moms' Thoughts on Potties

with my own daughter she couldnt grasp the fact we wanted her to potty in the potty chair she looked at as if it were like all her other sitdown chairs, so i allowed her to pick her own potty seat with stool etc etc and she enjoyed the idea of being a big kid like mommie, also with the influence from her 3year old aunt who was potty training at the same time she took to it. Pretty much bc we made it her world and not some forced chore she did wellonly she tends to still go back in and out of potty training..there was apoint when she said "I dont wanna be abig girl anymore"...sometimes they dont wanna grow up i guess

OMG!!! This was the question that i was coming on here to post this morning. Well, if you get any responses--PLEASE--let me know because i'm about to do the same thing with my 16 month old daughter. This is my 1st time at this and it freaks me out a little too because it's such a MAJOR milestone for her. WOW--I want to say that i'm excited, but I am mostly scared of it all.
Thanks in advance for the info when/if you get any:)

The one the fits over the grown up toliet was liked best by both my children, is easier for adults and is cheaper so you can buy one for each bathroom. If you do decided to get one that sits on the floor, go to a garage sale. Most baby items are barely used.

I think if you are going to get one I'd go with the basic kid-size potty, BUT in my experience with potty training my daughter (now 7) I didn't push the issue until she turned 2, 18 mos is still a little young so don't stress yourself out, just have it in the bathroom accesible to you during the day.Enjoy her - the years fly by!

For my first son we bought the basic kid sized potty (Baby Bjorn) and the one that fits over the seat. He used the kid sized one for about a month or so. Our second son wanted nothing to do with the kid sized one and would kick it across the room (clean & empty thankfully). We believe that this was because he wanted to be like his older brother. We rewarded them with stickers and occasionally Jelly Belly jelly beans. I would think that kids would have a more difficult time transitioning to a big potty if the little one were a lot of fun. We did not buy one of the fancy models, so I do not know first hand. At 18 months she would probably have a difficult time with the one made to cover the big potty- turning around on the stool to sit and such. Just remember to take it at her pace and don't push- there's nothing wrong with encouraging and tons of praise.

hey there? well, i sure do know what you mean and commend you for trying now or at-least letting her get to know the whole opperation better. I have 2 girls and they potty-trained in completely different ways( they have completely different personalities.) I have 3 kids total and w/ all i took them to the store and let them pick out their "big kid" potty seat, the one you put on the toilet. they have different characters. Blues Clues, Dora, & Elmo are the ones mine picked. But i did have the musical "thrown" potty in the bathroom for monthes also, just in-case they were more compfortable w/ that. So, just try not to get discouraged. It could take weeks or 4-6 mths. GOOD LUCK!

My favorite was the Safety 1st kid's potty. It was very easy to clean and the "bowl" was easy to remove to dispense of the waste. It also had a lid that closed down over it and rubber grips on the bottom to convert it into a step stool that my daughter used when transitioning to the toilet. And it featured a little handle on the side that she could "flush" (it played music). This potty is also compact and lighweight, so it was easy to bring along if we were going to be away from home. It was a good product as well as a good value because it continued to be useful long after my daughter started using the toilet.
There is an upgraded version called the Safety 1st Talking Tunes Three Stage Potty. (Note: this is not a good potty for boys.)
Hope that helps. Good luck!

The second choice. They will use it for probably 2 years so I wouldn't spare on cost. My second child is potty training and I tried to get him to use his brother's but no luck but when I bought him his own potty he started to use it.

