When you’re getting started potty training there is an absolutely intense amount of different products available and it can make it all confusing, especially for a parent doing this for the first time. We’re here to show you how to make sure that you get the right one for you and your child, we’ll start with some quick tips on picking the proper type of potty and follow up with some of the best products on the market.
Which Potty?
While there’s a ton of products on the market, potties will generally come in one of two different configurations:
- Stand Alone Potty: These will be slightly more expensive, but they can work quite well. The whole thing is self-contained, so all you’ll need to do is dump it. They’re quite advantageous since your child will have their own place to sit while you’re going to the bathroom and you’ll find that they’re also much easier to use for your child.
- Seat Reducers: These will fit over your existing toilet lid and reduce the side so that your child can safely use the toilet. They can be a bit of a handful for smaller children, but if your child is a bit older when you begin potty training then it may be the right choice for you.
After you decide on which type of potty you want to go with, there will still be a ton of choices to make based on the differences between models. Apart from it being high-quality plastic and smooth, you might want to consider the following qualities carefully before deciding on a final purchase.
- Size: Your kid will need to be able to comfortably sit on it without it being too small or too large. For stand-alone potties, you may also want to consider the size of the whole item for things like the floor space of your bathroom and eventual storage if you decide to keep it.
- Splash Guard: Splash guards come in handy, particularly with boys. You want something which will still let your child sit comfortably but reduce the spillage as much as possible.
- Ease of Emptying: A potty that’s hard to empty will be one that you’ll quickly grow to dislike. Something which will easily let you dump it is more than ideal, it’s pretty much necessary if you want to keep things going smoothly during the whole potty training process. It doesn’t really help you if your child avoids an accident and then you spill it all over the floor after all.
- Color and Look: Your toddler will feel better with a potty they like. Pick one in their favorite color or decorated in a manner they like. You can take things one step further and let them do some decorating with stickers as well if you’d like.
- Extra Features: While a bit extraneous, some children will enjoy some of the special features available like flashing lights or sound effects. They’re definitely not necessary, your attitude is more likely to influence your child than any amount of electronic gizmos.
It’s not really a lot of information to take in, but you should keep it all in mind as we take a look at some of the best potties around. Each of these was chosen to be one of the best in their “class”, so without further ado let’s take a look and help you find the perfect potty.
Individual Reviews
Best Toilet Training Potty/Chair Hybrids
These handy potties will also double as a chair for your little one when closed. This can make things comfortable for them before they even get to do their business.
Summer Infant Lil’ Loo Potty
The Summer Infant Lil’ Loo is a solid choice for a potty chair. It comes with a splash guard and in a variety of colors, one of which is sure to keep your child interested. One nice thing is that the splashguard only fits in one way, so your child can’t turn it around and place it back in if they’re playing with it.
It’s also quite easy to clean and resistant to staining as long as you keep the insert cleaned regularly. They come in at a bit under $10, making the Lil’ Loo a fantastic option for those on a budget, and despite the low price, it’s a quality option that won’t leave you disappointed.
BABYBJORN Potty Chair
This stand-alone potty from BabyBjorn is another great option for those looking to get their little one toilet trained. You’ll find that it’s extremely easy to empty and clean as well, so you can avoid any further messes as time goes on, and the splash guard will keep little boys from getting pee all over the floor.
The high backrest is also nice for children who might be on it for an extended period. It’s a bit pricier than the Summer Infant option, but it’s made of really high-quality plastic and certainly one of the best potty chairs on the market. You can’t go wrong with this one.
The Best Toddler Toilets
These potties resemble toilets strongly and most of them have a mimic flushing action. This can help your child to get the hang of things even more quickly.
Summer Infant My Size Potty
If your child’s insistence on potty training is to be able to use the toilet, but they’re not quite big enough for the porcelain throne just yet then Summer Infant makes a realistic-looking toilet that’s second to none for replicating the feel and look. It even has a handle that makes a flushing sound when it gets pulled.
The bowl is removable, making it easy to dump and clean, and it even comes with a wipe dispenser so you can start things off on the right foot immediately. While it won’t appeal to all children, for those it does it’s a fantastic option.
