Are you ready for your child to be out of diapers? Are you worried about how to start potty training? Do you want your child to be able to go potty with minimal help? The best potty chair can make all the difference in helping potty train your child!
There are a million tips and tricks out there when it comes to how to potty-train your toddler. Your timing has a lot to do with your success, so it’s important to look for signs of readiness. Some kids are just ready sooner than others while some need a little more time.
Beyond figuring out when the best time is for your child, though, I’ve found that the potty chair or potty seat you choose can greatly affect your success. You want something that is comfortable, convenient, and gets your child excited about potty-training! We are certain the perfect option for you is in our list of the top ten best potty chairs below!
Potty Chair | Type of Potty | Splashguard | Price |
---|---|---|---|
BABYBJORN Potty Chair | Freestanding | Yes – integrated | $$ |
Fisher-Price Potty Training Seat | Freestanding | Yes – optional | $ |
Alayna Potty Seat | Toilet seat attachment – with ladder | Yes – integrated | $$$ |
Summer Infant My Size Potty | Freestanding | Yes – removable | $$ |
Mayfair NextStep Toilet Seat | Toilet seat attachment | No | $$$ |
Foryee Frog Potty | Freestanding (urinal) | No | $ |
Munchkin 3-In-1 Potty | Freestanding | Yes – integrated | $$ |
Grimars Travel Potty Seat | Toilet seat attachment | No | $ |
Mommy’s Helper Contoured Cushie Step Up | Toilet seat attachment – with ladder | No | $$ |
Fisher-Price Perfect Fit Potty Ring | Toilet seat attachment | Yes – integrated | $$ |
What is a potty chair exactly?
A potty chair is simply a product that is used to make it easier for a toddler or small child to use the bathroom. Actual potty chairs are free-standing potties that your child sits on and uses as a toilet. There are also potty seat options that go over your existing toilet to make it easier for your child to use.
What makes a potty chair necessary?
It’s important to get either a potty chair or potty seat for your child because the full-size toilet just isn’t a viable option for a potty-training child. Toddlers are much to small to comfortably and efficiently used full-sized toilets. Comfort and safety is very important, so a good potty chair or potty seat option is vital to efficient and effective potty-training.
At what age should I buy a potty chair for my child?
There is no specific age at which you should start potty-training. So, when you should buy a potty chair can vary. Most parents wouldn’t start potty-training earlier than 18 months and most wait no longer than 3 years. Anytime during or before that period is a great time to go ahead and purchase your potty chair. Having the potty around for a while before attempting to potty-train can actually help your child get used to their potty and find it less intimidating.
How to Choose from Different Types of Potty Chairs
When picking a potty chair for your child, the main consideration you will have is simply the type of chair. However, there is actually a lot that goes into choosing a type. There are two main categories of potty chairs, but there are many considerations within the two main categories. First off, you’ll need to choose between a freestanding potty chair and a toilet seat attachment, commonly called a potty seat.
Freestanding Potty Chairs
A freestanding potty is exactly what it sounds like. It is a small potty that sits on the floor completely independent of the actual toilet. These have the benefit of keeping the regular toilet free for adults like yourself as well as making it super easy for your child to use the potty with minimal help.
Potty chairs also tend to take up more space, though and also mean you will have an additional transition from the potty chair to the actual toilet once your child is ready to move on from the potty chair. If you choose a freestanding potty chair, you will also want to consider the following:
- Height – Shorter potty chairs are easier for young potty trainers, while taller ones last longer for bigger/older kids. Some potty chairs may even be height adjustable.
- Footprint – How much space the potty takes up determines whether it will work well for your home. Wider potty chairs may also work better for larger toddlers.
- Special features – Some potty chairs have special features like realistic flushing sounds, arm rests, and splashguards to improve functionality and value.
- Cleaning – Potty chairs require very regular cleaning to stay safe and sanitary. So, looking for options that are easy to clean with minimal cracks and crevices is definitely ideal.
See our complete review of The Best Gliders for Your Nursery.
Toilet Seat Attachments (Potty Seats)
The other type of potty option for potty-training is toilet seat attachments. These are commonly referred to simply as potty seats as you will see throughout our guide and reviews. Potty seats are not freestanding, but instead, they fit over top of your existing toilet. They allow your child to use the actual toilet safely and comfortably.
