After writing about potty training my daughter I thought it would be a good idea to give an overview of the potty training seats we used, what worked well for us and what we wished was included.
Initially we introduced the potty training seat to my daughter in the living room. It sat in the corner and she was free to explore it. It has “flush action!” and sings a song when kids pee into it; or if you’ve got a curious toddler, when you pour a cup of water into it. Which you’ll have to do multiple times. I was glad that my daughter was excited for the extra bells and whistles on the potty training seat and they did a good job of making the potty much less scary and much more accessible to my toddler.
The bells and whistles of our potty seat were neat at first, but we turned them off pretty quickly. They did do a good job of engaging my daughter with the potty before she was actually using it, but after she understood what the potty was for, she wasn’t as excited about the potty “singing” while she tinkled.
Always up to date Potty Training Seat FAQ
This is the section I’ll keep updated as new information becomes available or if anyone reading has any questions that aren’t answered here – I’ll add them!
What is a Potty Training Seat?
A potty training seat is either a small plastic toilet shaped item that has a basin in it (called a pot). It is used to help toilet train children.
The other type of potty training seat is a hard plastic, or soft foam seat that fits onto your regular sized toilet. This is used when the child is comfortable with the potty and is ready to try sitting on a “big girl” toilet.
Why do I need a potty training seat?
Potty training is much easier with a potty training seat. It helps your child safely (read: germ free) explore what a toilet looks like and how to use it all in a play environment. It is portable enough to bring with you while traveling which helps with consistency – key when potty training.
It also helps make the transition to a regular sized toilet less scary and traumatic.
Why do I need a splash guard?
Splash guards are excellent at ensuring little boys are able to get their urine in the potty and not on the floor. It’s sometimes difficult to get them to aim, so the splash guard is an important aspect of the potty training seat.
What features should I look for when selecting a potty seat?
There are a wide variety of potty training seats available. Here is a list of features that we found helpful that were included with our potty seat:
- Plastic construction – cleaning up anything else seems crazy
- Removable pot with handle
- Handles (kids like to hold on while they go – at least mine did)
- Resemble a real toilet with a flush handle
- Removable potty ring for transition to regular toilet seat
- Splash guard (more for boys, but it’s still good to have)
The Best Potty Training Seats Available
I’ll go through five full sized potty training seats and two seats that fit on your regular sized toilets.
Full Potty Training Seats
Fisher Price Learn-to-Flush Potty
This potty training seat comes with all the bells and whistles. It has a sensor that sings a song when your child urinates into it, it has “flush action” and a removable pot with a handle. The pot was large enough that there won’t be any issues with overflow or spillage. The pot is easy to remove and only fits in one way, which is helpful at avoiding spills or accidents after your little one puts the pot back after cleaning. The plastic seat is removable and can be used on the normal sized potty. This is a great potty training seat and it’s the one we used. I would recommend it to friends without a second thought.
The Elmo potty training seat is similar to the fisher price one in that it has a lot of bells and whistles – with the added advantage of being branded with one of the most popular children’s characters of all time. This seat has a “flush action” handle and when you “flush” you hear encouraging phrases from Elmo himself. The pot is removable and easy to clean and is uniquely shaped so it only fits in one way. The plastic construction means easy cleaning and the seat part is able to be removed and used on a regular sized toilet.
This BabyBjorn potty training seat is very popular. BabyBjorn is high quality brands who have put a lot of thought into their product. That being said, this potty training seat is very stripped down. There is no flush handle or any other toddler enticing graphics or decorations. Some people enjoy how well this potty training seat fits in with the decor of their bathroom. This seat comes in many different colors, has a large removable pot and has plastic construction, so it’s easy to clean. The potty seat is a little larger than the others and in an oblong shape. The splash guard is one of the best on the market.
Fisher Price Potty Training Froggy
This is another stripped down potty training seat, but this one is very enticing for little ones. Cute and accessible Fisher Price has done a good job at making a very functional product that will also engage your child. This potty is a two piece with smooth edges and made of plastic (easy to clean). The seat has handles and the front comes up high enough that it is very easy to help your son keep his pee in the potty. The pot is deep and removable, but the seat is not usable on a regular toilet. For the price, this is a very good buy.
This is another stripped down potty training seat, but for less than half the price of most of the potty seats on here it’s an excellent buy. It does come in a variety of colors, has a splash guard and the pot is deep and removable. While it suffers from being a bit plain you could easily dress it up with some stickers.
Standalone potty training seats
Fisher Price Perfect Potty Ring
The perfect potty ring has a lot of extras. It comes with a hook to hang the seat on your toilet. It’s adjustable to fit on many different toilet seats and has excellent back support. It’s also got the splash guard. The potty seat is made of hard plastic and is not padded, but it is contoured for comfort. The potty seat is made to be quickly and easily installed and removed from the toilet seat.
Arm and Hammer Comfort Potty Seat
The toilet this potty is going into needs to be at least as big as these dimensions – 10″ long-ways, 8″ side-ways. This is not in the product description.
This potty seat excels at keeping the pee and poop in the potty. The shield works well for boys who are not sure how to aim while sitting, and the underside extends to ensure the urine goes into the potty and not under your seat. The handles are perfect for helping your little one steady themselves and even start getting on and off the potty independently. At 9.99 this is a very good value.