Potty Training Toys to Help Motivate and Teach Kids

The French doll company Corolle makes such beautiful baby dolls. Their Paul and Emma dolls are special because they can drink from their bottles and wet in their diapers. The dolls are anatomically correct so parents can use the dolls to demonstrate how to use the potty during toilet training. Paul and Emma come with their own training potty, bottle, pacifier and disposable diaper.

This crazy potty cheers when the child completes his task, then plays the fight song of your choice. (In my case, Indiana University, though I am still training my son to put his arms in the air to make the IU sign at the end!) No, it's not liquid-sensitive. Mom has to push the white button on the top to make it celebrate the little victory.

Available universities are: Brigham Young, Purdue, University of Maryland, Clemson, University of Mississippi and Louisiana State. It comes in several solid colors, too.

It's got more than electronic bells and whistles, too. The red seat fits nicely on the big toilet and the white bowl comes out for easy cleaning. It's a nice, sturdy, easy-to-clean, well-designed potty!



I think the Disney cars, Disney Toy Story 3 and Disney Princesses training potties from First Years get chalked up to the "whatever works" category. The Cars movie "Rev and Go Potty System" makes sounds from the Cars movie when the child presses the lever. (I kind of wish it said, "Peed! I have peed!")

All three versions are three-in-one systems that include a training potty with a detachable seat for placement on the full-sized toilet seat. When the lid is closed, it serves as a step stool.

The Varsity Baby Flush and Cheer Potty is sturdier and easier to clean, but if it must be a Toy Story 3 potty or a Disney Princesses potty, these fit the bill.

The Lav Nav is an ingenious invention that helps anyone find the toilet in the dark. Its motion sensors know when someone's coming and turns on the light. It lights up green if the seat is down and red if the seat is up. This gadget could be a marriage saver as well as a potty-training tool!

The PottiePal toilet training kits come in "boy" or "girl" versions. They include a nifty toilet paper holder that makes the roll low enough for kids to reach, 6 sets of PottieStickers, a PottieSong CD and booklets including "Proven Secret Laws of Potty Training," a picture guide to potty training for kids to read and toilet training tips. It also includes 60 award certificates in English or Spanish to print out. Can you tell that a mom invented this product? I can!

I'm well aware that this isn't really a toy, but it is a lifesaver and I would be remiss to leave it out of this list. The Potette Plus from Kalencomm has helped my own family avert many a car-seat-potty-accident-disaster!

The Potette Plus folds flat and I keep it in the back of my car. When one of the kids has to go right now, we pull over and grab the Potette Plus. It comes with plastic liners that look like plastic shopping bags with a sanitary pad in the bottom to absorb the liquid. Just unfold the legs and it's ready.

It's the perfect size to bring along on long trips or throw it into the bottom of the stroller for kids who are public-bathroom phobic. The "Plus" version becomes a kid-sized toilet seat that rests on top of any toilet.

Joy Berry is an author whose books on parenting and child development have sold more than 85 million copies. Her latest project is a handy iPhone app called "I Love Potty Training."

The app has a little game kids can play and a gold-star tracking system that gives parents a status report on the child's progress. A "Great Job" button that, when pressed, says, "You did a great job!" and plays a flushing sound and applause.

It also provides parents with a potty-training guide with tips about getting started and keeping toddlers safe while potty training. It's a clever idea and it'll give you something to fidget with while you sit on the bathroom floor for what seems like forever!