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portable potty is a 'must-have' item when you are potty training your child. It comes handy especially if you want to bring your child with you during your out-and-about trips. It is an inexpensive, but hugely convenient item in your potty training 'tool box'.
Public restrooms can be a source of major concern for parents. Your child can catch diseases from unsanitary and dirty toilets. In addition, frequent trips to public restrooms can delay your planned schedule.
So, you can avoid the above mentioned problems if you use a travel potty. However, there are some things things you need to consider when choosing one?
Below are 5 tips that can guide you in search of the perfect portable potty chair or seat.
1. Your child must feel comfortable using it.
Your child's comfort should be of utmost importance to you. There are a lot of portable potties that have tailored their features to suit your child's needs. Some are padded, some are wooden, or made of plastic.
A good potty seat has a sturdy and well-balanced base to keep him from toppling over. He should also be able to use it with great ease. You will find it hard to potty train your child if he finds it hard to use your portable potty. As a result, he will also have a harder time adjusting to a real toilet if he didn't have enough practice on the travel potty.
2. Make sure it is easy/quick to set-up and use.
Since most portable potties are used for out-of-town trips, you have to take into consideration if you can easily set up the one you've chosen.
If you are running on a tight schedule, it is a good idea to pick a potty that you can easily assemble. You can practice assembling the parts at home to avoid the hassle during your trips. It is also advisable to choose one that you can easily transport and carry so that you would not waste time lugging around a heavy or bulky potty seat.
Note: All these may seem somewhat obvious considerations, but if you get one of them wrong, you will add frustration and disappointment to your potty training routine - now that's something you definitely don't want...
3. Make sure that you can easily clean the travel potty.
Some portable potties, though easy to carry, are difficult to clean. Choose one that doesn't take a lot of time to clean. Some seats have removable bowls in which you can easily dispose of the waste materials. And others allow you to attach disposable bags, which you can detach and throw away as soon as your child's done using the toilet.
OK, the easier to clean travel potty chairs are slightly pricier than the others, but since the point of that potty is convenience - you should weigh your PROs and CONs well - the slight price difference may not be such a deterrent after that...
4. You should consider getting a potty your child can still use after a year or so.
This is a bit tricky because some less expensive travel potty chairs are only good for less than a year. Consider this as an investment.
Buy something that you can use for more than a year - this way you will save money over the long-run. Check what it's made of. Some portable potties are made of sturdier materials that last longer. Also consider the size and perhaps get one that is midway between your child's size now and what it is likely to be in a year's time.
5. Ensure your child is motivated to use his travel potty.
It's in your interest if he considers going to the toilet fun. A good idea is to choose a seat that has some of his favorite cartoon characters on it, or is just colorful and bright. Your child would have an easier time relieving himself because he is visually motivated.
The above mentioned guidelines are just some of the things you should keep in mind when choosing the best travel potty seat for your child. In doing so, the potty training process would be a smooth, comfortable, and fun experience for both you and your child.
Some sites like GetPottyTrained.com, offer helpful advice and tips on how to choose the best potty training materials for your child, through unbiased product reviews and 5 star ratings.