Potty training is tough and takes lots of love and patience so good luck! As for the potty decision you can let her pick it out if you want her to feel more of a connection with it but other than that it really doesn't matter as long as it is her size. The ones that go on top of the adult toilet don't allow them to put their feet on the floor in order to brace themselves and that could give you trouble with BMs. BMs are hard enough and can cause some anxiety for little ones so you don't want to add to that. Of course you have to use an adult toilet when you are out but that is only occasionally and can't cause an obstruction from "holding it" too long.
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I don't think 18 months is too young to introduce the concept as long as your daughter doesn't start to get stressed, we used a basic potty chair it had a nice soft foam seat that was removable and washable the bowl was easy to remove for cleaning and when the lid is closed it can be used as a stepstol to the sink or big potty. We also bought a seat that fits over our regular toilet a few months after using the little potty she was confident enough to use the big one. A few people I know had a bells and whistles potty and a lot of times it turned into a play thing or toys would be tossed into the potty to make the music ect... But its up to you. I suggest starting her in pullups as well so she gets used to pulling up and down instead of lying down for a diaper change. When my daughter was really ready we put the potty chair in the living room where she mostly played that way it was right there and we could sit her on it say every 1/2 hour or at least remind her, we also put her in big girl panties once she was starting to get the idea and sometimes just let her go naked waist down b/c panties and pullups are kinda hard for the kids to pull up and down at first when they can't hold their bladders very well yet. Good luck remember lots of praise and love and ocassional rewards!

I have a 7 year old and 3 year old daughter and both were totally different potty training. With my oldest we bought a basic potty with a lid. The seat would come off and attatch to a regular toilet. We had to let her play with it, put toys in it etc. We had to put it in front of the tv and even bought a potty video. She was probably 3 1/2 before she was completely successful.

The 3 year old was self trained. She wanted to be so much like everybody else especially her sister. She showed no interest in the "baby" potty and selected a Dora seat to put on the "big" potty. She was trained by 2.

If she is fairly independent you could probably cut out the "middle man" and get a seat for the toilet. But if there are no little ones to copy she may need something mobile so she can sit on it wherever she wants. Let her see you dump the success into the toilet to encourage her to get there eventually.

Never used the bells and whistles variety... and can't remember the brand, but it was a basic kid-size potty but the seat was removable so you could put it on the adult potty and use the base as a stool to climb up on. Worked great. Nice because you don't know if you're daughter will prefer using the little one or the big one, or may transition to the big one after using the little one. Good luck! Mine used the potty maybe once a day (before bathtime) for about a year before we got serious about training (around 2 1/2 y.o or later) and it was great because she already knew the basics... what to do. Good luck! Don't be scared!

Hello-I'm a SAHM of two girls. When potty training I bought the standard little potty. My kids followed me everywhere, even in the bathroom. So I thold them if they were going to folow me in the bathroom then they had to sit on their potty while I sat on mine. (pants on) After a while I started pulling down their pants to sit on a potty. I never used the fancy potties. Too much like a game. I did buy the grown-up attachment, but not until they could climb on by themselves. They didn't seem to like having their feet of the floor until they knew what they were doing. Hope this helps.

We started with a potty seat that fits on the regualar toilet, but found that our son was uncomfortable not having his feet touch the floor, so then we bought a very basic (we didn't like the distractions of the more expensive ones) potty that sits on the floor and the seat can be put on the regular toilet, too, one in each bathroom. So now he has a choice, either the toilet with the seat or the potty (he corrects me if I call it the wrong name!). It also helps when you get to the actual training, you ask which potty she wants to use, not if she wants to use it (the answer will be "no!").
We started our son (now 3 and 3 months) on training by having him sit on the potty before bath. His reward was that he got permission to pee in the bath! (You can use a different reward like a bath toy -- I don't know if girls have that same fascination.) Now our other son is 21 months and he's getting the same very gradual training. Enjoy!
M. W

I've used various potties with my five children. My favorite was the one that went over the regular toilet. I loved not having to clean up a potty chair and not having potty chairs wander around the house.

I have a 2 year old daughter and I actually tried both options 2 and 3 mentioned above when we started to potty train her around 18-month old.

My husband and I bought the one that made noise/music to get her used to the idea of a potty. It was easy for her to get to and "play" with so that she knew all the functions of a potty (flushing, seat, toilet paper, etc.). When she was ready we bought the ones (seat) that fits over the adult seat. When we converted over to the actual seat, she went more often during the day.

Hope this helps you out.

