Toilet training can be a difficult time for everyone involved. A little over two years ago we began to potty train the boy. He was three and a bit, we waited until he was ready and he pretty quickly got the hang of it. I don’t want to embarrass him in later life, but going for a wee was not an issue, but having a sit down visit to the bathroom caused problems for a long time. We eventually cracked it (more or less), but now he’s a strapping, long legged five year old and he’s way to big for his potty, but his bottom is way too petite for the toilet.
The practical and innovative design brand OXO have a range of baby and toddler products (known as OXO Tots) which have been designed for use by little hands, as well as to be easy to clean and use for parents. They have recently launched the “Sit right toilet seat trainer”, priced at £15 it has a non-slip edge which keeps it stable on virtually any size toilet seat. Plus it has soft side handles for them to grip onto to steady themselves.
The seat has a good sized shield at the front to prevent spray and splatter and it is smooth, so it’s easy to clean after use. It is light-weight, so should you wish to take it with you, perhaps when visiting friends, it’s not to heavy to carry. The sit right toilet seat trainer also has a flat base, so you can stand it up next to the toilet ready to put onto the existing toilet seat when you need to.
As you can see the toilet seat trainer sits snugly on top of our existing toilet seat. We have two toilets and the one pictured has a non-standard seat and we have previously struggled to find a toilet seat trainer which would fit it.
He really feels comfortable on the toilet seat trainer, it doesn’t slide about and he’s able to climb on top of it easily. Once he’s sat down, the handles make him feel secure and he can relax and do what he needs to do. Once he’s finished he knows to take the training seat off and leave the loo free for the next person.
We’ve been searching for a toilet seat trainer like this for a while now, we’ve tried other brands but they didn’t fit our toilet properly and they didn’t have the handles, which seem a simple feature, but sitting on a full sized loo for a small child can feel really high up and daunting. I really do feel that after months of hunting we have found the right toilet seat trainer for the boy.
Oxo Tots also sent us a 200ml sippy cup with handles and a 300ml twist top water bottle. The small boy still enjoys a drink of milk in the morning while he’s getting up and ready, he’s still using a sippy cup for this because he likes his sippy cups and it saves us having to mop up a cup of milk every day, because inevitably he’ll get distracted and it’ll spill everywhere.
The OXO Tots sippy cup is suitable for use from 6 months old and has nice chunky handles to hold. I know he’d have loved using this when he was smaller, and he likes it now. It is available in a range of colours, is dishwasher safe and had a leak-proof valve which stops it leaking when it’s tipped up.
The OXO Tots twist top water bottle is the kind of thing he uses most often at home and at school. More grown up and befitting a five year old boy, but still with the spill-proof practicality that we find helpful. It has the signature OXO Tots mixture of style and practicality which mark out these products. I find them all very visually appealing and really pleasing to hold and use too.
I think for us the toilet seat trainer is a game changer and if he’s happy and comfortable using it then that’s half the battle. As for the cups, my only regret is we didn’t try them sooner. I think the grippy handles are great for tiny hands, the non-spill really is non-spill and they’re the kind of practical and stylish thing I’d buy anyway. Good work OXO.
Note: We were sent the above items by OXO Tots for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.
