Reader Survey, Part II
August 04, 2008
(Because I continue to be endlessly fascinated with other people's bathroom habits.)
This one's easy. Just one question.
The toddler potty seat. Move it or sit on it?
Personally, I've taken to calling it the iPhone Blocker 3000.
For me, it would depend on how badly I had to go.
Sit on it. I'm always in a hurry!
i move it, but generally just because my ass is too large to be accommodated by a toddler-size seat :(
I definitely move it.
I always move ours, but they are the easy-to-move kind and not the kind that attach at the bottom with wierd little hooks and such. Plus, my bottom might be a tad to big for the Dora Potty. Yikes!
Sit.
(Unless you're so hugely pregnant that you might accidentally crack it or something with your RAPIDLY ESCALATING WEIGHT, and get pinched in the process and that would HURT, but we've all seen your picture and we know you aren't a big bloated bulbous whale who is capable of that. Like I will be in, oh, three more weeks.)
Oh dear. I have totally sat upon the toddler seat. Although, I would like to think that that sort of activity is mainly limited to middle of the night/pre-coffee am trips to the potty. And there is usually some amount of toestubbing on the step stools in the bathroom at our place as well.
I'd have to remove it. But I don't have kids. I'm sure my view on the matter would change if I did. I figure I'd be too tired to care.
I'd call it the "whack scrotum on lippy thing and get set back in potty training by two months" device. But that's just the boy in me talking.
I think I'd hurt myself if I tried to sit on it. Of course, I'd probably manage to hurt myself trying to lift it, too. Hi! My name's Danielle, and I'm a spaz!
It would probably make me feel like my ass is even bigger than I already think it is, so I would move it.
Michael doesn't use one, so I would answer n/a.
Move it.
Takes 2 seconds to toss it to the floor. If you've started to unzip/unbutton on the way to the potty, even with those extra 2 seconds you won't pee in your pants.
Definitely move it. Even if I was desperate to go and might miss the toilet seat entirely in my haste to move the toddler seat. I would rather clean up the floor than sit on the toddler seat.
Eh...sit on it.
move it...but only because I have a three year old BOY, who probably peed on half of it, and I hate mystery wet butt...
Move that puppy!
We had the same one. Getting caught on the pee guard in the front is no picnic. eek!
Just have a plastic box off to the side of the toilet to place the seat in when not in use. (sanitary)
I think it depends on whether its a "dance, bounce, curse and jiggle all the way to the bathroom" moment or not...
I don't know about you but in those moments, I'm lucky if I even get all the way sitting down... maybe the toddler seat would just close the gap a little?
I say sit on it. I'd sit on it.
I think I would move it but only because that is by far the most gorgeous potty-training seat I have ever seen. Or maybe it's just the lighting? Because it looks like something Phillippe Stark would design.
Both, depending upon the size of mine phat ass at the time and the severity with which I need to pee!
I think my back end might be a touch too large to sit and actually HIT the bowl.
Oh, so sad.
Uh, I go to the neighbor's and when they ask me why I'm in their bathroom every day I just shake my head and say "Toddler seat," and they say "Aw, dude. Use ours all you want."
I move it. Cuz it freaks me out if I don't. Plus, it's often suspiciously wet.
Move it. Although ours was padded, so it probably would have been comfy now that I think about it.
Move it, but carefully. There's always pee between it and the actual toilet seat. So you might want to keep some flushable wipes handy to wipe the seat down first.
I'm too lazy to move it. I either go to another bathroom, or just go ahead and use it.
I dunno, yours looks all hard and plasticky and whatnot. Ours is the plush, padded version - which is especially nice in the winter since it provides a layer of cushiony niceness between my sweet cheeks and the hard, cold plastic seat. In the summer, though, it's not so grand to have the vinyl seat come up with your bum; did you know sweaty ass + vinyl = glue? Yeah. Not pleasant.
On an unrelated note, what's with having your SIFTW signing on September 27? Because after I missed getting your signature at the BlogHer Macy's party, and THEN missed it at the Cheeseburger shindig (didn't arrive till the rent-a-cops had broken it up) I was all "oh! Neat! Signing in DC!" and then realized that I am due to deliver this here baby the following day. Which sort of ruins any chances I had of convincing my husband to let me out of the house sans-children so I could head downtown.
