Novelty throne! (Fisher Price Royal Potty)

Member Name: simbanewt

Product:	Fisher Price Royal Potty
Date:	12/10/09 (54 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Toddlers love fanfare, comfortable to use

Disadvantages: Fanfare short lived, expensive, bulky

When we first set about the process of potty training we purchased pottys from Ikea for around £1.50, naively assuming that all pottys are pretty much the same and do the same job. After several unsuccesful attempts at potty training, our sons were still reluctant to sit on the Ikea potty and we decided a little more encouragement was needed.

After looking around to see what other pottys were available on the market, we decided to buy the Fisher Price Royal Potty. This is a larger-than average potty in the shape of a throne. It is a two-stage system so when you want to move on from the potty to using the toilet, the legs come off and it acts as a toilet seat, making your toddler feel more secure on the big toilet.

This potty had several advantages over our no frills pottys- the first being that it is higher off the ground, and has a back and arms so that it looks much more comfortable to use. The potty is bulky compared to a traditional potty, however it has a pot which slides out from underneath for easy emptying and cleaning (you don't have to put the whole thing under the tap). The potty also has a handy guard at the front, which is removable, but very handy to protect against anything spraying out of the front.

By far the most exciting feature of this potty for your average two year old is the fact that it will play you a royal fanfare. Sensors mean that your child is rewarded with a tune for sitting on the potty, and if they use the potty they get a full blown fanfare. This novelty feature was a real hit in our house for the first week or so that we owned the potty, and I think it really did encourage its use. The musical feature did not last long however- the sensor started to play up after a few weeks of use so that the fanfare stopped, and the potty would sit on its own in the bathroom repeatedly playing the tune that it should make when someone sits down on it. This began to get really annoying until finally the batteries ran out! The fanfare did last long enough to encourage the use of the potty though, so it was a handy feature.

The purchase of this potty coincided with success on the potty training front in our house, so I would recommend this product. I think this was partly due to the novelty fanfare, but more to do with the fact that this potty is much more comfortable to use than a more traditional potty.

We purchased this potty from Kiddicare, where it is available for just under £18. When you compare this to the £1.50 we paid for our original basic style potty it is obviously an expensive potty. Other down sides to this potty would be the fact that the fanfare feature did not last long, and finally the fact that it is bulky- if your child becomes attached to this potty and will not use anything else (as was the case in our household for a while) it is a very large potty to carry around with you!

Overall, this is a nice novelty potty which can engage a toddlers interest in potty training, however it is relatively expensive, and not without its faults.

Summary: Helped the potty training process