News of the Weird - Special Edition - Toilet-training iPads

I try and keep my Weird News posts to Tuesdays if I have them, just because I like my themed days.

Sometimes, though, there's just too much (and I'm aware of the irony in the fact that I haven't had one in a while, but there's another one scheduled for this Tuesday already).

Does your child have everything? Are you one of those parents who insists on buying an iPad for your kid even though he is only a year old?

Then you must buy the iPotty for him!

That's right. The iPotty is a combination toilet/iPad holder for those kids who just can't be torn away from their shiny new toy to learn the intricacies of going to the bathroom.

According to the Daily Mail:

"The firm behind it claims the gadget, revealed at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, can help children feel more comfortable by allowing them to watch videos or play games while answering the call of nature."

As you can see, it's a little toilet with an iPad holder, complete with splashguard in case little Timmy is a bit too wild when he lets loose! And the seat folds down so you can have little Timmy sitting in it all the time. You know, so you can have him sit there in "time out" when he misbehaves. This will be a good way to ease in to sending him to the bathroom itself when he's been bad when he's a little older.

It will let little Timmy continue watching his videos or playing his games while he's also learning how to not use a diaper.

It's a win-win!

Is this really a good idea? Are toddlers that good at multi-tasking? I'm not a parent, so this is an honest question to you parents out there. If you are potty-training your kids, should you really be distracting them? Or do you think this would actually ease their anxieties about doing it?

And of course, as newspapers and print books die out, Big Timmy will eventually be taking his iPad for his evening constitutional anyway, so this is good training for him!

Parents, please chime in. Is this a totally silly idea or mana from heaven?