Toilet Seats for Potty Training

What an odd topic to move to - from BB creams to potty training! Welcome to the world of being a mom...

My son has been in toilet training for more than six months now. We haven't been pushing him - last summer, out of the blue, he mentioned that he had to go #2, I sat him on a toilet seat, and voila! Life became atleast 30% better for me :)

But there has been no progress since then (actually, some backwards progress which has gotten me into trouble because now I've become lazier about checking, and he sometimes goes without letting me know) and we've had more than enough time to evaluate our toilet seats.

We started with the Baby Bjorn, which I thought was a total rip off - $30 for a toilet seat cover? Come on! But this was six months ago, and I have total appreciation for their product (it's worth every penny).

Not only are the colors fun and vibrant (we are now using the red, but we've had the blue one as well and I think there's also one with a black trim), they also work well in terms of matching any kids' bathroom. It also has a dial in the back so you can adjust the seat to fit any toilet. (I've used this on multiple toilets, but for some reason, never needed to use it.) But the highlight of the design is in the little bump (if you look closely at the picture, you can see it) in the front center of the seat. Let me tell you why this bump is soooo verrry important!

The first time we traveled after he began potty training, of course I forgot to bring the toilet seat along. With the 3,000 other things I needed to pack, the toilet seat was the last thing on my mind! We were on vacation for 10 days, so we ran into the situation where, I didn't have a toilet seat and my son would not go without one (although it had been a couple of days since)! I of course rushed to the nearest Target to find a solution, and the only thing that I could find was The First Years soft toilet seat cover.

The First Years toilet seat was half the price of the Baby Bjorn, and although I wasn't too happy with the color (not so vibrant, medium toned blue - what if my kid is a girl and doesn't like blue?!) but at the same time, not only was this "temporary", it was also half the price. When I was originally shopping for toilet seats, I didn't even think about another brand, so I was pleasantly surprised to find almost the same thing for so much cheaper. (Okay, I know I'm supposed to be a conspicuous consumer, but $15 for a more vibrant colored toilet seat? I mean, even I would think twice.)

So I bring this back with me, sit my son on the seat, and it starts doing its magic. Ah, I breathe a sigh of relief. All of the sudden, a stream of pee is flowing out the front, the relief is nowhere to found, and you have a hysterical mom trying to minimize the damage and block the flow somehow. I never had this problem at home, and then it hits me. This new toilet seat does not have the bump!!

I don't know if this is an issue for little girls, but this is definitely a huge deal for me as a mother of a boy. Had I known this, I would have been more than willing to pay the atrocious amount they charge you for overnight shipping to get the Baby Bjorn instead (the Baby Bjorn toilet seat can only be found online or at certain specialty shops - which wasn't an option for us at the time, we were on vacation).

It is such a simple thing but makes a world of difference for parents. Seriously, I know some people think the whole Baby Bjorn thing is over-rated, but after that fiasco, I am sooo sticking to brands I trust, especially when it comes to children's products!