Because, you know, he has that fear of me going into labor and birthing the kid with the assistance of a helpful cab driver or something.
GRF. Thwarted again.
Use the other bathroom. Wait, not an option?
Hmmm I dunno. When each of my three were ready to be trained, hubs and I went on vacation and sent the boys (one at a time) to his mothers house for a week of intensive potty bootcamp. when we got home, they were always magically trained and wearing cute little character undies.
I like to be different. I say SQUAT!
i think i fall into emily's pregnancy catergory at 35 weeks:
"Unless you're so hugely pregnant that you might accidentally crack it or something with your RAPIDLY ESCALATING WEIGHT, and get pinched in the process and that would HURT ......"
so im going with move it.
Hmm, I don't know. On the one hand, I'm lazy and I drink a lot of water. On the other hand, that front part looks sort of......pointy.
wish i had that seat in my hotel room at blogher. maybe i wouldn't have dropped my damn iphone in the toilet. thanks for nothin'!
We have 2 bathrooms, so we kept one in "their" bathroom, and used our bathroom. If we only had 1, I'd def move it!
Move it. I'm afraid my bum is too big for my toddler seat at home!!
Sit on it. Why not? And then ask for an M&M after as a reward!
Move it, I just, I just, CANNOT.
If you can fit on it, sit on it. We never used a potty seat. I thought it was important to develop good balancing skills; ie, I am cheap and lazy.
Move it.
Sit on it...and pray the whole time it doesn't snap in 2!
I move it. I am not tiny of butt, I would hate to break the thing.
We have that same one and move it!
Because I have boys (messy, dirty boys) I say MOVE IT. For the love of god, move it.
So I don't have a potty seat, or children... but looking at that picture... definitely sit. Too lazy for moving.
My 2yr old has that same seat. It just depends on how bad you have to go and how far the other bathroom is... Ive moved it, and ran down the hall. Look, I tried to sit on it once...but it felt too odd.
Depends on how drunk I am!
After several butt pinches and peeing on myself one too many times, the little seat is now tossed aside.
Move it. My butt's too big.
I always moved ours. Now the boy is waaaaay too big for it, himself.
C) Child doesn't use potty seat (any more).
When it was being used, I wasn't pregnant and therefore peeing every 2.3 seconds, so I usually moved it. You? Have every right to not move it. Because that millisecond it takes to move it could be the difference between making it and embarrassing blog fodder.
Get the potty chair that sits on the floor. Then you only have to remember not to step in it.
Oh, and also not to splash it around trying to empty it.
Hell with it. Sit on it.
I'd probably say sit on it. I have to pee to often to have to take it off and put it back on every time. And what's up with thing in the front? Are there girl models and boy models? Better start researching...
I move it. But ours has handles on the sides that I think would get in the way. Or maybe not, now that I think about it. I dunno - I just never even considered sitting on it.
... not that I care if you do. (or anybody else does.)
But then, I don't change the way people have their toilet paper hanging, either. :)
Ours always got moved. That pee guard thing was a waste, so we swapped to an easy to take off model...
I think it really depends on (1) how bad you have to go and (2) how disgusting the underside of the toddler seat was.
Hey, if you fit then I say sit. My kid would never use one of those though. I guess he liked the danger involved in potentially jackknifing closed and dropping right into the water.
There happens to be a hook on the wall right next to our toilet which is just perfect for that very same toddler seat. It's never even occurred to me to sit on it!
I'd sit, but I'm afraid I'd get stuck. So even in the middle of the night, half groggy, I'd probably take it off. Also, if I thought I might have to sit for a while, you know... It doesn't look like it'd give good support for those awkward moments. But I'd listen to those who say watch out for errant pee!
I move it. That got SO old fast though. I discovered that a great place to store when not in use is to hang it on the faucet in the bathtub. It is perfect. You can run water over it really quick for a quick cleaning and then hang it there to dry. Bella has even figured out how to remove it from the faucet and put it on the toilet herself now.
Definitely moving the pee catcher. Yyyyyyuck.