I let my daughter pick out her own 'at-home' potty. She was pretty excited about that... She picked one that looked like a throne... I am not sure if that was the most effective way, but we got through it. ;)

We communicated a lot with her about it, like saying that she will be using the 'Big' potty when she was away from her house, but this would be her special potty when she was at home.
Good Luck!
S.

Hello, I am currently potty training and my son loves the 2 in 1 seat that we have. It has an easy to remove cup for getting rid of waste and when he is ready we will remove the top and it makes into a step stool. I bought it at walmart for about $10. He loves it. He will pee in it but he uses the big potty for BM. Once in awhile he will pee on the big potty but he loves the little one on the floor. He will also go in by himself and use the potty and then tell me about it so I can clean up. The choice is yours and all of the suggestions are great. Just do what is best for your situation. Good luck!

Well we started out with just the basic potty I think some kids enjoy the music but to me it just seemed like it would distract him. But every child is different. My son's grandparents bought him one that is a regular potty but can also be placed over the big potty and the base becomes a stool. This seemed to work really well because we could have his own potty or if he wanted to feel like a big boy he would want it on top of ours. Seems like this one was more sensible to us.

get one that goes on the grown-up potty with steps. maybe get a little fun one too, but definitely try to get her used to the big potty. my daughter had three potties (kind of) one super-plain one, one that played music (i let her pick that one herself when she was really getting interested - like around 27 months), and a little foldable seat that sat on top of an adult potty.

once she started going on her little potties, we had great issue out in public anywhere b/c she was petrified of the "big" toilets! so i think it's beneficial to get them accustomed to normal potties, since they will have to encounter those anywhere that's not Home.

good luck!

I suggest the Baby Bjorn potty, we started with this one. Very Simple and very low to the ground, gives them security and better control to touch the floor, especially for BM (we later used this in our van as an emergency potty for long trips). They sell clear ones online, great for training because you can see when she goes without getting her off the potty. Once she was bigger we transitioned to a basic floor potty that converts to a stool. Now we have step stools and seats that fit on the toilet, we did this to encourage our daughter to use the big potty, it scared her a bit, especially the flush. (Beware of self flushing toilets, I think they've let some long lasting scars still).

My biggest advice I can give is make sure she and especially you are ready. We tried around 18 months, but she was not interested and it got the point when she wouldn't even go into the bathroom. We gave it a rest and then tried again when she started at her new school, they really were the ones to get her on the right track, after that she was a breeze.

BTW, if it makes yoiu feel better potty training has been the one and only thing that completely scared me about having my first child, and boy am I gald it is over...well at least for the most part.

Good luck!

My advice, being a Mom of 2, firstly, dont rush it. The more I pushed the more my first one resisted. Dont let the pressure of everyone else's comments make you rush her. My first thoughts are 18 months old is still a baby but if she is showing signs then go ahead and start the process. If you want a potty I would def. get one that is a low to the ground potty. The pottys that go on the toilet and really for the bigger kids. It may be to much for your 18 months old to have to learn how to climb up the potty and use at the same time. Those little ones are good because you can move them. When crunch time came for my first one I moved it wherever he was playing because he would never take the time to go and I took his pants off if we were home and let him see where and how the pee-pee comes out, whole new concept for them. All those fancy ones, in my opinion, you dont really need. Giving them an m&m if they go is bigger than a song. Heeehee!
Goodluck!

My advice, avoid the musical one. A well meaning aunt bought it for my first, and neither of my kids liked it, it was too different from a real potty (and scary too). As far as the other types go, it is a matter of your kid's preference. I started with both of mine having a basic potty in the bathroom from the time they could follow me in (and I lost all concept of privacy). Basically I had it in there as a place for them to sit so that they wouldn't try to get in my lap or the cabinets etc. Eventually they just asked to sit with their diaper off and if they went I praised them, if not no big deal. My youngest is now 18 months and can tell me if she wants to go potty, but is by no means potty trained just well on the way-however now that she can tell me she insists that she is big and wants to use a potty seat on the big potty and pull-ups.

