Potty-Training - Bellmore,NY

All kids are different. Is she even ready? There are some checklists online to use to help you know. Is she waking up from a nap dry? Is she interested in trying the potty? Etc.

We struggled with this. Our daughter wasn't ready until a couple of months after she turned 3. I made a chart that had a picture of a Dora backpack on it. She had to go potty 12 times to earn the backpack.

What finally worked for us was this: (not saying it will work for your kiddo).
I gave myself 2 days where we would stay home (dead of winter). She didn't wear anything on her bottom and I put her on the couch to watch tv (on a towel). I set the timer for 7-10 minutes. Took her in and had her sit. She got 1 M&M for sitting and 2 for peeing (and a flower on her chart). By the time we waited on the potty and washed hands and reset the timer, it was really a 15 - 20 minute stretch. When we finally got pee in the potty it was HUGE! Just about the time she was wearing thin of the whole thing, (end of day one and beginning of day 2), she earned her backpack. We made a special trip (in a pull-up) to the store and got the backpack. She was super excited and we used it to put extra clothes, underwear, wipes, and a travel potty seat in it. She felt like she was in control of this now.

We kept up with the M&M's until the bag was gone and she seemed to get it. She is 3 1/2 now and can mostly do it on her own now. Pooping on the potty actually came later, so that was a lot of fun dealing with that! Ugh.

I really hope her sister trains easier than she did. I also think my oldest has gross motor issues and it is related to delayed potty training. She still wets a little in her underwear before she realizes she needs to go. Again, every kid is different. Just start with a well thought out process and stick with it. If she doesn't seem ready and is getting frustrated, stop for awhile and try it again this winter. :)

If she does not show interest in going to the potty or doesn't like being wet, then she is probably not ready. I suggest it to my 23 month old and if he wants to go, then I take him in there (he gets an m-n-m for trying or going). He's up to going 2-3x a day now but I doubt he'd know the signals (feelings) of being able to run to the potty and go by himself. He wants me to change him as soon as he's wet or poopy so he's getting close.

So honestly if she's not intersted, she's not interested and no amount of stickers or candy will make her want to go. I'd back off for a month or so (this is what the pediatrician told me to do with my daughter) and not say/do anything about it then revisit and see if she is intersted in it then.

She sounds like she's just not ready yet, A.. Kids will reach a place where they are physically and emotionally mature enough that they WANT to achieve this milestone. That generally happens somewhere between 22 months and 4+ years. Girls are often, but not always, earlier to train.

When she is ready, she will let you know. Until then, just keep the whole thing light and positive. You can start "training" her earlier, but you will be training her until she's ready anyway. So, if she is ready at 33 months, she will be successful at 33 months, whether you've been sitting her on the potty every 30 minutes for the previous five months or not.

Here's a wonderful, informative website you might find helpful. It gives a few variations on"readiness" checklists, plus tips on various training strategies, the best ages to start them, and the advantages and disadvantages of each approach: http://www.parentingscience.com/toilet-training-readiness...

Most of the children I know closely have trained in a matter of days, or two weeks at the most, because their parents waited for them to lead the process.

I definitely think reward systems can lose their effectiveness. If you're finding it hard to get her on the potty in the first place, she just might not be ready yet, which is fine because she is still on the younger side. I spent some grueling time trying to potty train my daughter and in the end I realized she just wasn't ready, stopped for a few weeks and the next time, it was like a miracle. I didn't need any rewards. I just stayed in with her for a few days and kept a training potty in the living room. She liked that better than going to the bathroom, which was fine with me because she was still using the potty.
You obviously know your daughter best so whenever you feel like she is ready, I do have one piece of advice. As difficult as I know it can be to stay in the house and it may seem like forever, you have to do it! Trust me, it won't be forever and in a few days, you will be joining the outside world again, but I really think one of the most important tools when potty training is just focusing on it and working at it all day, every day. No more of these "half-days." Give it 3-5 days of staying in. If your daughter is doing well, then go take those short trips out, but not with pull-ups. Be prepared for accidents. Eventually your short trips will get longer and more frequent. If after those first few days though she's not interested in using the potty, then I say stop altogther and wait another month or two.
Good luck!!