Potty Training 21/2 Year Old Girl

I hate to discourage you but she sounds like my daughter....and I had no luck potty training her until recently and she is 3 1/2. I had started to try things with her back when she was 2 with no luck. She just wanted nothing to do with it. I do have a few suggestions though. You can try a reward system. Use stickers, a small piece of candy like an M & M. Also, try putting the potty chair in the livingroom in front of the TV. Put in a video and have her sit bare bottom on it. Other than those, if she does want to or isn't truly ready, nothing will work until she is. Good luck!!!

Hi J.. I potty trained my daughter at 2 because she was turning the diaper changing into a game (and not a fun game!). We spent lots of time reading a potty training book together beforehand and really talked up the 'big girl' thing. The first time she peed on the potty we had a big tadoo and gave her a treat. When she pooped on the potty for the first time I was so excited I almost peed my own pants and she was thrilled with the enthusiasm. For weeks she got a treat every time she used the potty (yes, she lived on gummi bears for a couple of weeks and made herself pee sometimes just to get them) and then it slowly just became routine. Now we carry a potty in the back of the car in case of emergencies. We told her that the treats were coming from the 'potty fairy' and that eventually she would have to fly off to help another child train...Crazy, I know--and believe it or not we are both teachers--but it worked. Good luck!

I would try getting the potty time books and video's. They may get her more involved and excited about the fact of becoming a "big girl". They come in both male and female versions and I found them to be helpful with my son. It's worth a try. I think you may even be able to borrow them from your local library. I do think that a child will definatly start training when they are ready, but every little bit of encouragement wont hurt! Good luck.

Hi J.!
I am going through the potty training myself with our daughter (2 and 4months). We started with a little potty and a book about it. We just got a potty for the car too (Ikea $3!) I let her pick out her pull ups (Target brand has princesses on them) and bought some undies. She really wanted to wear the undies, but she too didn't care if she was wet or not. I put the undies away and told her as soon as she stops peeing/pooping in the pull ups then she gets to wear the undies.
Who knew potty training would be so crazy! I'm finding that I have to just stay on top of it all day/night long. Every 20 min or so I'm asking her if she has to go. I would try to hype up the undies and how big girls wear them.
Good Luck! ~A.

Hi J.,
Have you tried having her pick out her own big girl potty chair that she can just got and sit on to experiment with? Also the sticker rewards worked wonderfully for my now 5 1/2 year old, she would love being able to get a sticker after going on the potty. Positive re-enforcement is key here, try your best not to get discouraged as she'll be able to see/feel it and get discouraged too. Also be as consistent as you can, if she is showing signs of being ready, jump on board and get her going but try not to be lax about it, hit it head on and it should all work out for you. Good luck :)