Potty Chairs

Besides cost, does anyone have a recommendation on potty chairs? I know we'll need at least 2 and probably one extra at our house and at least one or two at grandma's (they stay there often). Can I just get the cheapos at Kmart/Walmart for $11-12 or is it better to get the cushie tushie or the flush lever or the singing potty?????

Mostly, I just want something that will work without spilling or a hassle with cleaning and that's easy to use for the kids. Don't even know if they're ready yet, but I thought we could at least start.

Any thoughts? TIA!

 

Someone bought us two of the 3-in-one potty/step stool seats (I think they are safety first)and I absoluty can't even use them. The buckets on them are so small that when they sit on them they can't even spread their legs enough to be able to actually pee in the potty. I went and bought the little Fisher Price potties that are shaped like a frog they were cheap and I LOVE them. The way they are shaped they pretty much strattle them so there is no way they can miss. They are easy to dump and no problem cleaning. I also love the little seats that sit right on top of the toilet. Those have worked really well for us, but my only bathroom is upstairs so I don't always want to get them up there so we have potties in the kitchen. Good Luck!

 

We're not into full up potty training yet, but I just bought 4 potties at IKEA and it was a total of $12!! I figured if they didn't like them, it was cheaper than buying a toy. So far though they fit perfectly on them and Jake even went once (with no splash). They are kind of small though so they may not be best for older kids. It was also super easy to clean. Just dumped the pee in the toilet, bleach sprayed and rinsed.

 

We have the cheaper versions, about $15 a piece (Thomas the Tank actually). Kevin will use it and can pee and even poop in it. The pots are small. I also bought a cushy potty seat for the toilet so they can use that if they want to also. That was about $10.

 

We have the Baby Bjorn pottys (potties?). They are a little more expensive than the cheapies, but I took the cheap ones from Target back, they had such a weird opening for my DS, and several parts (more to clean). The BBs are simple, only 2 parts, the base/back and the basin. Easy to clean, easy to sit on, easy for boys and girls to use and get on/off the potty. Worth the money.

 

we've got a Bjorn too. Now, my boys still want nothing to do with it except take the bowl out, put it on their head THEN they'll sit down... But maybe they'll get there. I'm thinking of getting the Bjorn potty ring that goes on the big potty- I think maybe they'll be more inclined to use the "real" one.

 

I like the Baby Bjorn ones a lot because they're so simple. No seams or hollows for the pee to get stuck in, easy to take apart with just one hand, easy to clean. The kids can even lift the insert out and dump their pee/poop in the toilet themselves. I've seen so many fancy potty chairs with padded seats, built-in stepstools, etc. that look so cute, but get covered with pee. I'd rather just have a simple chair and a separate stepstool for the sink.

We also have a Bjorn potty ring for the big toilet, and I recommend that too. It fits tightly so there's no sliding around, but is easy to put on & remove.

 

To offer another option, we never used the little potties. We taught them to use the regular toilet and had no problems. We had to teach them how to hold themselves up, but they caught on very quickly. No extra expense and no cleaning out little potties.

 

Simple is better. We had the musical potties and it didn't take them long to figure out how to force those potties to sing whenever they liked. I pulled the batteries after the 1000000000th time finding them with the toilet upside down pushing the button over and over or pouring water in the bowl to make it go.

As for just using the bathroom... I considered skipping the little potties after they were so willing to use a ring but my boys always poop at the same time and we have only one toilet on the main level. There were many times when it really helped to have little potties.

 

We just bought the smaller cushioned rings that go right onto your own toilet rather than getting potty chairs. They caught on pretty quick and it was much easier to go over other peoples' homes and stores without tugging a potty chair. They even sell ones that fold up and you can bring with you if you need to while out and about.

 

thanks ladies.... I was going to buy the cheapo 3 in 1 potty chairs but last time I was at the store, it occurred to me the bowl might be too small and what a nightmare that would be. I don't know that the twinkies are quite ready for potty training, but mommy needs to get ready

Any more suggestions, warnings, experiences? I like the idea of a very simple solution. Had to laugh at the singing potties that the kids turned upside down and made to make music. My kiddos would soooooooooo follow in those footsteps.... :gah: