The Potty Chair That Everyone Recommends — But Is It Actually Worth It?
When I was getting ready to start potty training, the BabyBjörn Smart Potty came up in almost every conversation I had with other parents. It showed up on every “best potty chairs” list. My health visitor mentioned it. Two of my mum friends had it. And it costs noticeably more than the basic potties sitting right next to it on the shelf.
So I did what any sensible, slightly sceptical parent would do: I bought it, used it, cleaned it approximately one thousand times, and formed some very firm opinions.
Here is my honest, experience-based review — the good parts, the parts that surprised me, the parts that made me roll my eyes, and the one thing no review ever mentions that you absolutely need to know before you buy.
The right potty chair makes training smoother for both parent and child.
What Is the BabyBjörn Smart Potty?
The BabyBjörn Smart Potty is a standalone toddler potty designed for children from approximately 18 months to 3 years. It sits directly on the floor and is designed to be the first step in potty training before transitioning to a toilet seat insert.
BabyBjörn also makes a Toilet Training Seat designed for the next stage — when your child is ready to move from the standalone potty to the full-size toilet. The two products are designed to work together as a two-stage system, though you can use either one independently.
The Smart Potty retails at around $20 to $25 USD depending on the colour and retailer. Available colours include white, yellow, blue, and red — all bright and appealing to toddlers.
What I Liked About It
The Design Is Genuinely Clever
I was initially sceptical that a simple plastic potty could justify a premium price. Then I used a cheap alternative first (we had one left over from an older child) and immediately understood the difference.
The BabyBjörn Smart Potty has a low, wide base that stays firmly on hard floors without rocking or sliding. The inner bowl sits snugly inside the outer shell and lifts out in one clean piece for emptying and rinsing. There are no complicated mechanisms, no removable lids, no extra parts to lose. Everything about it is deliberately, thoughtfully simple — and that simplicity turns out to be exactly what you need at 2am when you are half asleep cleaning a potty in the bathroom.
It Is Extremely Easy to Clean
This is the thing nobody tells you about potty chairs: cleaning them is where the design really matters. Some potties have corners, crevices, texture patterns, and decorative moulding that trap waste and are genuinely difficult to sanitise properly.
The BabyBjörn Smart Potty has none of that. The inner bowl is a smooth, seamless curve with no angles and no joins. You lift it out, tip it into the toilet, rinse it under the tap, and wipe it dry. The whole process takes about thirty seconds. I cannot overstate how much this matters after the first week of potty training when you are doing it multiple times a day.
The High Splash Guard
If you are potty training a boy, the front splash guard matters enormously. The BabyBjörn Smart Potty has a high, well-angled splash guard that genuinely contains misdirected wee rather than just decoratively suggesting where it should go. We had significantly fewer floor incidents with this potty than with the cheaper alternative we had used previously.
It Grows with Your Child
The same seat that fits an 18-month-old is still comfortable for a 3-year-old. The seat opening and depth are generous without being so large that small children feel unstable — a balance that cheaper potties often get wrong in one direction or the other.
What I Did Not Like
The Price
Let us be straightforward: $20 to $25 for a plastic potty is on the higher end of the market. You can buy a functional potty for $6 to $10. For some families the price difference is significant, and I want to acknowledge that honestly.
My honest assessment: if budget is a concern, a basic potty will work. Your child will learn to use the toilet whether they are sitting on a $8 potty or a $24 one. The BabyBjörn is easier to clean and better designed, but it is not going to make or break your potty training experience.
No Bells and Whistles
Some parents want a potty that plays a congratulatory tune when their child succeeds, or that lights up, or that has their child's favourite character on it. The BabyBjörn Smart Potty has none of this. It is clean, simple, and deliberately unadorned.
I actually consider this a pro — distraction-free sitting means your toddler focuses on what they are supposed to be doing rather than trying to make the potty play its song again. But if your child is highly motivated by novelty and characters, a more decorated potty might keep them seated for longer in the early stages.
No Travel Version
The Smart Potty is designed for home use and does not fold or compress for travel. If you need a portable option for outings, you will want to look at the BabyBjörn Toilet Training Seat which is more portable and doubles as the next stage of training.
Building the hand-washing habit alongside potty training is important from day one.
The One Thing Nobody Mentions
Here is the thing I wish someone had told me before I bought any potty chair: the potty is not the hard part. The chair you choose will not make your child ready before they are ready. It will not make them enthusiastic when they are resistant. It will not prevent regressions or fix constipation or stop accidents in public at the worst possible moments.
The potty chair is just furniture. What actually works is patience, consistency, a well-timed reward system, and following your child's readiness rather than a calendar date.
That said — once you have committed to starting, having a potty that is genuinely easy to clean and stays stable on the floor removes one small source of friction from an already demanding process. And on balance, the BabyBjörn Smart Potty does that job better than most of the alternatives I have encountered.
BabyBjörn Smart Potty vs Cheaper Alternatives
Here is my honest comparison after having used both:
| Feature | BabyBjörn Smart Potty | Budget Potty (~$6–10) |
|---|
| Stability on floor | Excellent | Variable |
| Ease of cleaning | Excellent — smooth seamless bowl | Often difficult — corners & crevices |
| Splash guard | High & effective | Low or absent |
| Comfort | Ergonomic, well-sized | Often too small or unstable |
| Price | $20–$25 | $6–$10 |
My verdict: if you can comfortably afford it, the BabyBjörn Smart Potty is the better product — primarily because of how easy it is to clean. If the price is a stretch, a basic potty will absolutely work and your child will not know the difference.
What About the BabyBjörn Toilet Training Seat?
Once your child is reliably using the standalone potty and ready to transition to the full toilet, the BabyBjörn Toilet Training Seat is an excellent next step. It fits over the adult toilet seat and reduces the opening to a comfortable size for small children. The handle makes it easy to carry to public toilets and hang on the back of the door at home. It is designed for children aged 2 to 6 and makes the transition from potty to toilet far smoother than simply removing the potty and hoping for the best.
Potty training is a team effort — patience and consistency matter more than any product.
Quick Summary
- Best for: Parents who prioritise easy cleaning and stable, simple design
- Best age: 18 months to 3 years for the Smart Potty; 2 to 6 for the Toilet Trainer
- Worth buying if: You want something that lasts through multiple children and is genuinely easy to sanitise
- Skip it if: Budget is tight — a basic potty will work fine
- My rating: 4.5 out of 5 — loses half a point only for the price
Have you used the BabyBjörn potty with your child? I would love to hear your experience in the comments — especially if you compared it to other potties.
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Written by Baby Potty Training Mommy — sharing real-world potty training advice since 2010. Read more about me here.
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