My Carry Potty REVIEW

AD – My Carry Potty gifted for review

Potty training is by far one of the biggest parenting challenges. Jonah is now 21 months old and just starting to get used to having ones and twos in something other than his nappy. We’re introducing him to the habit of telling us when he wants to go, and he’s getting better every day. Although he still wears nappies, we try and remain consistent and catch toilet time before it happens, so he knows when he comes to wearing big boy pants that when he tells us natures calling, he doesn’t just need to let go!

He has a few different shapes and sizes of potty around the house, but we were struggling with consistency of potty training whilst out and about – when in public, dealing with fore-mentioned potty moments before they occur is not quite so straight forward! When we were given the opportunity to review My Carry Potty this appeared to be a great solution and we couldn’t wait to try it out!

What is My Carry Potty?

The award winning My Carry Potty was designed by mums for mums, to help with some of the challenges of potty training.

My Carry Potty was created by Amanda Jenner, mum of three. The idea was born out of embarrassment and frustration – her son would only use his own potty, resulting in Mum carrying it around with her in a plastic bag where ever they went – not very elegant or hygienic! The disapproving looks she received when emptying the contents of his potty down a nearby drain after he needed to go whilst out shopping, led her to think there had to be a better way!

My Carry Potty is a hygienic and safe vaccum sealed potty that can be taken on the go and emptied when you return home or reach your destination.

Where can I buy My Carry Potty?

You can check out the My Carry Potty range here

My Carry Potty Features include:

• High quality durable plastic which is easy to keep clean.
• Bright colours that are appealing to young children
• An attached handle allowing children to consider it as their own possession, assisting their transition and gaining ‘buy in’ for using the potty.
• No extra parts or pieces that need to be put together before use. Unlike many other potties on the market, My Carry Potty is assembly free and ready to go!
• A clip shut lid with an ingenious rubber seal – meaning that the potty remains completely odour and leak proof after use- giving you complete control where ever your little one is caught short!
• No need for disposable bags or liners, making it better for the environment and cheaper to use.

My Carry Potty is perfect for when you are out and about, on holidays or long journeys, or anywhere where your child would feel more comfortable using their own potty.

My Carry Potty is available to purchase via UK distributer Cheeky Rascals for £24.99 and comes with a FREE Potty Training book and reward chart and stickers. This delightful book featuring twins George and Hollie, is full of helpful tips for potty training, and is a fun and engaging story to help little ones understand and be rewarded for their progress.

Our Experience of My Carry Potty

We tested the My Carry Potty both in the comfort of our own home, as well as at Jonah’s grandparents and whilst out in the park.

We have been trying to be consistent with Jonah and ensure that he understands potty use applies whatever the situation or location, and up until now that has been a little more complicated whilst out and about! I have found myself rushing around like a mad woman praying that a call of nature doesn’t occur before we are safely back home, and as a result park visits and walks round the block had been a tad shorter than usual!

The product comes in various colours and designs, but we chose the blue one – not only is this “boy” colour but its also Jonah’s favourite, and I was hopeful that the bright bold colour would appeal to him and gain his interest.

How child friendly is My Carry Potty?

The first time he saw it, Jonah wanted to have a bit of an investigate, so I left him to his devices for a little while, where he opened the lid and poked around! (Obviously I wouldn’t let him do this after use!). Having used a few other types of potty, he soon recognised that this was similar in shape to his others, and when placed on the potty would sit and stay. After some practice and the usual encouragement and observation of “the signs” from Mummy, Joe was soon able to use the potty and successfully go to the toilet.

How big is My Carry Potty?

The My Carry Potty dimensions are 13.5cm (W) x 23.5cm (L) x 11cm (H)

The size of the potty was perfect for Jonah, and fitted his little peach perfectly! An older child may find the potty a little on the small side, but any larger and we felt that some of the other benefits would have been lost.

What age is My Carry Potty suitable for?

Officially My Carry Potty is recommended for children aged 15 months to around 3 years depending on the size of your child.

Can a child carry it themselves?

