You’ve seen it: The curiosity piquing as your toddler eyes your toilet. Maybe your child has explicitly asked about the potty, or maybe you’re simply ready to pounce at the opportunity to start phasing out diapers. You know there’s no specific age to start potty training, and you also know that your child’s time is now.
Potty training isn’t known as the most exciting part of parenting. It is guaranteed to be messy and can really test your patience, but with a few good potty training tips, some assistance from encouraging potty training apps and the right equipment, it will be a rewarding process for both your child and yourself.
The parenting and product experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute test all of the must-haves for babies, toddlers and children, from diapers to toys and everything in between. To find the best chairs and seats for potty training, we considered ease of use, cleaning features and overall design along with personal experiences and real user feedback. These are the top potty training chairs and seats to buy:
Which is better: A potty chair or potty seat?
A potty chair is a standalone unit on the floor, while a potty seat goes over an actual toilet. Choosing between the two comes down to preferences — both your toddler’s and your own. If your toddler is reluctant to use an adult-size toilet, a child-size chair will likely feel more inviting, whereas a seat might work better for a child eager to achieve Big Kid status.
Realistically, however, your child will learn to use the toilet however you teach them, so in this case, your comfort matters too. Consider your space, cleaning preferences, and your own nerves. Here are a few things to consider:
- Where will you primarily be potty training? Potty chairs are popular at the start of training because toddlers can't always make it to the toilet when they're first learning. They give you the flexibility of potty training from anywhere in the house and even moving from room to room. That being said, these options typically don't fold down for easy storage, and so will require a dedicated space until your child is ready to graduate to the toilet. Potty seats, on the other hand, sit on top of your regular toilet seat to make it toddler-friendly. Potty seats are easily stored — most come with hooks or feet to ease the transition back to your full-size toilet seat — but you’ll also want to budget space for a small stool to help your child reach the toilet.
- Are you prepared to clean a potty chair after every use? Potty chairs require bowl cleaning after each use, while potty seats have the benefit of utilizing your regular household plumbing, making post-potty cleanup as easy as a flush. If you are ready to add some distance between yourself and your child’s bowel movements, a potty seat might be a better fit. Pro tip: If your child prefers a potty chair but you don’t want to clean the bowl of the chair every time your child uses it, try using travel liners, such as the TidyTots Disposable Potty Chair Liners, in your at-home chair. This will make clean-up a bit more similar to changing a diaper.
- How do you feel about your child sitting on the toilet? Potty training isn’t just a milestone for your toddler — it’s an adjustment for parents, as well. Eventually, you’re going to see your child excited to go to the bathroom on their own, calling for you only when they’re ready for a wipe. If you worry about your child sitting high above the ground and leaning over to reach the toilet paper, a chair fit to their size might soothe your potty-training nerves.