Making It Fun

When shopping for a potty chair, I came across this cute Riding Potty Chair by Potty Scotty. DS would definitely be attracted to this chair because of the colors and cartoon face (is it a bunny? a puppy?). I almost bought it but then thought: would DS forever associate riding with elimination? I had been planning to buy a Little Tikes Rocking Puppy ride-on toy as his next big fun toy. Would the riding potty solve one problem by potty-training DS but then create another -- making the act of riding a trigger for a pee or BM? Would we have to avoid carousels in the future? The nice thing about the Potty Scotty chair is that you can detach the front and it transforms into a basic potty that your child can sit on rather than straddle. So if Mr. Bunny becomes too distracting, you would have the flexibility to take the front "fun" part off.

Since I haven't bought a potty chair and I got rid of my crappy excuse for a potty seat, I've been trying to put DS on the toilet. After meals, I rush him to the toilet, lift the seat and lower him down. But he just giggles and thinks I'm playing a game. I tried the "sss-sss" sound but that just makes him giggle AND shriek with laughter. He doesn't associate the toilet with eliminating at all. Sigh.

Hence the search for a potty chair. I don't think you can be sure what type of chair will work for your child until he or she uses it. The unfortunate part is that you can easily be stuck with multiple potty chairs or seats as many companies don't allow them to be returned for hygienic reasons. Reading reviews online, I saw that many parents had gone through 4 or 5 chairs before finding the one that worked for their child.

I like the riding potty, but I'm leaning towards buying a simple baby potty in a fun color. Maybe that's all the fun needed to encourage a child to do his business?