The Best Potty Training Seat

Our Top Pick for 2018: Babyjorn Toilet Trainer
Read our full review.

Potty training can be stressful for both parents and their little loved ones, so finding a seat that will reduce the stress that seems to be implicit to this process should be one of your goals as a parent. Fortunately, there are a lot of options on the market for parents looking to train their children at this important step in their development. Unfortunately, with so many types to choose from, the whole process can be confusing. To make it a little easier, we’ve compiled a list of four exceptional potty training seats for you to consider using during your child’s potty training. Three of these are some of the best in terms of quality, and the final entry has some great features, but is a more budget-conscious potty seat. To help out in this delicate process, we’ve also included some pre-purchase considerations that will hopefully educate you about your potty training options as well.

Perennially focused on the bond between parent and child, Babybjorn, the producer of our Gold Pick potty seat, was founded in the 1970s by new father Björn Jakobson. Since its inception, Babybjorn has established many now iconic early-childhood devices, including the famous Hjärtenära, or “close to heart” baby carrier. Now considered one of the top baby product manufacturing companies in the world, this company has since displayed its expertise in items ranging from car seats to travel cribs, and of course, toilet training seats.

Sporting a simplistic oval design, this potty seat has a rounded indentation designed to ergonomically fit your child’s bottom comfortably. The rear of this indentation is also positioned in such a way that proper posture habits while using the toilet will be promoted in your baby; a habit that will last a lifetime. There are no sharp edges to add stress to your child’s learning experience, and the whole seat is very easy to clean. The plastic is strong, yet soft enough that your child won’t want to avoid going to the bathroom on it. It measures about 15.7 inches from front to back, 11.5 inches from side to side, and about 4 inches from the bottom of the seat area to the top of the splash guard. As your child might heft this around to put it away, it only weighs a few ounces.

Feature-wise, this is a great toilet trainer, as you might expect from a Gold Pick product. On the underside of the rear of the seat, there is a large cog that you can turn. When you turn this cog, the small arms that are situated along the center section of the seat spread inward or outward, depending on how you turn it. These arms will help the potty seat grip the sides of your toilet seat and ensure that it’s safely moored for your little one’s usage. The material of a toilet can be dangerous because of how hard it is, so knowing that your child’s potty seat is slip-resistant can really help your ease of mind.

For boys, this toilet seat also incorporates a splash guard into its construction. For this seat, the splashguard is semi-hollow, so that if little sprays go a bit awry, neither child nor floor will be doused with pee; instead, the liquid waste will hit the inwardly curved surfaces and fall safely into your toilet bowl. This is a great feature on this seat, as with some potty seats, the splash guard is solid or curved so that sometimes there is a little bit of splash back, though your floors will be safe.

Another great feature for either boys or girls is how easy this toilet trainer is to remove and store. As mentioned before, it’s light, so your child will have no trouble taking it from place to place. Secondly, BabyBjorn has included a ring at the rear of the seat so that it can be safely and conveniently stored on a hook that you can position beside the toilet.

This toilet trainer is available in two colors, white with black accents and white with red accents. On Amazon, this is a very well received product, as you might expect from one of our Gold Picks. Of over a thousand reviews, this potty trainer has a positivity ratio of 91 percent. This takes into account four star and five star ratings and the overall consensus in these ratings is that this seat is easy for young children to use and put away. Here is one five star testimonial:

“My 2 year old son and I love this potty seat! It is EASY to clean, fits securely on all toilets, even elongated, and my son can put it on and take it off by himself.”

Arm and Hammer has been an iconic producer of many types of products in the U.S. since the 1860s. With such a long and prestigious career spent producing items as varied as cat litter, deodorant, and baking soda, you might be surprised to know that Arm and Hammer also has a very successful potty seat. This seat is perfect for the ongoing development of your child’s bathroom habits and also is designed to clean up easily.

Let’s face it, potty training is a messy business; especially when your little one is first setting out on their journey to bathroom independence. Waste is not only nasty, but it can house dangerous germs that can harm your child’s health and development. Recognizing a need for a potty seat that is easy to clean and easy to deodorize, Arm and Hammer decided to produce this toilet training set. The first thing that you might notice when checking out this seat is the fact that it incorporates handles into its design. These handles are molded into the surface of the seat itself and are slightly more bulbous in the middle to provide a firm grip for your child. Along the bottoms of these handles as well as along the bottom of the outside edges of the seat, you will find firm-gripping rubber trimming.

This rubber trim has a few really great uses. Firstly, the trim that is at the base of the handles, will really help your little one maintain a good grip on the seat. Secondly, the trim at the base of the seat itself will ensure that the seat won’t move at all from its perch, which will ensure the stability and safety of your precious little one. This rubber is thin and gripping and, most importantly, is very easy to clean.