Being compact, and with the added handle, the potty is easy to transport, and Joe can carry it himself, perfect for when Mummy had her hands full of all the other baby paraphernalia needed when leaving the house. The My Carry Potty is also quite discrete, so any one watching joe carrying it would not be immediately aware what it was, appearing similar to a lunch box or bag to the untrained eye!

Does My Carry Potty work?

When using the potty out and about, the vacuum seal of the My Carry Potty was a real positive, in that once the lid was closed, I could be confident that the potty would seal in any solids, liquids or even smells, and that we wouldn’t experience any embarrassing leaks. The vacuum seal also meant that even if you accidentally left it in the car (like I did on one occasion!) you won’t be knocked unconscious by the aroma that greets you when you open your boot! Compared to our other potties, this element was a massive advantage of the My Carry Potty, as all of Joe’s others are open to the elements, and as such would require emptying before transporting home – an indiscreet and unhygienic process!

Does My Carry Potty require liners?

The potty doesn’t require you to have any liners or bags to take with you – the child just sits, shoots and leaves! As long as you close it properly, the contents then remain hidden away. The only down side with this is if you’re on a longer journey, or perhaps have children that are potty training at the same time, and you need to use the potty again before you get a chance to empty it. That said, on a longer journey, The Carry Potty could easily and quickly be emptied and cleaned at a service station.

How easy is it to clean?

The product was really easy to clean once we were back at home. There aren’t any nooks and crannies for dirt to lurk, so it was a once-round with an anti bac wipe and a bigger clean at the end of the day, and I was satisfied it was clean and ready to use again.

When bought from Cheeky Rascals, My Carry Potty comes with a free potty training book called George & Hollie and the Magic Carry Potties – this was a really nice addition, and we felt that this would be great for children who are a little more reluctant or who are having difficulty adapting to using a potty. The story explains about the process of potty training itself, and how children who learn to use it get rewarded with a magic sticker!! The chart allows you to put a sticker up every time they successfully use the potty, and can be personalised with the child’s name.

Pros of My Carry Potty

• Attractive discrete design with bright bold colours to appeal to little ones senses.
• Handle allows children to carry their own potty, which is helpful for mums and parents who have 101 other things to carry!
• No additional bags or liners required – cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
• Very easy to clean, no awkward hinges or nooks and crannies where dirt and germs can linger.
• The only potty we have used that enables discrete useage whilst out and about in public, on journeys etc – helping maintain consistency in potty training where ever we may be.
• Vaccuum seal ensures no spillages, and no odours leaking out – Can be confident that smells and contents will stay put until we are in a convenient place to dispose of them.
• Potty training book full of hints and tips, as well as reward charts and stickers to help those children who may be a little reluctant or confused by the potty training process!

 

Cons

• The latch button took me a couple of go’s to get the hang of. At first I had to check I was opening it right, but it’s fairly self explanatory and there aren’t many other ways I could have opened it, so after a bit a practice and some white knuckles I realised it was just the latch was hard to press up.  I found that rather than pull the latch up, it’s easier if you grab the entire top with both hands and pull gently, that way ensuring that the vacuum seal releases slowly and doesn’t cause the potty to jolt open!
• This may just be Joe, but he wouldn’t sit still on it for longer than absolutely necessary. This is not entirely unusual as he’s a bit of a Tasmanian devil, normally running around at 100 miles per hour. I did notice though, that when he sat on it for a bit longer than normal, he would get a little bit of a red bum where he had been sat. As such, I don’t think we would use this potty as Jonah’s everyday toilet, but would use alongside another one, to ensure he is comfortable with it for a dry and mess-less venture out.
• This is a minor point, but would be great if the reward chart stickers were re-useable – you may want to photocopy the chart before use and purchase some additional stickers to use on a more prolonged basis.

Overall we thought My Carry Potty was a great product for potty training on the go, and useful for maintaining consistency in the early days of teaching your child about their use!

You can learn more about the My Carry Potty, including their new Bee and Ladybird Designs on the Cheeky Rascals website here – Cheeky Rascals My Carry Potty

Thank you to network blogger Claire and her son Joe for this review.

*Please note – this post was originally published in 2014. We were sent a My Carry Potty for the purpose of this review, but all thoughts and opinions are those of the author Claire.