Potty chair or training step stool?

[BirdsAndBoats]

Any experience with the training step stool? Ours can easily climb into her high chair so we were thinking maybe we could save money and skip the potty chair for toilet training. But we also don’t want to make then process more difficult for her and ourselves so I was hoping for some feedback.

Would the step stool unnecessarily complicate potty training or does it get similar results?

We have a step stool like this and a potty. Started on the potty but very quickly was able to use the step stool for wees. Only uses a potty for poos though, and much easier to poo in the position you sit in on a potty.

DS1 hated the potty and just used the step stool. We had a foldable version you could place on toilets out and about.

How old/tall is your DC? My eldest was happy with with for wees from the get to, by as she isn't very tall her knees were quite low when sitting on the step one. She couldn't poo like that, so poos were in the potty until she was 3.5.

P.s. thats exactly the loo seat thingy a have. Bought it 4 years ago, went with us on holidayetc until DD was 5 and she still uses it at home for poos now at 6.5 (she's still quite short!). My younger ones now is it for wees. It lasts well, still looks pretty new despite lots of travel and cleaning

We replaced the toilet seat with a double seat - one normal size and one smaller size for toddler. The smaller one just pulls down and sits on top of the bigger seat. We have a little toddler step in the toilet.

She is 20mo and she was roughly 2.5ft during her last check up which was about a month and a half ago. She was a preemie (6 weeks early) so she’s a bit on the shorter side but developmentally she hits all of her milestones just fine according to her birthday.

We have both, the ikea potty is pretty cheap. I think it’s worth having both as pooing on the toilet seems more of a hurdle than a potty, both both kids have been keen to wee in the toilet pretty quickly.

I wouldn't get a bulky potty like the one you've shown but a small basic one is very handy indeed. We have a pourty which is good. DC1 was much more comfortable on the potty than on the toilet (even with a seat for it) and we'll see how DC2 gets on but I fully intend to use the pourty. It's easy to take places too.

I think it's easier to start on a potty for little ones. Mine was frightened of falling into the toilet for a while. I would get a small cheap one to start and then a step stool to reach the sink, that can be used for toilet later.

We never used a potty.
Had a family seat on the loo, and a double step - mine were (are!) petite and needed the height from the second step. Stool used for years for using the sink too.

Have potty trained 2 DC's and never used a potty, straight to seat and step on the toilet. Never had any issues out and about, although we do have a have a foldable potty (potette) in the car for long journeys as we do these fairly regulalrly.

Agree. DC1 was scared of sitting on the toilet for ages. Potty is more comfortable for poos as PPs have said. Plus you can whip out the potty pretty much anywhere - at the crucial potty training stage you don't have long to get them to a toilet!

The steps are great, I used them when I trained my eldest at 2 and half but at 20 months, the age I trained my youngest, I’d definitely use the little potty. Being reliant on you to prompt/take/lift isn’t really potty trained so if she’s going to properly get it then you need to set her up to be independent and I would think that you have the best chance of success with the small potty for now.

The baby bjorn loo seats are brilliant and work really well as you can secure them and they don't wobble, plus easily transported as they're flat. We had one in each loo and a small ikea step.

We started with a normal cheap potty then moved to a step for the toilet.
What does the mini toilet do?

There is nothing really special about the mini toilet. I read a potty training book that said to try to get a toilet with as little bells and whistles as possible because you don’t want the baby to think it’s a toy. Funnily enough while I was shopping this was the only one that I could find at the time that didn’t sing a song or light up. But @Pashazade mentioned the bjorn toilet and now I’m looking at that one. It looks much more comfortable and stable.

Thanks for all the feedback it really helps. I think we’ve decided to go with a training potty after taking her age into consideration. I did not even consider the possibility of fear of falling in. I think that’s reason enough to stick with a little potty for now. Might get the step stool when she’s a little bigger and more confident!

While she’s very good at undressing and communicating her needs for her age DH made a solid point about the “ten second count down” from the time that they tell you to the time that they wet themselves and we decided that the extra step of having to climb up the step stool this young might not only frustrate us but her also. So we’ve decided that simplicity might be best for now.

Can I ask why you're looking at "mini toilet" type designs rather than a simple potty?
Personally I think it needs to be small and light so it's as easy as possible to move around the house as needed and can also be taken with you when you are out and about. However, I guess you might want to get one for home and a a smaller one for out and about? We had a potty upstairs that stayed in the bathroom and a small potty downstairs that we kept in the (very small) downstairs loo but also grabbed and took out and about with us. It was a pourty which I really recommend. Review here www.madeformums.com/reviews/waterly-bottom-products-pourty-potty-review/

well funnily enough it was the most simple one available at the time. I’m in canada so we’re going through some really strange supply shortages at the moment. 🥴 but we ultimately decided to go with this one so I agree with you! I did like your recommendation. I think it’s a very sensible option. ☺️

We went straight to the loo seat and step (those double ones are fab, though we started with a more shaped one).

We did try a potty but she'd stand up and it would go with her, tried a couple of different shapes and it kept happening, and she was happy in the loo so we just skipped the potty.