This can be a helpful option because it means your child is going directly in the toilet instead of in a separate bowl like with freestanding potties. This does make clean-up simpler, of course. It also means that your child won’t have to transition to the regular toilet after the initial potty-training phase. You can simply stop using the potty seat once your child is big enough. Consider the following when shopping for a potty seat for your child:
- Handles – Many potty seats feature handles to help your child gain and retain stability while using the potty and while getting up and down from the toilet.
- Ladder – Some potty seat options come along with a built-in step ladder attachment. This allows greater independence as your child can easily get up and down from the toilet on their own.
- Stability – Stability is a very important safety feature for potty seats. Look for options that provide this in the way that they fit onto your toilet.
- Size – Potty seats are often more compact options, but their size still varies greatly. Some options can fold up almost completely flat and fit into your purse or diaper bag, while others fold up to be leaned against a wall between uses.
1BABYBJORN Potty Chair – Best Compact Potty Chair
BABYBJORN Potty Chair – Best Compact Potty Chair
- Rubber bottom edging
- Ergonomic design
- Multiple color options
- Splashguard
- BPA-free
- Safety tested
- Easy to clean
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BABYBJORN is a really fantastic brand of cleverly designed baby items that bring minimalistic designs to highly functional products. This amazing potty chair from BABYBJORN is a very popular choice and is our pick for the best compact potty chair!
As can be expected, this is one of the more expensive potty chair options on our list. It isn’t the most expensive choice of those that we reviewed here, but it is pricier than most. Even so, it is still a valuable choice that is well-worth considering. There is so much to love about this potty chair from its smooth contouring lines and multitude of color choices to the splashguard and rubber lining. It also happens to be nice and compact to save space while still providing your child with their own separate potty chair to easily use. Check Pricing and Availability
Here is our pick for the best potty chair overall! This wonderful option comes from the very well-loved and well-known brand Fisher-Price! We are sure you will love this convenient and well-designed potty chair choice! The easy-to-remove, one-piece bowl is the perfect addition to make the upkeep on this potty incredibly easy. After your little one uses the potty, you simply lift the bowl out of the potty with the convenient handle. You can then easily empty the bowl and clean it by wiping it out or rinsing it with water.
There is one problem with the design of this potty. It has more of an armchair-style design with the way the armrests are attached. This means that for slightly larger kiddos, it can be hard to comfortably spread their legs on the potty. This is our personal favorite for the best overall potty chair because of its more affordable price and unique design. The adjustable height is definitely a favorite while the easy-to-clean one-piece bowl and secure high back are awesome bonus features! Check Pricing and Availability
Now here is a great potty seat option! This potty seat is a lot different than the actual potty chairs that we have discussed so far. Instead of being an independent structure that sits on the floor, this is a seat that goes over top of your existing toilet. This option comes from Alayna and is our pick for the best potty seat with handles! The handles give your child a place to hold onto as they climb the step up onto the toilet. They can continue to hold them while on the toilet for further added stability. The step itself is specially textured to provide a good grip and help prevent slipping. The seat is even super easy to lift off of the toilet and fold up in-between uses.
Most potty options for your child come either completely assembled or with very little assembly required. This potty seat comes with quite a few different pieces. The assembly is not difficult, but it does take a lot more time than most of your options. If you are looking for a great option that fits over your existing toilet, this could definitely be it! It is easy to use, has lots of great features, and gives your child independence and confidence that they might not have as much of with other potty options. Check Pricing and Availability
Of all the potties we’ve tried with our kids, this is undoubtedly our all-time favorite! My toddlers, my husband, and I all adore this cute little potty. We even get compliments from guests that see it in our bathroom. It’s the My Size Potty from Summer Infant, and it’s our pick for the best potty training seat! This is also a highly functional and very well-designed option. The seat features a contoured design that increases comfort while further adding to the realistic look and feel. The seat lifts to allow you to remove the one-piece bowl for easy clean-up. It also has a flushing handle on the back that triggers realistic flushing sounds! This not only helps teach your child to flush when they are done, but also provides them with an exciting reward when they use their potty.
