Stand Up Toilet Training

Finally, a dad has invented a stand-up child-size urinal for toilet training little boys. The inventor, Scott Rote, is a dad who easily toilet trained two little girls but was hesitant about the upcoming battle he might go through with his third child – a boy.

In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics confirms the common wisdom that boys take longer to train than girls: the average toilet training age for boys is 35 months – a full 3 months later than girls. Rote wondered if there wasn’t a better way and researched potty training accessories on the market, all of which encouraged training boys in a sitting position. This seemed odd, particularly since the majority of educators and practitioners say that the best way to teach children is to “model behavior.”

With this in mind, Rote, an industrial designer set out to find a potty training accessory to train boys by allowing them to stand. Rote’s invention, the Peter Potty is a familiar shaped kids-size urinal, made out of lightweight hard plastic. It is not a toy, but a flushable stand-up toilet.

Quantitative research conducted independently of over 400 children shows that boys trained in a standing position reached success two months earlier. Since the majority of these ‘standing boys’ were trained with a step stool/toilet method, the Peter Potty may make earlier success possible because of the features of this potty training accessory. Anecdotal evidence suggests perhaps as much as six months faster.

Whatever potty training accessory you may consider, look for the following characteristics:

• Appealing to kids
  


• Correct size—kids shouldn’t be able to fall in
  


• Easy to use and clean
  


• Stable and secure

We like the Peter Potty because:

• It’s unique and interesting to kids.
  


• The ‘real water flush’ can be appealing and offers a reward for success.
  


• There are no steps to climb, no fear of “falling in.”
  


• The size is right, adjustable for 18 months to 4 years and beyond.
  


• It’s simple to use and requires emptying only once per day.
  


• It mimics dad’s behavior and prepares kids for urinals in public facilities.

The Peter Potty also comes with hardware to secure to a wall to eliminate any fear of it tipping over. We would recommend this or keeping it in a safe spot, such as between toilet and wall to lessen the chance of spilling the contents. We also recommend emptying more than once per day for the same reason.

The Peter Potty is supported by several leading pediatricians and we expect it to quickly gain traction. If you’re the kind of guy who always wondered why you can’t have an easy to use urinal with no stupid seat to put down, you’ll buy the Peter Potty just to stimulate conversation in the house. My wife always tries to hide it when guests come over, but I proudly keep ours in the first floor guest bathroom so everyone knows the boys in the house are standing up for their rights, at least in the bathroom.

As for the dad in the story, Scott Rote was able to quickly train his son Kyle at 2 ½ years. The Peter Potty is sold by Visionaire Products, of which Scott Rote is a founding partner.