Many parents today opt for using a potty training toilet seat exclusively when toilet training their child.

A potty seat is a child-sized seat that fits on top of an adult toilet, thus eliminating any need to empty out the bowl from a potty chair which sits on the floor.

There are both advantages and disadvantages of using a toilet seat instead of a potty chair to train your child and we'll explore those distinct differences in this article.

Potty Training Seats - Pros

- The most obvious advantage to using a toilet seat is the one already referred to. By having your child sit atop an adult potty, all the waste goes directly into the adult toilet. No potty chair bowl to spill, tip over, clean up, smell, etc.

- Using a potty seat means you'll never have to transition your child from using a potty chair to using the seat. He's totally comfortable with the adult toilet from the get-go.

- A toilet training seat is portable. Simply throw one into your car and you always have an appropriate sized potty for your preschooler or toddler wherever an adult toilet can be found.

- A potty seat often makes a toddler feel "big" right away, since she's aware that the grownups only use the adult toilet. And now so does she.

Click here to get your 3-Day Potty Training Guide.

Potty Training Seats - Cons

- Potty seats can have a safety issue attached to them. You'll have to provide a step stool of some sort for your child to climb up onto the training seat safely. Some children love this, but some toddlers intensely dislike this part of using a toilet seat; in fact, they're downright scared.

A frightened child does not potty train well. If at all.

- Potty seats can be in the way. You'll need to move it each time an adult needs to use the toilet. Of course, you'll want to leave the seat on the adult toilet when your toddler is new to training as accidents can and do happen while a child is trying to put the potty seat onto the adult toilet or wait for help.

- A potty seat needs a place where your child can firmly plant his feet so he can push during bowel movements. On a potty chair, the floor provides that automatically. Sometimes the step stool doubles for this with a potty seat, but sometimes the step stool is not the right height once a child is sitting down.

- A training seat mounted on top of an adult toilet doesn't work for little boys who want to stand and pee like Daddy. So think about how you want to toilet train your son before automatically reaching for a potty seat.

Potty training seats are a great convenience when used appropriately and accepted by potty training toddlers. Some parents adopt a best-of-all-worlds model and use a potty chair at first and then switch to a potty seat as a child becomes more advanced.

Bottom line? Choosing a potty training toilet seat clearly depends upon your method of toilet training and your child's unique personality. Some parents will be happiest having both a potty seat and a potty chair; and in fact, some potty chairs come apart to use as both chair and seat. A parent also needs to be flexible as a toddler may initially favor one or another and then change their mind as they advance in age and maturity.

The most important factor to consider is what will make your experience potty training your child go as smoothly and seamlessly as possible. The toilet training process has its share of built-in ups and downs and what you'll want most is to know that the potty chair or seat you choose does its job by being safe, comfortable and fits in with your home life comfortably.

Click here to get your 3-Day Potty Training Guide.