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Essential Potty Training Products For Your Little Learner

Written by Guidepost Montessori

Is potty training season approaching (or, as some call it, “potty learning”)? To get your bathroom and home prepped, we’ve tapped our friends at Guidepost Montessori to show us the ropes on what you’ll need when it comes to essential, tried-and-true potty training products to place in your home. Plus, we’ve collaborated with them on providing some of our favorite product selections for each category (note: the variety and choice out there is really endless!).

Montessorians talk a lot about “preparing the environment” for a child to be successful and independent. This idea comes from recognizing that adult spaces are not very accessible to a small child, or conducive to success in any area, much less success in the area of using the toilet. An adult bathroom, without any modifications, is simply unusable to a child. The toilet is too high, the sink is too high, etc. There is no way for the child to use these things by herself, even if she wanted to. The first step to toilet learning is setting up your bathroom to be a place that is friendly for your child to use. We have to eliminate all of the physical obstacles to success, because children are not able to do this for themselves.

Here are some things we recommend in “preparing the environment” for child success, in your bathroom and hygiene areas at home.

The Toilet Area:
Potty Chair. First, and most importantly, we recommend purchasing a potty chair for any bathroom in your house that your child will be using at any time of the day or night. The BabyBjorn potty chair is a comfortable, ergonomic design that is particularly good for boys, because it has a splashguard in the front. The bowl is removable so that it can be emptied into the large, adult toilet, and then washed/sanitized. This is all your child will need or be able to use early on. When your child gets a bit older, it can help to have the big toilet set up for her use as well.
BabyBjorn Potty Chair, $29.99, Amazon.

Potty Seat. There are a variety of potty seats available that sit on top of the adult toilet seat, and are sized to child bottoms, so that they are comfortable for children to sit on.
OXO Tot Sit Right Potty, $19.99, Amazon.

Step Stool. In order to get up onto the large toilet independently, your child needs some kind of step stool. The exact height and shape depends a lot on your particular bathroom, size of your toilet, etc. Some options include:
Chunmei Solid Wooden Two Step Stool, $39.90, Amazon.
Growing Up Green Bamboo Step Stool, $29.90, Amazon.
Personalized Wooden Child’s Name Puzzle Stool Primary Colors, $74.95, Amazon.
Kids Best Friend Step Stool, $9.99, Amazon.

Toddler Flushable Wipes. Early on, you will probably be helping your child to wipe and clean her bottom. Later on, once your child gets to be older, you may start inviting her to learn how to wipe her own bottom. Either way, it is very handy to have some flushable toddler wipes on hand to use in this process. Look for wipes with a re-closeable lid so they do not dry out.
Kandoo Flushable Wipes Sensitive 50 Ct (2 Pack), $12.82, Amazon.

Wipes for Easy Clean Up. You’ll be cleaning up lots of spills and messes as this process goes along! Even when everything goes right, you’ll need a quick way to sanitize the child’s potty chair after emptying it. Nothing beats a disposable cleaning wipe for convenience and effectiveness!
Dapple Surface Wipes For Highchairs, Toys, & More, $22.04, Amazon.

Laundry Basket. It’s a great idea to have a small laundry basket in each bathroom where your child will be toileting, so that dirty clothes can go straight in the basket to be transported to the washing machine.
Petit Pehr Mini Pompom Canvas Bin, $20, Nordstrom.
Big Sur Basket, $98, Serena & Lily.

The Sink Area:
Step Stool. You’ll need another step stool to help your child reach the sink. Again, the exact height and size varies depending on the height of your sink and size of your bathroom, but most homes need a two-step version.
IKEA BEKVAM Wooden Utility Step by Ikea, $41.75, Amazon.
Jessa Leona Dual Height Step Stool for Kids, $29.99, Amazon.
Teak Step Stool, $128, Serena & Lily.

Faucet Extender. You often can’t do much about whether or not your child can turn on the sink by herself, but what you can do is use a faucet extender to help the water shoot out further, so that it is reachable even by people with short little arms!
Prince Lionheart Faucet Extender, 2 Count, $13.35, Amazon.

Accessible Pump Soap or Bar Soap. Place soap towards the front of the counter so that it is accessible to your child. Your child likely can become independent with a pump soap if you show her how. A small bar soap in a soap dish is also a very accessible item for a young child.
Method x Creative Growth Foaming Hand Soap, $24.25, Amazon.

Accessible Towel for Drying Hands. Place or hang a towel in a spot where it is accessible for your child to dry her hands. You can get hooks that hang over a cabinet door to create a towel hook that is low enough for your child to reach.
mDesign Over the Cabinet Hooks, Pack of 3, $12.99, Amazon.
Mini Peace Towel, $45, Peace Towel.

For more products we love, check out our article on in-the-tub bath time essentials for kids; and stay tuned for more “potty learning” advice from the educators at Guidepost Montessoria nation-wide network of schools currently serving over 700 families in 16 locations across the U.S.

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