Insofar as design, this set has some softened edging that will ergonomically fit your child comfortably when he or she is sitting on the seat. Similarly to our Gold Pick, Arm and Hammer has also incorporated a hollowed splash guard for boys along the front of the toilet trainer. Like in that model, this hollowed area ensures that neither your youngster nor the floor in front of him gets wet when he pees; the urine stream will simply hit the front of the hollow and drop into the bowl.

One of the key features of this Arm and Hammer potty seat is disc that incorporates the product that the company is most famous for: its baking soda. Positioned at the rear of the seat is a small disc that utilizes scented baking soda to help reduce the odor that is produced during potty time. This disc is replaceable and snaps easily and firmly into place when you do switch it out.

This propylene comprised seat is a great option for parents looking to train their children in potty usage. When a mess occurs or when you just want to clean up the seat, you’ll find that the bottom section has no crevasses that can hold germs and waste materials. You can easily fit your fingers into every section of this seat; meaning that you’ll be able to easily wipe it down with a disinfectant wipe or wet cloth.

Out of the 1,136 reviews that are on Amazon currently, a full 80 percent are of a four or five star rating level. With such a high degree of positivity, one can see why this is one of the best-selling training seats on the market currently. Parents who have reviewed this item feel that it’s amazing for boys as the splash guard is relatively mess-resistant and high enough to catch all liquid. Here is one five star testimonial:
“I did a fair amount of research trying to find a good potty seat for boys. I guess lots of them have a gap at the front in between the potty seat and the actual toilet seat. With boys, this seems like the perfect way to end up with urine all over. This potty seat, however, has a raised guard that also extends down into the toilet.”

Our Bronze Pick comes to us from Munchkin, a baby products company that produces all manner of child-centric devices, from sippy cups to bath toys. They’ve been in operation since 1991 and currently have six offices positioned in key markets around the world. They have a stated goal of ridding “the world of all things mundane”, and this stated desire is clearly represented in their products. Each item is vividly multicolored and has unique design aesthetics and features interesting textures that will engage you and your baby’s minds. Clearly, this design aesthetic was foremost in their designer’s minds when they developed this potty seat; it’s unique looking and very functional.

The first thing that you’ll notice when you see this seat is its vivid green accents. This coloration radiates from the front center of the device and spreads to the outer edge of the seat itself. The leading edge of this green section encompasses the splash guard, which is a hollow-type that’s similar to the ones featured in out gold and silver picks. In front of this lime-green splash guard, you’ll see an extra lip that actually will grip onto the toilet seat and provide an excellent slip-free experience for your toddler’s potty time. The entire seat measure at 12 inches around, three inches from top to bottom, and 15.2 inches from back to front.

Amazingly, the splash guard is actually comprised of a soft plastic material. It’s actually pliable enough to press down into the underside of the seat; if you press it down this far, it will safely reform to its original shape in seconds. This amount of flexibility is perfect for young children learning to mount and dismount the potty seat, as the splash guard isn’t a hard plastic and thusly will be easy for your child to climb over comfortably.

To ensure an even more stable experience for your child, Munchkin included gripping surfaces along the back of the seat as well. The rubberized material that they use here will keep the seat from moving in almost any direction while your child uses the seat. The inside edge of the training seat is depressed in an oval pattern that will feel comfortable on your child’s backside, and the circular opening at the bottom is wide enough to accommodate any child when they are using the seat.

An amazing 94 percent of the reviews on Amazon have indicated that this potty chair is worth at least a four star rating. Here is one five star testimonial:

“My 3 year old’s favorite color is green, so of course, this was an obvious choice for us! Though he is day-time potty trained, he prefers his little frog potty, which means I have to dump and clean it frequently. So, this toilet seat should help him learn to use the big potty!”

As a rule, these types of items don’t come at an incredibly expensive price, but what if you are ballin’ on a budget? Fortunately, the engineers at the legendary kid brand Fisher-Price have come up with an option that is both high quality, and supremely cost-effective.

To start, this potty seat has some of the most design features of all of the models on our list. The first thing that you might notice is that Fisher Price included a adjustable seat back onto the rear of this potty training seat. The blue plastic back can be raised or lowered for different-sized children. Also, at the base of this area of the seat, you’ll notice that the back of the seating area is also raised to give your child even more back support while doing their business.

Along the base of the seat itself, Fisher-Price also has included a rubberized gripping surface that will ensure little movement while your baby is using the potty. In addition to this stability, there are also winged handles on the sides of the seat itself that will help your child manage his or her balance while going to the potty. Fisher-Price was sure to also include rubber grips so that there are no sharp edges on the handles to be uncomfortable on your child’s hands.