Fisher-Price Learn-to-Flush Potty
If you’re wanting to teach your child good bathroom habits, but still want something quite pleasing to the eye Fisher-Price makes a fantastic, cute little potty that can help you out. It comes in the shape of a normal toilet but has some plastic features to make it stand out a little bit and be more appealing to toddlers.
This one sings a little song when the bowl’s sensors can tell it’s getting wet. It’s easy to disconnect as well if you find the noise to be unpleasant, and the option is quite nice to have. Once you’re ready to move to the toilet, you can also remove the seat and keep your child with what they’re familiar with. If you want something eye-catching, this is the potty to go for.
Summer Infant Step by Step Potty
If you want something to accompany your child all along their potty training journey, this option from Summer Infant has you covered. While it lacks some of the electronic features of the others, it might be the most practical stand-alone potty around in the end.
The seat can be removed and used on an adult toilet when you’re ready for the next step, but even better you can use the potty itself as a stepping stool so that your child can easily get up. This potty does it all, in some respects, and can get your child all the way along without the need to purchase anything else.
The Best Potty Training Seat
These are the size reducers. Place them directly on the toilet seat, lift your kid up, and encourage them to go. They can be quite handy even after your child has gotten used to it and grown a little but not enough to fill a normal toilet seat.
Cozy Greens® Potty Seat
If you’ve decided to go with a seat reducer, you could do a lot worse than this model. The seat itself is perfectly sized for your toddler, and it’s non-slip which is quite important for those of us who don’t have well-developed motor skills yet.
It also comes with a suction cup for hanging, which means you can easily remove it and keep it safe while you need to use the toilet yourself. The seat itself is quite soft and padded well, and sure to keep your kid comfortable if they have to spend an extended period of time on the pot. IT comes in a little pricey, but the comfort and convenience are well worth it.
Potty Training Seat
A generic model of the Cozy Greens option, it offers pretty much the same luxury as the above with the added benefit of coming in at a couple of bucks cheaper. It has a safe, padded gripping seat and fits easily on the wall to get it out of the way when it’s time for the adults to use the toilet.
It also comes with a free potty training chart, which parents are sure to appreciate if they plan on using one.
The Best Portable Potties
You can’t have your kids at home all the time, and you might want to invest in something you can take on the go. These are quite handy when you’re on the road.
OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty for Travel
If you’re planning on being on the road, a portable potty is exactly what you need. You can use it with disposable bags while you’re on the go by extending the legs, or use it as a standard size reducing seat which offers quite a bit of versatility for the child new to potty training.
The included travel bag is a bonus, allowing you to take it with you discreetly amongst the rest of the things your toddler might need. The price is definitely right for this multi-functional potty and you’ll be delighted at just how easy it is to use.
The Best Potty Seat With Ladder
A potty seat with a ladder can help you to get your child acquainted well with the toilet extremely quickly since they’ll basically be using it on their own from the start.
Mommy’s Helper Contoured Cushie Step Up
If you’re looking for a safe and easy way for your child to get up to the seat, this seat reducer comes with a built-in ladder which will make things a snap for the both of you. Your kid can feel more self-reliant when it comes to potty time since they’ll be able to get up there themselves, and you won’t have to lift them up every time.
The ladder and pad are both non-slip, keeping your child safe while they use it. If you’re looking for a way to make sure that your child can go by themselves right from the start, then you needn’t look much further.
The Best Toddler Urinal
Boys will be boys, and sometimes that means peeing on something while standing up. A training urinal can help them to get the hang of things without spreading urine all over your clean bathroom.
Joy Baby® Generation 2 Boy Urinal Potty Toilet Training
Boys like to pee standing up, from the time they’re trained and well into their old age. The young ones can also make a mess of your bathroom while they’re getting the hang of becoming whiz-shots with their stream.
With this child’s urinal, they can get their aiming practice in without causing a mess every time. It even has a built-in spinning wheel so that they can focus on making sure their aim is in the right place. Target practice and fewer messes are built into one package with this product.
Conclusion
As you can see, there’s something out there for almost everyone and you definitely don’t have to break the bank to get a quality potty for your child’s training. Any of these are sure to get the job done and do it well, but we leave the details you want up to you and your child. Pretty soon you won’t even need it at all, and for these products, that’s really the end goal.