Best potty
Make potty training as comfortable and clean as possible with our pick of the best potties
Potty training is an inevitable, but tricky, part of parenting. To make your toddler as comfortable as possible – and to make it a stress-free and mess-free process – investing in the right potty is crucial.
As the NHS advice says, there’s no “perfect time” to begin potty training, although many parents will start thinking about it when their child is somewhere around two years old. Whether you’re trying to build a routine at home or teaching your little one proper control when they’re out and about, it’s important that you create a sense of consistency with toilet routines. Your choice of potty will play a big part in this.
Encouraging a child to use a potty can be a truly nerve-wracking time for any parent. To help, we’ve sifted through the entire potty market and picked out the best options for getting your child out of nappies and the changing bag off your back.
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Best potty: At a glance
- Best for minimising mess: Pourty Potty | £11
- Best lightweight potty: Potette Plus | £20
- Best for sitting on: Strata Deluxe Silver Lining Potty Chair | £15
- Best on a budget: LILLA Children’s Potty | £10
How to choose the best potty for you
How much should I spend?
Potties come in a range of prices and there are all sorts of features you can get for your money. Ask yourself what kind of potty you really need and, therefore, what you should be investing in. For instance, will the potty be travelling around a lot? Is your child likely to take to training or need something that offers extra encouragement by making the experience more fun?
But you also have to think about yourself. After all, you’ll be the one cleaning it up. Spending a bit extra on a potty designed to minimise mess could be worth it in the long run.
What features do I need?
As a general priority, make sure the potty you choose is comfortable for your toddler. Not going to the toilet in a nappy will be a new experience for them so picking a potty with a comfortable seat, plenty of support and potentially a lively colour should all be considered.
Potties are not plumbed, which means they need to be emptied. Many potties are designed to minimise mess with removable bowls, splash guards and so on, so try and consider what features would make the most difference to you and the day-to-day struggles of potty training.
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How different can potties be?
While you can still get basic, bowl-shaped designs, new potties are coming to market that change up the formula. Some potties are designed specifically for travel while others are meant to be part of the home. Increasingly popular are potties that can be converted to toilet seats to encourage children to transition to using a toilet. After all, this is the overall aim of potty training.
The best potties to buy
1. Pourty Potty: The best potty for minimising mess
Price: £11 | Buy now from Amazon
One of the worst things about potty training is emptying the potty. This is why the Pourty Potty is so popular, developed by two parents who couldn’t stand the mess of potty training so they created a potty with a unique pouring duct and anti-drip lip. A high splash guard will stop your children peeing over the front of the potty when they’re sitting on it.
The Pourty Potty is also designed with comfort in mind for the child, with a flat wide seat made of sturdy plastic that will hold their weight and not stick to their bum when they stand up. It comes in several colours (blue, pink, purple, cream and green).
Key specs – Size: 30 x 24 x 16.8cm (LWD); Weight: 500g; Ages: 18 months+; Power supply: None
2. Potette Plus: The best lightweight potty
Price: £20 | Buy now from John Lewis
The Potette Plus has a minimalist design that makes it easy for use on the go. Essentially, the Potette Plus is a potty seat with a splash guard and foldable legs, which can either be used to stand it up as a potty or spread out to support its use on a toilet. These legs – which can be removed for cleaning – fold in to allow the unit to be easily transported.
A sturdy and lightweight design makes this potty a good fit for quick outings to the park or longer road trips and other journeys. Note that, as it doesn’t have a bowl, this potty – when not used on a toilet – requires reusable liners to collect waste. The Potette Plus comes with three reusable liners but you can order more from stockists.
Key specs – Size: 23 x 22 x 11.5cm (LWD); Weight: 450g; Ages: 15 months+; Power supply: None
3. Strata Deluxe Silver Lining Potty Chair: The best potty for sitting on
Price: £15 | Buy now from Amazon
By the time your child comes to potty training, they may already enjoy using furniture for their size such as chairs and tables. The Strata Deluxe Silver Lining Potty Chair uses this to your potty training’s advantage and is essentially a comfortable and secure chair with a removable bowl. The high back and armrests, along with a higher distance from the ground, will make a child feel as if they are sitting at their regular chair reading a book. This can help them become more familiar with the act of sitting on the toilet and having a dedicated place in which to do their business. It only comes in silver, though.
Key specs – Size: 36 x 30cm x 28.5cm (LWD); Weight: 680g; Ages: 18 months+; Power supply: None
4. LILLA Children’s Potty: The best potty to buy on a budget
Price: £10 | Buy now from Amazon
If budget is a concern, Ikea has a solution. At £5, the LILLA is the cheapest on our list, but it’s thoughtfully designed. The smooth shape of this product, with soft curves and edges, is designed to make it as comfy as possible for children to sit on. A handle at the front will help parents empty it in a hygienic and spill-free way.
It’s only available in one colour – bright green – so might not fit with all home aesthetics, but for sheer functionality the LILLA is definitely worth consideration, especially if you have several bathrooms in your home and would like the option of multiple or “backup” potties.
