Interestingly, we had a little girl who had exactly this problem. We don’t know why but she was 13 months old and something must have happened. She got the Baby Throne as a present all wrapped up in pretty paper, and showed her how you can easily stick stickers on the surface. She took ownership of her Throne. She sat in the Beginner stage a few times and progressed to using the Intermediate stage and used it as a potty for about a week. After this time she was quite happy and actually initiated moving to the Advanced stage herself just before her bath. It was not treated as a big deal, but you could see how pleased she was with herself!

The Baby Throne is a tool. It supports a baby or a toddler from the front, back sides and under their thighs so they feel safe. The support under the thighs is especially important for little ones who may have a ‘fear of letting go’. No one knows your baby or toddler better than you do. The Baby Throne is a tool and you have to figure out between yourselves how to make it fit into your lives. As soon as baby is born, they have to ‘go’ properly. You are just helping them to do what is perfectly normal and natural.

These are all toilet training techniques. If you Google any of these words you will get a huge amount of information on these subjects. The Baby Throne is simply the tool that holds your baby or toddler in the correct position. The Baby Throne is the ONLY suitable tool that holds a baby comfortably and safely in the optimal squat position, supporting them on all sides in a warm safe structure. You can toilet train babies. Babies are clever! As my husband stated to some raised eyebrows; ‘if you can toilet train a puppy, why can’t you toilet train a baby? Babies are much cleverer!’

Babies who have been practicing Elimination Communication (ECing), Baby Whispering, Infant Potty Training or Natural Infant Hygiene (NIH) don’t really need to go through the gentle progression of the Beginner and Intermediate steps leading to the Advanced stage because they are more used to baring their bottoms and going to the toilet. However, there is no harm in starting at the Beginner stage – even for just a few minutes – and then moving on to the Intermediate and finally on to the Advanced stage.

The most important factor to consider when putting a baby or a toddler on a potty (or even a toilet trainer) is that they feel safe and secure. They must be held and supported on all sides. That magical squat position is what triggers the instinct to ‘push’.

The original Baby Throne I made for Hector was not soft; I made it from wood, clay, plastic and lots of plumbing tape and it worked like a dream! Now of course, the Baby Throne is made from a pretty, warm material. Supported comfortably in a squat position, allows baby to relax and nature to take its course.

It is more of a challenge to get toddlers to sit and relax as they can often get distracted and want to get off the Throne. Try all the tricks you know. Distract them. Give them something to do. A book or a toy. In our house, flash cards were the most popular and I think Hector simply loved the time he had to have undivided attention from whoever was sitting with him. You want them distracted by what they are doing and then their bodies relax, that magic squat position triggers the instinct to ‘push’, and they empty their bowels. They also empty their bladders as well.

Nearly all parents mention this problem at the start but all state that with patience everything falls into place within a very short period of time. Just keep with a routine if it doesn’t happen first time. Once their baby or toddler got ‘it’ and made the ‘connection’ they were all ‘going like a Boeing’. This has to be the most common expression I hear when I ask for feedback on how things are going!

This is debatable.  Grand parents tell me that 50 years ago, before the invention of the disposable nappy (diaper), babies were out of nappies by the time they were 18 months old. They believed that the increased workload in washing nappies and the uncomfortable feel of a wet cloth nappy led to both parents and toddlers working towards being ‘dry’. Now the modern nappies protect the baby from feeling the wetness, so babies do not complain and the parents subsequently do not change the nappies.

But what about all of the nappy (diaper) waste? Landfills around the world are full of disposable nappies (diapers). It would be wrong to say that cloth nappies have no effect on the environment – we have to wash them in detergent – but the damage is less. A kinder solution is to work with your baby to transition them out of nappies and onto the toilet. The Baby Throne helps you do that.

Sitting in soiled nappies (diapers) is not healthy and encourages infections. Bladder infections and nappy rashes (diaper rash) are painful and can be avoided by encouraging your baby out of nappy use. It is much better and healthier to encourage your baby to use the Baby Throne and no longer need nappies (diapers) as soon as possible – especially by the time they start solids at about 6 months.

There is discussion about the connection between testicular cancer, male infertility and long term nappy (diaper) wearing. There has been some excellent research in this area but no matter what, common sense tells you that those little testicles are not meant to get hot and be kept hot! If in doubt, read up on scientific or medical research and ask your doctor.

The last nappy/diaper to drop is the one at night. This stands to reason as it is a long time between visits to the bathroom. Almost half of all children still wet the bed at the age of 3. Most child development experts consider bed-wetting normal until about the age of 6, when only 12% of kids still wet the bed.

There appears to be a strong family component to bed-wetting: 77% of children whose parents both wet the bed as youngsters will do the same. 43% of children of one bed-wetting parent will follow suit, and only 15% of children whose parents had no trouble staying dry at night will wet the bed. I even had a friend who occasionally wet the bed in her late teen years. Regardless of how you proceed, avoid putting pressure on your child and don’t punish.

Staying dry all night is a developmental skill and everyone is different. Some advice could be simply to cut down the amount of liquids before bed time. A bottle to sleep with is of course going to put pressure on the bladder. Perhaps try and cut down the volume of liquid; do it gradually. Sometimes the child cannot feel the wetness as the nappy/diaper can be so efficient and it simply doesn’t feel wet.

One trick is putting on a pair of panties or underpants under the nappy (diaper) so they can feel the wetness and be aware of what is happening. You can also purchase urine-sensitive alarms that wake up your child when it senses wetness, although we did not feel this was necessary for Hector. When Hector was little, I used to take him to the toilet before he went to bed to empty his bladder and then again when I went to bed at about 11pm. He never really woke up and this certainly made a big difference to his comfort.

