Do you have advice on what potty chairs are most helpful? Simple? Or a chair with all the bells and whistles??
Help!
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Video Blog: What is the best potty chair?
Published Oct 30, 2009
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Okay, did you get any advice on your blog yet?
I’ve had 3 kids go through it, and one more going through it now. Here’s just some quick tips from me.
1. Yes, get the potty chair early. Even if it’s just for fun, it exposes the kid to the potty. Even better, get a dolly that wets so your child can play with the dolly “going pee pee” on the potty. Your daughter can then reward the dolly with candy (like M&m’s or smarties) or a special treat – like a fun toy.
2. When you potty train, get underpants that are like, 3 sizes too big. This is ONLY for training, and it helps the child learn how to pull her pants up and down without getting stuck getting the panties over her hips/bottom. Once she’s trained, you can get her whatever size she wears (or maybe one size bigger).
3. I would suggest the potty chairs that sit on their own on the floor, but also have the removable seat that can be attached to the grown-up potty. I used to have one that caught the pee/poop in a little bowl underneath but the bowl was kinda shallow so when my child would carry the bowl to the potty to empty it, inevitably it would spill. GROSS!!! The chair I have now has a bowl that’s a lot deeper. The Baby B’jorn one is very simple, but I don’t have any experience with it. I wonder, is the child supposed to empty it herself when she’s finished? It would be kinda cumbersome for a little girl to empty that big potty seat. ???
4. Whenever you train your daughter, use what motivates her. There is no one set way to do it. My 3 kids were all motivated differently. One, I used a special “reward bag” that had things in it like a short cartoon video, nail polish, a puzzle, a game, etc. and she could only have access to these things when she successfully used the potty. Then at the end of the day, we would put the things back in the bag so she could “win” them again the next day. My second, he was motivated by candy treats. My third, he was motivated by his sticker chart and he got to pick out the stickers and put them on the chart himself.
5. In OUR HOUSE, we are not afraid to use Pull-ups. I do this because I say, once potty training begins, “diapers are for babies and you’re not a baby anymore”. So we use pull-ups at bed-time or nap-time, and if we’re going somewhere that an accident would be a big problem (like sitting in a fabric chair at Grandma’s house). Otherwise we stay in underwear. Once we’re out of diapers we don’t go back to them no matter what because I think it sends mixed messages to the child. JUST MY OPINION.
I used the “Potty Training your Child in Less than a Day” method. We didn’t do the part about when your child has an accident to train them to clean it up, however. But That’s just our decision.
I absolutely abhor potty training. but it is a necessary evil of parenting! I hope you have good luck!!!