Key specs – Size: 29 x 23 x 18cm (LWD); Weight: 270g; Ages: 24 months+; Power supply: None
5. Bumbo Step ‘N Potty: The best potty for transitioning to a grown-up toilet
Price: £50 | Buy now from Kidly
Sometimes, children can want to keep using a potty and not transition to the “grown-up” toilet. A number of potties are designed to help overcome this and the Bumbo Step ‘N potty is one such product. It can be used as a potty with a removable bowl insert for easy cleaning and has a solid base with “elephant toenails” for added grip.
However, the potty can also be converted to make children comfortable with using a toilet. The soft training seat can be removed and used on a toilet for security and comfort, with a lid being added to the base as a slip-resistant step. The sturdy and lightweight design, and the fact the lid can be stored in the base, means this potty can also be used on the go. It comes in three colours: “aqua”, grey and pink.
Key specs – Size: 23 x 33.5 x 23 (LWD); Weight: 1.5kg; Ages: 18-36 months; Power supply: None
6. Nuby My Real Potty Mini Size Toilet: The best potty that looks like a grown-up toilet
Price: £38 | Buy now from Nuby
The end goal of potty training is teaching your child to use a toilet, so it can make sense to use a potty designed to look just like one. This is what has made the My Real Potty Mini Size from Nuby popular. Designed to look like a miniature toilet, this product has a flip-up seat lid and includes a flushing button with lights and sounds. Of course, this doesn’t need to be plumbed in and includes an easily removable bowl for dealing with waste. The rear tank on the toilet is actually a handy storage area for wipes. However, like real toilets, this is not designed for travel and is heavier than most potties.
Key specs – Size: 22 x 42 x 26cm (LWD); Weight: 2kg; Ages: 18 months+; Power supply: 2 x AA batteries
7. My Carry Potty: The best potty for travel
Price: £29 | Buy now from Amazon
A particular challenge around potty training is the inconvenience, especially when you’re on the move. This was the challenge faced by the inventor of My Carry Potty, a mum who wanted to design a transportable potty that her child would actually want to carry around. This potty is designed with transportation in mind, with a sealed and securely locking lid and carry handle.
When opened, the child can benefit from a large, comfy seat, non-slip feet and extra tall splash guard. Fortunately, this functionality does not come with extra weight – the unit still weighs under a kilogram. To encourage children to engage with My Carry Potty and want to carry it around, it comes in a range of colourful animal designs: cat, dinosaur, cow, bee, ladybird, fox and penguin. It’s also available in plain yellow, pink and blue.
Key specs – Size: 26 x 23.5 x 15cm (LWD); Weight: 850g; Ages: 15 months+; Power supply: None
8. KidsSeat 3-in-1 Toilet Trainer: The best potty for all-in-one toilet training
Price: £34 | Buy now from Amazon
As the name suggests, this product is designed to cater for all stages of potty training. First, it can be used as a standard potty with a reusable bowl for easy cleaning. The colour footprint outlines on the bottom will encourage your child to sit while they’re using it. Then the product can be converted into an easy-to-use stepladder and seat for a toilet. And when your child is finally ready, the seat itself can be used with the toilet.
This innovative design should hopefully cover all your bases to make this a comfortable and encouraging transition for your child. It’s also available in a variety of colourful combinations.
Key specs – Size: 41 x 25 x 67cm (LWD); Weight: 1.31kg; Ages: 14-36 months; Power supply: None
9. BabyBjorn Smart Potty: The best-looking potty
Price: £25 | Buy now from Amazon
The Smart Potty from BabyBjorn is designed with the parents’ home in mind. This compact and convenient potty can be easily stored away and is lightweight enough to be transported around the home with minimal effort. The potty is comfortable to sit on and stays firmly in place on the floor when being used, with an easily removable bowl for emptying. What helps the BabyBjorn Smart Potty stand out is its simple design and colour palette. Some potties can be garishly bright, but this product comes in pastel shades such as powder pink, deep blue, deep green, grey, powder yellow and plain white.
Key specs – Size: 25.5 x 33 x 16.5cm (LWD); Weight: 540g; Ages: 18 months+; Power supply: None
10. Fisher-Price My Potty Friend: The best potty for fun potty-training
Price: £28 | Buy now from Amazon
One way to help your child with potty training is by making it fun, and it doesn’t get more fun than the My Potty Friend from Fisher-Price. It includes a lid that opens and closes and a flush handle that makes realistic sounds, as well as a tissue holder that slides in and out. When used, a toddler’s “success” is rewarded with fun sounds and music, encouraging repeat performances.
Entertainment aside, this is a working potty with a removable bowl for easy cleaning and a flip-up splashguard. The potty seat can also be detached and used on toilets when your child is ready to transition. However, unlike many potties, this product requires batteries and is slightly heavier.
Key specs – Size: 37.5 x 35.6 x 34.9cm (LWD); Weight: 2kg; Ages: 18-36 months; Power supply: 3 x AA batteries