I wish you much luck in this department! :) I have found that this is (so far!) the single most difficult thing to accomplish. My daughter will turn 3 next month, and we are doing well with 'tinkling' but she will not poop in the potty. We started out with the Winnie The Pooh potty which was fun for a while, but then she refused to potty on it. So we upgraded to the character seat that fits the regular potty and she's doing well. Unfortunately, all the advice in the world might not help since every child responds differently!

Congratulations! When we first tried to potty train, it never really took until my son stayed dry all night. At that point, they actually have some control over their bladder - not much, but it's a good time to start! Deciding on the seat really depends on your daughter's personality... if she wants to be a 'big' girl and go on the 'big' potty, get her the seat that fits on the toilet and step stool (this worked well for my son, who wants to be 'just like daddy'). Otherwise, let her go and help pick out the one she wants. Maybe narrow it down to three choices, and let her decide. Kids love to have the opportunity for input at this age. Also, her choice may surprise you. Kids are funny about 'bells and whistles', and she may be frightened by or just not like something you thought was a sure thing. Good luck! Also, if she relapses (my son did) you may try the sticker thing - each time she goes to the potty on her own (no prompting), she gets a sticker, and after so many stickers a special treat (a prize, or trip to Chuck E Cheese works for mine!)

I will first say that I am in the same spot. I have not read the other responses, but my guess is that most people will respond with she is too young to start potty training...but I do not feel that way. We actually just bought the potty that fits on the regular potty. Here is why: (1)when we are out of the house, that will be the option; (2)I don't like the idea of the portable/collaspable/backpack potties...sorry, I am sure it is convenient for travel, but it just seems weird to me; (3) the small potty seems fine, but not practical when we are out and its contents will just get put in the big potty anyways. My 18 month old is very interested in the potty. She likes to get paper for you and flush the potty. She will sit on the potty also. She has not gone yet, but we will ask her if she wants to sit on the potty and if she says yes we will let her. Then we praise her with hugs and kisses for doing so. Very non-pressure b/c I don't want the whole thing to be scary. Also, they make a praise board with stickers for what the accomplish on the potty (sitting, sitting and going, flushing, washing head, etc). One of the seats we got has a website on it to download the same thing. (We got a Baby Bjorn for downstairs that is white and a Winnie the Pooh seat for her bathroom that matches her room). So my suggestion would be that if she is interested, encourage it, but don't push it. Best of luck! I would love to keep in touch to see how things are going seeing as we have similiar situations.

I would start out with a regular kid size potty (no bells and whistles) until she gets it down a bit, then move on to the big potty with a seat insert and step stool. What we did was buy a potty insert from Home Depot and it fit perfectly into our toilet seat.

The reason why I would say to skip the bells and whistles potty is because you will feel compelled to get your money out of it and you really aren't going to want to dispose of the waste forever, KWIM?

Hi,

The most important thing to always remember is that all kids are different and they very much are their own persons. I was fortunate that my daughter was ready at 18-months and otty-trained in 1 week. I think you have ll the right tools although the bells and whistle might distract more than suport and encourage what you are seeking. Also if you are not uncomfortable with the idea let her go to the bathroom with you. Be careful with the one that fits on to the regular toilet because some times that can be a little intimidating plus she might try one that does not have a toddler adjusted seat and hit a little water. One thing for certain is that eventually it will happen wether it''s 1 week or 6 months. Try not to stress to much or she will also pick up on your stress. Good Luck!

get a potty seat, one that fits on the big potty, so there's no transition trouble once she gets too big for the little ones.Dont go too fancy , you can get just a regular potty seat at walmart for under 10$ and a step stool for about the same price. also get a fold up potty seat for putting in the diaper bag when your in a store they dont have potty seats, this way tou will have one.

Can't say much about girls as I am where you are. I hear boys are harder and I potty trained a son on all three of those. We ended up just putting him on the grown-up seat backwards and that worked great. My daughter who will be 18 months now is very distracted by all the bells and whistles on the fancy one that flushes and the pretty pictures that are on the one that goes directly on the toilet seat. Even though I have been through it once with a boy I too am nervous about training b/c she continues to say she has to go but then just sits there. If you don't care about spending money I say maybe let her pick out the one that she likes (of course that will be a fancy one which you are paying for whatever character is on the box). That might encourage her to go since she picked it out. With my daughter, I also started to use the easy-ups (or pull-ups) so that it is easier to take her to the potty every 20-30 minutes.

