Are Toilet Seats Right for my Child?

Seat or Potty?

Some parents may decide to skip the potty and instead have their child move straight to the toilet when they think their toddler is ready. While this may make clean up easier, it can also increase the time it takes for your child to get toilet trained. Using a potty or toilet seat are toilet training products and a part of the toilet training process.

Toilet training seats are either removable or fixed and there are benefits of both. See advantages and disadvantages below.

When to Use A Toilet Training Seat

The best time to move onto using a toilet training seat is after introducing the concept of sitting and doing a wee or poo on a potty. Using a toilet training seat can be a little trickier for your toddler than simply sitting on a potty initially.

This is usually because it means they will need to learn to always make the run to the same spot, and climb onto the toilet using either a toilet training stool or similar. Toilet seats being up or down can add to the complexity.

Advantages of a Toilet Training Seat

• No clean up afterwards, all wee and poo ends up in the toilet where it belongs, hopefully
• They learn to sit on the toilet from the start
• Removable toilet training seats are portable, so you can simply pack it away and take it with you whenever you and your toddler are visiting somebody else's home, or another public space.
• Fixed seats are stable and have less chance of coming loose, but are obviously not that portable
• Kids start off getting used to being on the toilet from the start and the process of washing hands in the basin and wiping from the toilet roll

Disadvantages of a Toilet Training Seat

• Portability within in the home.
• Your child may not be able to climb on and off the seat by themselves initially
• If there is a rush and the seat is not on, accidents can happen
• Going straight to toilet use can lengthen toilet training in certain cases

Toilet Training Stools

Another important thing to remember is to always leave a toilet training stool at the foot of the toilet. When it's time to go, explain to the child to step up on the potty stool and onto their toilet training seat. This may take a few attempts before your little one gets it right but once they get the hang of it they'll soon be able to do it without your help.

If you've got yourself a toilet training seat then it's time to learn how to toilet train your child.