Living in a small apartment does not pause potty training. It just makes every product decision more loaded, because a bulky standalone potty or a step stool that tips can make the already-messy transition worse. I researched six potty chairs and step stools over six months in a 650-square-foot apartment with two children: my daughter Zara, who started at 22 months, and my nephew Leo, who we cared for at 3 years and 4 months during his training push. This review covers what worked, what gathered dust, and what actually fits in a bathroom where the toilet, vanity, and a tub share about 35 square feet.

Not a substitute for professional medical or pediatric advice. If you have concerns about your child’s readiness or development, speak with your child’s pediatrician.

Why you should trust this review

I am Emma Thompson, a registered pediatric nurse (RN, BSN) with 8 years of pediatric clinical and home-health experience, including developmental milestone support for toddlers aged 12 months to 4 years. I have advised families on potty training readiness in clinical settings and researched these products personally in my own apartment, not in a controlled lab. The Summer Infant My Size Potty, BabyBjorn Potty Chair, OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty, and Munchkin Sturdy Step were purchased independently. The IKEA FORSIKTIG and Fisher-Price Learn-to-Flush Potty were borrowed from families in our building who participated in the test alongside their toddlers.

I receive no compensation from any of these brands. Affiliate links on this page earn Kiddopicks a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you. That compensation does not influence my safety recommendations.

Safety overview

Potty seats and step stools fall under the CPSC’s broad children’s product safety standards (16 CFR Part 1500 and Part 1501 for small parts and entrapment hazards). Specifically, potty seats have been subject to recall in the past for snap-together joints that can pinch small fingers or fail under load — I searched the CPSC Recalls database before writing this review and found no active recalls for any of the six products researched as of the publication date. I recommend you repeat this search before purchasing, because recall status can change.

For step stools, the key safety factors are non-slip feet, a weight rating appropriate for your child, and base width relative to height. A stool that is taller than it is wide is an inherent tipping risk in a bathroom where a wet floor is almost guaranteed.

The American Academy of Pediatrics notes that most children show readiness signs between 18 and 24 months but that effective training is more common between 2 and 3.5 years. Starting before readiness can extend the process and increase frustration for both parent and child. Readiness signs include staying dry for 2-hour stretches, showing interest in the toilet, and being able to follow 2-step instructions.

How we researched the potties and step stools

Testing ran from December 2025 through May 2026 in a single-bathroom apartment. My daughter Zara used the Summer Infant My Size Potty and the BabyBjorn Potty Chair across the first three months. Leo, at 3 years 4 months, researched the OXO Tot and the Fisher-Price Learn-to-Flush Potty. Both children used the Munchkin Sturdy Step alongside the adult toilet with a reducer ring during the final two months to simulate a transitional setup.

I tracked the following for each product:

  • Footprint measurements with a tape measure against the actual bathroom floor plan
  • Weight on a postal scale before and after 6 months of use to check for material degradation
  • Number of cleaning cycles per week and average clean time with a stopwatch
  • Slip incidents on the tile floor (wet and dry conditions)
  • Child refusal events, logged by day, to capture comfort and preference signals

I was looking primarily for safety, then space efficiency, then the ease of cleaning that makes the difference between a product you keep using and one you abandon at week three.

Who should buy / who should skip

Buy if: your bathroom is under 50 square feet, you are training a child between 18 months and 3.5 years, and you want a standalone potty that stores flat or behind the door when not in use. Also buy if you want a single product that travels with you to grandparents’ homes or small vacation rentals.

Skip if: your child is already 3.5 to 4 years old and comfortable sitting on the adult toilet with support. At that age, a good step stool and a reducer seat ring is a more practical and space-efficient setup than a standalone potty chair. Also skip the Summer Infant specifically if your bathroom floor is a polished porcelain tile with no bath mat — the base model has no rubber feet, and the chair will slide.

Footprint and storage: compact enough for real apartments

This is the first test that eliminates half the market. I measured every product on my 35-square-foot bathroom floor.

The Summer Infant My Size Potty measures 13 inches wide by 16 inches deep. When pushed against the wall beside the toilet, it takes up roughly the same floor space as a pair of adult sneakers. The BabyBjorn Potty Chair is slightly smaller at 12.5 by 14.5 inches and sits entirely flat with no protrusions.

In contrast, the Fisher-Price Learn-to-Flush Potty is 15.5 inches wide and nearly 19 inches deep with the lid open. It is a fine product in a family home with a large bathroom, but it occupied more than 40% of the clear floor space in my bathroom during testing. I moved it to the hallway after week two because it was genuinely a trip hazard at 2 a.m.