I went for a real simple kid sized potty that converts into the one that fits on the toilet with steps. It's been great. I started out with it in my bathroom so that everytime I went to the bathroom she would come and watch. It made it a lot easier for her when she was ready to start. She still uses it as a little potty. Not sure when we'll start putting it on the regular seat (or if we will). She likes being a big girl and emptying the little bin on her own and flushing it. Hey, as long as she's using the potty I don't mind!

Hi M., I am the mother of 4 and a veteran preschool teacher. THANK YOU for offering her the opportunity to "move forward". So many moms are stuck in "I don't want my baby to grow up" mode. I suggest the big potty with a seat and stairs. You will be in there with her anyway so the danger factor of falling is lessened. Bowel train FIRST. That is a sign that you can get them there in a hurry. The urinating is a more difficult task as it occurs more often. With anything that you do at home, remember that many things later will have to conform to "what we do at school". I have one little girl that likes to strip butt-naked when she goes. Many of the boys like to take off everything , including their shoes and socks, when going. These are nightmares for teachers with a room full of children and a possible fire drill or some other issue coming along at any moment. I have no problem with reading material but limit the time that you and the child sit there. 2 books is good, 7 books is silly. They soon figure out that this is a one-on-one reading time for them. I had my girls (2) trained at 20 mos. and I felt liberated after that. The boys were closer to 24 mos because they are boys and it just takes longer. All are wonderful, successful adults today with NO ILL EFFECTS from the potty training.
Good luck! Take your patience pill and enjoy the ride. You will look back on these days when she is 15 and trying to get her license and wish for these potty training days once again.
Cathy
Woodstock, GA

I have found that buying a small potty for the child that sits on the floor.And waiting until a child is much older and comfortable with sitting high up on a real one.Both my boys were initally scared to sit on the big one.Go with one that sits on the floor.

I would recommend a potty insert. You can get one with your daughter's favorite character and a stepping stool. These are really easy to use and NO cleaning after every use (I did clean it weekly, when I cleaned my bathrooms, though) !!! This is what I did with my now 3 years old daughter and everything went smoothly. I created my own potty chart, with pictures similar to her potty I downloaded from the internet, and gave her a sticker every time she used the potty. For outings I purchased the Dora disposable seat covers, which I found through Amazon.com. I don't recommend the portable potty inserts, because they won't always fit or be secure.

Hi M., I tried potty training my son at 18mo. It was a no go until he hit 2,then he was ready.However,I've heard girls are easier to potty train.So your daughter might be ready.We went w/the basic potty chair.We did buy stickers and decorated it,he enjoyed that.I also put an "X" w/permanent marker inside the bowl.Then when he would go to the potty,we would dump it into the 'big' toilet and he would flush it.The most difficult was the 'doo-doo',so we would read books on the potty until he went.That helped a great deal.We attempted the potty chair every 30min.We even had accidents.After a little while we went onto using the 'big' toilet w/his little seat on it.He's three now and it's great,he'll use the toilet any where. Of course,every where we go, he has to use the toilet,he has a fascination w/public potties.Just make sure you bring changes of clothes when you go out. I wish you lots of luck.You may feel at one time or another that she'll never catch on,but one day she'll suprise you and you'll both be on your way to NO diapers. Oh, I also used pull-ups at night until he started staying dry.Have fun. Take care.

i bought one that was a sit down on floor potty but converted into the sit on toilet kind. it was nice because the top popped out and sat on the toilet while the base became a step stool for the kids to climb on the toilet. shortly after potty training my kids wanted to do it on the big potty and it helped keep them from falling in. they both are tall and they liked being a "big" kid. they are both potty trained but use the base still today as a step stool to stand in front of the sink to brush their teeth.