How to unfold and fit the Foldable Toilet Seat Trainer, at home or on the go

The Foldable & Portable Toilet Seat Trainer is a toddler potty seat that sits on top of your regular toilet seat. Here is how to use a folding potty seat like this one, from bag to toilet and back again. Follow the steps, then check the fit before your child sits.

How to Install the Potty Training Seat

As the install video shows, the whole routine is eight steps.

Check the fit

Do this after the trainer is on the regular seat and before your child sits.

Press down on the trainer. Press near the front, then the back, then each side. Then try to shift it side to side and front to back. It should sit flat and stay put, which is the secure fit its non-slip feature is designed to give.

Run the check every time, not once per toilet.

If it rocks, slides or won’t sit flat, take it off. Don’t use it on that toilet. And stop using the seat if it ever becomes faulty, as its warning says.

Is a Toddler Toilet Seat Universal?

No toilet seat trainer should be treated as universal. The product page says this one fits most toilets. Most is not all, so the honest answer is to test each toilet instead of assuming.

Round seats, elongated seats, soft-close seats and public toilets all get the same treatment. Set the trainer on the regular seat, then run the fit check above. If it passes, go ahead. If it doesn’t, that toilet is not the right match.

The toilet at home, the one at a relative’s house and the one at a restaurant can each behave differently. A pass on one tells you nothing about the next.

What Is a Good Portable Potty Seat for Traveling?

A good one folds small enough to carry and sits securely on the toilet you are using. This seat is compact and lightweight, folds flat into its included travel bag, and has a non-slip feature for a secure fit on the regular toilet seat. It also comes with a splash guard, and you run the fit check on each new toilet.

For travel potty seat fit, the steps never change. Use the same eight steps on every toilet you visit. That goes for a folding potty seat for public toilet use too: unfold, set it on the regular seat, check the fit, then fold and bag it afterward.

In an unfamiliar restroom, keep your child within arm’s reach. The habits behind baby-proofing the bathroom at home still apply away from home.

Moving Up From a Potty-Chair

The AAP says that most of the time, children will let you know when they are ready to move from the potty-chair to the "big toilet." For that move, its advice is to provide a stool to brace their feet.

So watch for what your child tells you, and let the switch follow their lead. The move also changes who can get to the toilet and when. That access question sits at the center of baby-proofing during potty training.

The Toilet Is a Water Hazard

The AAP warns that toddlers can topple headfirst into toilet bowls and that a child can drown in as little as one to two inches of water.

Picture this: you step into the hall for a fresh wipe, and your toddler is alone at the bowl. Good toilet safety for babies and toddlers starts with an adult who stays close.

The seat’s own warning reads, "This product is not a substitute for adult supervision." Stay in the bathroom, within arm’s reach, whenever your child is on the seat.

Keep the Lid Down Between Trips

Once the trainer is off, lower the lid. The CPSC advises keeping the toilet lid down and young children out of the bathroom when they are unsupervised.

The AAP suggests latches or locks on toilet seat lids as an added layer. If you want that extra step, toilet lid locks are made for it.

Make it a routine you repeat at every potty stop: seat off, lid down, and a child who is not left alone in the room.

Wash Hands After Every Potty Stop

The CDC lists "after using the toilet" among the key times to wash hands. It also lists "after changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet." That covers your hands as well as your child’s.

If soap and water are not readily available, the CDC says you can use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. It adds that young children should be supervised when they use hand sanitizer, to prevent swallowing alcohol.