I always have a waterproof mattress cover on the bed just in case there is an accident. Much easier to strip the bed and throw the sheets into the washing machine than an expensive mattress getting ruined as a result of the occasional accident. The accidents were far too infrequent to justify using a nappy (diaper). When Hector did wear a nappy at night, I found in summer he would get very hot and sweaty in that area, which we all know not healthy for little boys!

Before you buy a Baby Throne it is important to have a plan for the training process itself. Toilet training is a continuous process. It is about enabling, teaching and ensuring that your child feels comfortable, safe and secure. Be flexible, have fun and don’t expect ‘success in a day’.

Every parent, baby and toddler is different and what suits one may not suit another. It is about common sense, kindness, teaching and helping them to do what they need to do to be independent. If baby hates what you are doing, leave it for a day or a week and then try again. Don’t force them. If you are worried, speak to your paediatrician, other mothers, your mother and friends. Decide upon a flexible strategy and share that with anyone who takes care of your child and get their support.

There will be accidents. Always treat it lightly and clean up and move on. It was Hector who used to get most upset with his accidents, which could be as a result of teething, not being well or simply getting out of routine. It is easy to get out of routine, but just as easy to get back into it again.

Throughout toilet training, your baby and/or toddler will respond to positive feedback. Using positive feedback and responding in a supportive and caring way makes your child feel safe and keep trying. In our house whenever Hector moved on to another step in his toilet training, we made sure that we praised his success. We were always mindful to praise his progress and offer positive feedback. Sometimes we would clap or hold him up so that he could made the chimes in the bathroom sing. Positive feedback is important as it creates a nurturing and supportive environment where accidents are part of the learning process.

As an engineer and a mother, I was presented with a problem that I had to solve. Hector just did not like to sit in a soiled (number 2) nappy (diaper) and would cry. I had to find a solution. I had to find a way for Hector to empty his bowels completely. No one told me that I was meant to wait until he was 2 years old before thinking about toilet training.

When my family and friends saw what I was doing and the positive results, they encouraged me to take Hector’s Throne – as it was called then – into production. Hector’s Throne became The Baby Throne and the rest is history, as they say!

You save time by using the Baby Throne. It is also much healthier for baby avoiding nappy rash, infections, testicular cancer in later life etc. Testicular cancer and infertility in later life is debatable at present but common sense tells us those family jewels are not meant to be kept hot. We have proven that on average you save changing over 2200 nappies (diapers) before the age of 2. That is a lot of time saved. All the time you need to start is a maximum of 10 minutes in the morning and the evening.

Using the Baby Throne as part of your routine (habit stacking) is easy! When you are brushing your teeth, or running the bath, settle your baby into their Throne. You can even use it after they have woken up from their nap. But remember, always supervise your child and never leave them unattended on the Throne.

We recommend warm soapy water or if you want something more aggressive your normal bathroom cleaners are fine too. In South Africa we have a product called Handy Andy that is nice to use but rinse properly. Remember you do not want harsh detergents against your baby’s skin. It is always a good idea to clean new products especially for using with baby because they could be covered in residual chemicals from the factories. Most people even like to wash new clothes before using them on baby.

Each to their own but is this not being mean to your child?

Sorry, at about 20Kg the Baby Throne starts to get tight so it would be better to move on to the standard toilet trainers available that simply make the toilet hole smaller. 20Kg is the weight of an average 4 year old but if you have a special needs child and they still fit go ahead. We have had great feedback on this. Always be in attendance and do not leave them alone! It is always possible to fall off the Baby Throne even if unlikely.

Babies are clever so why wait? You are using physiology and gravity, then routine and reward, no need to wait until they are toddlers to start.

As soon as baby can sit up straight unaided you can start using the Baby Throne, which is at about 4 months. All you are doing is helping baby empty their bowels properly it is just basic physiology and gravity. As a result of this you end up using fewer nappies (diapers). The Baby Throne has received endorsements from paediatricians and world recognised paediatric surgeons as a valuable aid especially for children when transitioning from liquid to solid foods.

• NEVER leave a child unattended when toilet training on the Baby Throne
• ALWAYS supervise your child to prevent injury from falling off the Baby Throne
• Read and FOLLOW the instruction manual
• ONLY use the base on the floor
• Top section is ONLY to be placed on the base or toilet
• Use the Baby Throne for no more than 10 MINUTES per session
• Intended to be used as a toilet-training device ONLY

If you cannot find the Baby Throne on other websites it means they are out of stock; we will deliver soonest!

If you are concerned please contact us on the email you received confirming your tracking number or you can email us on info@knightsbabytraining.com

Baby Thrones are despatched within 48 hours of receiving your order and payment.  Please ensure we have your contact telephone number for delivery.   Delivery times in South Africa are 4 days and internationally approximately 14 days.  However please expect delays as a result of Covid challenges especially internationally.

All Baby Throne orders are insured and have a tracking number either with the Courier Guy nationally in South Africa or with the post office for international orders. You will receive your tracking number after you have submitted your order and we have received your payment confirmation.

Size and weight of the Baby Throne products:

Full Set Size: 40 X 40 X 40 cm
Full Set Weight: 2.5kg

Seat Only Size: 40 X 40 X 20 cm
Seat Only Weight: 1.5kg

Constipation typically occurs when babies move onto solids at about 6 months or as a result of dietary changes at a later age. Toddlers have a tendency to ‘hold back’ and this is also a common cause of constipation. If constipation is not resolved and becomes chronic, it may result in serious health issues. The squat position can help with all of these challenges. In rare cases, the cause of constipation can require additional medical attention.

Yes – if you are not happy with your Baby Throne in 14 days, send it back and we will refund you; no questions asked. We have not had one returned yet!