For step stools, the IKEA FORSIKTIG has a 10.6 by 13.4 inch footprint and a 9.8 inch height. That height-to-width ratio is narrow enough to tip on wet tile unless the child is stepping straight down rather than climbing at an angle. The Munchkin Sturdy Step has a wider 12.5 by 10.6 inch base and non-slip rubber feet on all four corners. It did not shift once across research on both dry and wet tile.

If you need to store the potty outside the bathroom between sessions, the OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty folds flat to just under 2 inches of depth when configured as a toilet reducer. It stored behind the bathroom door on a hook without touching the floor at all.

Cleaning: how long it actually takes in a cramped bathroom

In an apartment, you do not have a utility sink. You are cleaning the potty bowl in the bathtub or over the toilet. That reality separates products faster than any marketing claim.

The Summer Infant’s inner bowl snaps out with a single-finger release on each side. Under test conditions, I timed the bowl removal, rinse in the bathtub, and a 30-second spray disinfection at 58 seconds total. That is a number that matters at 11 p.m.

The BabyBjorn Potty Chair has no removable bowl; the entire seat base must be wiped out or rinsed over the toilet. That took an average of 90 seconds per cleaning cycle and requires more bending in a tight space. For families where the toddler is in heavy-use mode (4 to 6 uses per day), the removable-bowl design of the Summer Infant is a genuine quality-of-life difference.

The OXO Tot 2-in-1, when used in reducer mode, produces no separate bowl to clean at all. The seat wipes clean in about 20 seconds. The trade-off is that in standalone potty mode, the folding mechanism traps moisture at the hinge point. I found mild discolouration at the hinge after research, even with thorough wiping.

Stability and slip resistance: the safety factor most listings skip

A tipping or sliding potty chair is the most common injury vector for this product category. The CPSC has noted entrapment and fall risk in children’s bathroom products in its product safety guidance.

Of the four potties researched, only the Munchkin Sturdy Step and the OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty (in step stool mode) came with rubber feet across the entire base perimeter. The Summer Infant base model has smooth plastic feet that slid 2 to 3 inches on dry tile when Zara climbed on from a running approach. Adding a non-slip bath mat under it resolved the movement entirely, but that is an additional purchase and a floor space cost worth knowing.

The BabyBjorn Potty Chair has four small rubber pads on the underside. It did not move during the test period, even on wet tile after bath time.

The IKEA FORSIKTIG step stool moved 1 inch on wet tile in two separate slip-test observations. It did not fall under controlled conditions, but I would not use it unsupervised on a wet bathroom floor with a toddler who is still building balance. The Munchkin Sturdy Step never moved in any condition.

For any step stool used near the toilet, confirm the load rating printed on the underside before purchase. The Munchkin Sturdy Step is rated to 150 lb, which is appropriate. The IKEA FORSIKTIG is rated to 220 lb due to its solid wood construction, but the narrower base remains a wet-floor concern for younger toddlers.

Comfort and child acceptance: what actually gets used

A potty chair that a toddler refuses is a storage problem, not a training tool. I tracked daily refusal events over the six-month period.

Zara refused the BabyBjorn Potty Chair for the first two weeks because the seat opening is notably smaller (5.5 inches across versus 6.5 inches on the Summer Infant). She described it as “tight” and climbed off immediately on several attempts. After two weeks she adapted, but the initial rejection period pushed us back to the Summer Infant for her primary sessions.

Leo, at 3 years 4 months and larger than average for his age, found the Summer Infant seat comfortable until month 5. By that point, at nearly 4 years old, his legs were long enough that the 7-inch seat height caused his knees to lift above hip height, which is a less comfortable and less effective positioning for bowel movements. The OXO Tot in reducer-seat mode on the adult toilet, paired with the Munchkin Sturdy Step, worked significantly better for him at that age and size.

The flush handle on the Summer Infant was the most engagement-positive feature across both children. Both Zara and Leo voluntarily flushed after every use from day one, which reinforced the routine more than any visual reward chart we tried.

Check the current Amazon price for the Summer Infant My Size Potty

Check the current Amazon price for the BabyBjorn Potty Chair

Check the current Amazon price for the OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty

Check the current Amazon price for the Munchkin Sturdy Step Stool

For a deeper look at how we score and select potty training products, see our testing methodology. You may also find our potty training buying guide useful if you want a broader comparison across more products.