Friday, September 18, 2009

Potty training post #1, tools

Thumper will be 2 this month and I can say that she's day potty trained. I was asked about potty training the other day and realized how I have a lot of opinions about it. So I thought I'd jot them all down into different posts.

The firs thing is tools. I thought I was one of those people who was cheap and just have one potty. We have 4 or 5 now. And I've seen other models at my nanny share. I havn't tried all the ones out there, but based on what I have tried and seen, I know what I'd look for.

1. Ease of sitting child down w/o taking off pants.
Very important when you're a lazy parent! Apparently some of them require that you straddle. This is not too bad when you potty train later. But if you're holding a really tiny baby, I think it's harder.

2. Ease of dumping.
I love the Bjorn but that would be my one complaint, it's totally gross when you dump it cuz of its shape. I love my Chinese potty because it has a handle and I just pour.

3. Doesn't tip over.
I'm sure most American models don't tip over when babies stand. But something to keep in mind. They should have a pretty heavy base so the butt doesn't take the pot with them.

4. Easy to clean.
All toilets are easy to clean right? Well. I think it depends on where you're cleaning it. If you're like me, you use the sink to fill it with water. If a toilet is too big, it's a bit hard to do that.

5. Appropriate size & height
I read somewhere that it's easier for kids to poop when they don't have to dangle their feet. This kind of makes sense. You wouldn't want to poop on a super tall toilet would you? On the other hand, I also don't like the ones with the little etty bitty pot. What happens if you're a boy? You'd have to scoot back a lot to aim right. It just doesn't seem to have enough space to do both #1 & #2. Though I'm sure people manage somehow.

Anyways, in order of when we acquired them.

1. Potty from Taiwan.

This is the exact same potty I was trained on as a kid. It is very different from American potties. We actually have 2 of these.
Pros: easy for parents to plop child on. Comes in 3 sizes. SUPER cheap! Has handles.

Cons: Doesn't have enough weight on the bottom so kid likes to take it with her when she finally learned how to stand up from it. Not low enough for it to be comfortable. I wondered if it made it harder for Thumper to learn to poop as she had no leg support when she was young. But she learned.

2. Potty from LA Chinatown.
Similar from Taiwanese potty, except newer design. The base is weighted somehow. It's lower so easier for kids to sit. I like this one better over all compared to #1, except it was wider so a bit harder to put under the sink to put water in. Pros and cons similar to #1.

3. Bjorn
We got this when we were seriously potty training. Thumper just would not learn how to poop. I thought it was because the potty wasn't low enough so she had no leg support. But I only used it once and then just gave it to nanny to use when we do nanny share because I hated trying to figure out how to dump since I was so used to having handles. And it turned out that kids do just learn how to poop regardless of whether or not the potty is low profile.

Pro: Nice simple design. Low profile so easy for kids to sit down and get up. Really easy to carry for travel.
Con: hard to dump poop because of its shape. It has a little rise on the front which to me makes it harder to plop kids down.

Our nanny share child wouldn't go poop except in this potty. Probably due to its low-profile design.

4. Pottette
A traveling potty. It's basically one with fold out handles. You can either make it into a regular potty or put it over public toilets.
I think this is a really good tool for when you go out. It comes w/ a plastic bag lined with really thin liners (or make your own w/ pads). But the handles aren't really too long so if your kid has to poop in it it's kind of gross, as the poop will just smear. But really great option for public toilets. Though we've just been holding Thumper over the toilet. I find the sitting on public toilet thing just too gross, esp w/ a toddler who likes to touch everything. But we still use it once in awhile.

5. Potty insert
Got a cheap one at Target with handles on the side. The kid never used the handle part. Like the cushy seat. But I'm seriously looking for one of those real potty inserts, the ones that look like smaller toilet seat. It's a real pain to have to take the thing off when you need to use the toilet. The seat comes with a ring on the bottom to prevent splash, but when you take it out, you take the splash with you usually. Kind of gross.
I started Thumper on the potty insert when she was really young, before 1. But she always hated it till recently. I think it's the whole lack of balance thing. So potty inserts are probably better for when they get older and can balance better.

6. Other toilets
Our friends have the bjorn and potty inserts as well, and many have the pottett. My friend also has one of those that converts to a step stool. They only used it a few times before converting to using the Bjorn and potty insert. It's now just a step stool. I think that one was not useful.

She has yet another one that she got from her mom. It was really cute animal shape. But totally useless because it was in the shape of a turtle and the turtle head was in the way. This means that for a little baby, they had to take off everything in order to use the potty. Totally useless as well.

So, if I had to do it all over again, I'd go w/ the potty I got in Chinatown because it's cheap, it has a handle, and it's sturdy enough. I'd get the bjorn as a second potty if I were training really young since it's low profile. And then I'd get a toilet insert as soon as I can because it's very nice when you just flush!

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