Storing these types of devices around the bathroom isn’t always very easy; they can get in the way if you put them on the floor and having them down there exposes the seats to unwanted germs. Of the four seats on our list, two handle this situation really well; our Gold Pick, which has a loop for a hook on the back of their seat, and our budget pick that has a dedicated system of storage that makes this seat easy to deploy and keep out of the way. Simply position the included hook under the top of the tank’s rim, and it’ll hook directly into the body of the seat; it’s that simple. This system makes this one of the more convenient potty seats on the market.

91 percent of the reviews on Amazon are positive, and many of the reviews cite how convenient this seat is for a child to use. Here’s one review that sums up the general sentiment about this potty seat:

“We decided to potty train my daughter early (14 months). She is very comfortable on this seat. I love the backrest for extra support. It is also nice that the colors are neutral and not some cartoony design. The clip for the side of the toilet is very convenient since my daughter’s bathroom is also the guest bathroom.”

Pre-purchase considerations when choosing the best potty training seats

Chair Vs Seat

When potty training your child, you have a couple of options on what kind of potty device to choose from. The potty units on our list are all of the seat variety, but these aren’t the only kind available on the market. Here are the types and their features:

Potty Chair – These ‘throne’ type potty seats can be placed anywhere and are smaller so that younger children will have an easier time using the potty on these devices. These types typically consist of a basin, a seat, and sometimes a back, so that your child will have something to rest against. The major drawback of this type of potty system is the fact that you can’t simply flush away the waste. You’ll have to pour out liquid waste and disinfect, and thoroughly clean out solid waste. Because of how difficult this can be, it’s recommended that you leave a little water in the basin, so that cleaning is made easier.

Potty Seat – As mentioned before, this is the style we have covered in our prior section. This type is easily fitted on top of standard toilet seats and will get your child prepared for the adult experience of doing their business using a standard toilet seat. Also, since the waste goes directly into the bowl, you won’t have to clean out a basin; you simply flush. The drawback of this type is that for small kids, getting up to the bowl can be somewhat arduous without some kind of kid’s step stool.

Handles

Depending on the size of your child, handles can really help him or her achieve a sense of stability when they are using the potty. Where a handle system is situated can vary from seat to seat; some handles are worked into the structure of the seat itself and some are more traditional, independently attached plastic structures that are aligned along the side of your baby’s seat. The extra stability that these handles can provide will make the uncertain learning experience of using the potty much more reassuring for your child.

Splash Guards

This is a feature that is designed to keep boys from soaking the floor in front of your toilet. These are simply raised surfaces aligned along the front of your child’s potty seat that will block any liquid waste from ending up on the floor. A good rule of thumb for selecting one of these types of seats is to find one that isn’t so high that it’s difficult or uncomfortable for your child to climb over by himself, but is also high enough to block any outgoing liquid.

Ease of Cleaning

Potties can be a hassle to clean, especially if the potty is a chair variety that you’ll have to empty from time to time. Your child is new to this whole experience so, unfortunately, there will be a bit of a learning curve and a few unfortunate cleanups. When searching for one of these types of devices for your child’s development, be sure that your potty seat is easy to clean and doesn’t have crevasses that will collect waste and germs.

Extra Features and Design Embellishments

Kids will want to use a potty seat rather than their Pampers or pull-ups when going to the bathroom is fun for them. To help associate a more fun experience with going to the potty, some manufacturers have incorporated some extra features into the designs of their potty seats. These types of extra features can be a reward song that plays once your child has done his or her business, or a potty that reads from a book while they use the potty. Some potty seats even have certain design embellishments that feature some of your child’s favorite characters like Dora the Explorer or Paw Patrol. The important part of potty training your child is to make sure that they are engaged with the process. If you purchase a standard seat, just be sure to encourage them and be there for them when as they learn to use the potty.

Kid’s Step Stool

Adult-sized toilets, while comfortable for you, are mountainous for a toddler. Since you really don’t want your little one scrabbling and gripping directly on the sometimes funky adult toilet, a great alternative is adding a kid’s step stool to your bathroom setup.

This small step will safely help your child step up to the throne; relatively hands-free. These types of products are perfect if you want to avoid the cleaning mess that comes with a potty chair, as your child can be independent enough to go to the bathroom themselves and climb up when they need to go. Just be careful when purchasing one of these products, since you want one that will grip your bathroom floor tightly, so that there are no slipping accidents. One bonus: your child can also use the same stool that they use to get up to the potty for getting up to the sink to wash their hands as well.

Conclusion (Wrapping it up)

One of the most rewarding aspects of life is watching your children develop into adults, and one of the first opportunities for parents to witness this is when their child is learning to go to the bathroom all on their own. We hope that in your search for a great potty trainer that the device you select works great for you and your family. If you have questions about the quality of a specific seat, don’t hesitate to use our pre-purchase considerations to help you through any confusion, and remember that the selections we’ve picked are beloved by many reviewers and consumer groups, so these devices are always a great place to start your search.