modernmarvel's Full Review: Graco Training Rewards Soft Seat Potty & Stepstool
I have three kids and am currently in the process of potty training my third child. I honestly have mixed feelings about using a potty chair for training. I think the next step from diapers should be going on the regular toilet like the rest of the family. However, my kids have differed with me on that point. My middle child never had any interest in his potty chair - preferring only a padded insert on the adult toilet. My youngest, however, seems pretty interested in this potty chair and it has helped in the process of training.
THE PRODUCT
I think this product is very well designed. Let's face it. You can't tell how your child will react to potty training. This product gives you flexibility. It can be a simple plastic potty that sits on the floor at the child's level. However, you can also remove the toilet seat and insert it over a regular toilet. The toilet seat is padded and has handles so a child can easily manipulate it. This product can also function as a step stool. These various options give parents a lot of value since kids differ in how they want to potty train. This product also comes with stickers that you are supposed to use to reward your child for going (or at least trying). Stickers never motivated my older kids so I threw this set away. I ended up using M&Ms with my son and that was very effective so if the stickers don't work and your child isn't as motivated to try on the potty, I would definitely recommend the M&M method.
OUR EXPERIENCE
We first got this potty for my daughter when she turned two. The potty comes with a small plastic pee shield in the front. We promptly threw that piece away because we had a girl. However, even if you have a boy, I think it is best to throw it away. All it would take for a boy to shy away from the process is to get a delicate part caught on the shield. We had a similar potty when my son trained and we did fine without the shield.
When we first had the potty, we sat it on the floor in the bathroom and told my daughter that it was her potty and didn't make a big deal of it. She sat on it with her clothes on to imitate her older siblings. She played with it and took the various pieces apart and reassembled them. Now that we are two and a half, training is well underway. My daughter has put a few pees into the potty. These are easily cleaned by removing the red pot under the seat and dumping it in the toilet. A quick rinse and a spray of lysol usually sets us up for the next round. Interestingly, my daughter has ever pooped on the potty. When she has to poop, she climbs onto the regular toilet to go. Maybe it is a natural instinct to go into water? I don't know but I am pretty glad about it. If she did poop into the plastic potty, it would be a little more difficult to clean up. I don't necessarily recommend pushing your child to do this. If they want to poop on the toilet, let them. It is definitely cleaner in any case.
I have offered to my daughter that she use the removable potty seat from her potty on the regular toilet. For my older two children, these seat inserts work pretty well for their small tushies and they gave my older two children a sense of security. However, my youngest has no interest and would rather balance on the edge of the adult seat. I guess younger siblings very much want to imitate the older ones so I have been letting it go. She hasn't fallen in yet although we are probably due for a splash eventually.
This product can be used as a step stool. However, the rounded front can't be pulled up close to flat surfaces such as the sink. We could turn it around but my two year old wants to do it herself. Also, the bottom of the potty is not really sticky like some other stools that have rubber on the bottom. This means it could be slippery on the tiled bathroom floor. I ended up buying a better stool that was a rectangle shape and had a rubberized bottom so my daughter could use it to wash her hands. I don't think much of the stool feature in this product but it might work for some people.
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
I like this product and how it can be a potty on the floor or just a padded toilet seat insert. The stool feature might work for some. This potty has helped us along the way to potty training and my daughter did like it and use it several times. I can definitely recomend this product.
NEW BABY? HERE ARE SOME BABY PRODUCTS I HAVE REVIEWED:
Contains 48 colorful stickers to reward toddlers success Its a soft potty seat; close the lid and its a step stool Durable, soft cushioned seat Det...More at Albee Baby
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