Put a 3-M hook on the wall. Attach a cable tie to the little black loop already on the potty. Teach toddler to hang up seat after using the potty and then CLOSE THE LID before flushing. Oh, and also teach husband to STOP MOVING THE STOOL so toddler can actually climb up on potty seat. Pretty cool!
Once my son mastered peeing standing up and now uses that thing just for numero dos, I am not that interested in sitting on it. It is a poop faceplate.
I would move it but only because I'd be afraid that my aim would be horribly off and I'd make a big mess all down the side of the toilet or something.
I'm gonna have to go with move it. I'd be afraid it would shatter under my tender bum.
Our guest bathroom is the designated kids bathroom, so the seat stayed on when they were potty training (unless company was over). My husband and I just used our own bathroom....but of course our house is only 1100 square feet and we didn't have far to go. :)
Sit on it! Who has time to move it every time you have to go?
I'll let you know when my son starts using one of these. On second thought, I'll remove it, as for my wife...could go either way.
Move it. For everyone. I have heard too many horror stories of wee packages getting hooked on the guard as they try to get off the potty.
I'd probably sit on it because I'm lazy. Right now we still have the freestanding potty chair, so I don't have to compete with a small butt for the throne.
But as soon as her potty training is more of a success, we're switching, because cleaning that thing is NOT a favorite task.
I'm going to have to go with sit.
I mean...why not, right?
Being that we just recently, as in 3 days ago, purchased such an item. So far I'm in the remove it camp...but I haven't had an emergency-OMG-I-have-to-pee-right-now kind of moment yet...so my story is subject to change at that point.
We have one of these in our house. And I move it!
The little seat has germs, germs I don't want touching my rear. Granted you get germs on your hands moving it, but ours has a handle which mitigates a bit. And you can wash germs off your hands easier than your rear.
Sit on it. I don't want to risk grabbing pee or something worse that's been left before I've had the chance to find and remove it. Usually, I just go to my bathroom and avoid the kid's like the plague, though.
On inspection, your toddler potty looks kind of like a saddle.
So I don't know if I could sit on it without a also wearing a cowboy hat. And you know. Being overwhelmed with the general feeling of being some kind of turd wrangler.
I can't believe you all have such svelte asses that you could actually sit on one of those! I'm lucky that I don't need a toilet extender. Yes, I am just that glamorous.
move it. Todlers do not have good aim. Even when sitting.
I always move it. I've seen what those kids do to those seats. It's not pretty.
We had that dilemma and went with option C) Neither. Make the toddler learn how to sit on the big potty without falling in.
Move it. It creeps me out for some reason.
Awesome. Im thinking you should rename website McGyverlah.
I vote move it. Though it also has the bonus of keeping skirts and/or shirt ties out of the toilet, which is a necessary function.
Sit. No question.
I'm gonna have to go with "move it" on this one. There is no way an adult can take a shit on that.
Sit on it- but only if I were to be rewarded with a potty treat afterward.
I'm prickley like that.
Um, yeah... Faced this very dilemma tonight... I moved it but only because I thought my big rear might break it and since potty training is finally going well I didn't want a trauma!
If you're at my house, my toddler will follow you into the bathroom and move it for you herself.
sit! way too much effort to move it! And it has a bonus use protecting the iphone, so it has to stay!
move it because sometimes, if you plop down in just the wrong position? ow.
Oh, seriously, I'll never forget one moment in my glorious parenting life -- sitting down on the elmo potty seat to pee while breastfeeding my second child, thinking "my god, I wanted this?"
When I've really gotta go or it's the middle of the night and I just don't care, I totally sit on it. Not that I'd ever tell my husband.
Definitely depends on what "business" you have to do. To pee...eh, just sit or hover squat (depending on the severity of the pee). If it's a #2, especially w/ pregnancy constipation, I'd go with move it...unless it's actually comfortable for you, in which case have no shame and plop yourself down (no pun...wait yes, it was intended).
A toddler's aim is never good. Move it.
I say "move it" because the situation would turn awful ugly, awful fast, and the bathroom only gets cleaned once a week - whether it needs it or not.
Recognizing that males may have a couple additional options over females......
....I'd still move it.