As if this potty chair didn’t already have an amazing value, Summer Infant has also included a built-in wipes compartment. The compartment opens and closes with a soft hinge, so there’s no worry about pinching little fingers. My son loves refilling the wipes compartment and having the opportunity to practice wiping himself! This potty chair also has a removable splashguard. It’s nice that you can choose to use the splashguard as needed or take it off to keep it out of the way. However, it can be difficult to keep the splashguard attached when you want to keep it on. It falls off very easily – sometimes even during use. This is easily the cutest potty out there. Miniature versions of adult things are always adorable! The fact that it also works well, has a sturdy design, and multiple special features gives it a hard-to-beat value and makes it a great potty-training option! Check Pricing and Availability
Here is the best potty chair for big toddlers. Sometimes with larger toddlers, the typical potty chair or seat can be too small, short, or uncomfortable. This NextStep Toilet Seat from Mayfair is the perfect potty option for those bigger toddlers. Unfortunately, this is by far the most expensive option we’ve reviewed. You’ll also need to consider that even big toddlers may struggle to get onto the toilet without any extra help. This won’t be a good option for early potty trainers, but it is perfect for older kiddos. It is a great space-saver, super easy to use, and it means you never have to empty or clean the bowl of a potty chair! Check Pricing and Availability
Next up is the Foryee Frog Potty Urinal! This is an option that has taken the potty-training market by storm by providing a super affordable and unique way to help potty train little boys! There are a couple of downsides to the Foryee Frog Urinal, though. First of all, it obviously won’t work for little girls at all. Secondly, it won’t work for even little boys when they need to do more than just pee in the potty. So, essentially, when they need to go #2, they will need an additional potty option. The extremely affordable price of this option helps make it worthwhile anyways, though! If you are looking for something more unique for your little boy, this fun urinal can be a great choice. It won’t work for anything other than little boys peeing, but it’s also extremely affordable. It can really help to speed up the potty-training process for little boys! You may be interested in The Best Baby Walker. Check Pricing and Availability
Here is our favorite for the best portable potty! This option comes from Munchkin and is very well-designed and innovative! It’s the best portable potty thanks to it’s clever and compact design and its closing lid that most of our potty picks do not have. While the 3-in-1 functionality is great and adds serious value, you do need to be a little careful with it. When using the potty seat on top of the regular toilet, you should be aware that it might not be quite as sturdy as similar options. If you are worried about stink or just want a great portable potty option, this choice from Munchkin is perfect! It is well-designed, has multiple functions, and is super compact with a closing lid! Check Pricing and Availability
From Grimars comes the best travel potty seat! Rather than being a free-standing potty, this is a potty seat similar to the one we reviewed from Alayna. The big difference is that this potty seat is extremely compact, making it great for travel! Smaller children can use this potty seat, but they will need help to get onto and stay on the toilet. It is still worthwhile as a great travel option, though! This option can be used at home, but it isn’t the best option for constant use. It does, however, have an amazing value when using it for on-the-go use and traveling. It provides an easy potty solution wherever your child needs to go potty outside of the home! Check Pricing and Availability
Here is another great potty seat option that is great for use inside the home. This is Mommy’s Helper Contoured Cushie Step Up. It’s our pick for the best potty seat with ladder! This potty seat is very nice, sturdy, and well-designed. It also happens to be more expensive than most of the options on the list with only one other potty choice being pricier than this one. This option is pretty similar in design to the Alayna potty seat. However, this one features a cushioned seat and easier assembly. On the other hand, the Alayna is more affordable and has more adjustability. Both are excellent potty seat options! Check Pricing and Availability
Finally, rounding off our top ten potty recommendations is the best potty seat for toilet! This is an excellent option from Fisher-Price called their Perfect Fit Potty Ring! While this option does save space compared to potty seats with ladders, it doesn’t provide a good way for toddlers to easily climb up onto the toilet. For most toddlers, you’ll either need to help them up and down from the toilet or at least provide an additional step stool. For a compact potty seat solution with some really nice features, look no further than the Perfect Fit Potty Ring. It fits great on almost any toilet, is easy to store and clean, and has extra features for comfort and stability. Are you searching for Best Toddler Shoes? Read our Mom’s Guide and Reviews. There is no doubt that you definitely want to invest in a good potty chair option for your child. It really does make a huge difference in potty-training success. Your child’s comfort and safety as well as your convenience will be greatly affected by your choice. Most people should have no problem finding an excellent option for their child right here in our guide!
Fisher-Price Potty Training Seat – Best Potty Chair Overall
Alayna Potty Seat – Best Potty Seat with Handles
Summer Infant My Size Potty – Best Potty Training Seat
Mayfair NextStep Toilet Seat – Best Potty Chair for Big Toddlers
Foryee Frog Potty – Best Potty Training Urinal
Munchkin 3-In-1 Potty – Best Portable Potty
Grimars Travel Potty Seat – Best Travel Potty Seat
Mommy’s Helper Contoured Cushie Step Up – Best Potty Seat with Ladder
Fisher-Price Perfect Fit Potty Ring – Best Potty Seat for Toilet
Final Words on Potty Chairs