My older daughter trained very easily when she was 3 1/2 years old (it took less than a week), but I was afraid our youngest daughter would never train. She very adamantly stated that she liked her diapers and didn't want to use the potty. She, too, needed to be fully trained for school the next year, and I was afraid I was going to have to keep her home. Then I took her shopping and casually went into the underwear aisle to get underwear for her big sister. My younger one wanted undies of her own, so I let her pick some out. Then I told her that we did a potty chart with her sister, and that for every 10 stickers, she got a special treat. My younger one instantly wanted a potty chart. Every time she pees in the potty she gets one sticker; for poo, it's two stickers. When she gets 10, she gets something special, like an outing to the park (which she would get anyway, but it seems more special when she requests it), or to bake cookies or a cake (which is what she usually wants), or to pick what we have for dinner (either at home or what restaurant we go to). No penalties for accidents. When accidents happen, we tell her it's okay, she's learning, and everyone makes mistakes. This seems to have taken a lot of the pressure off and for the 3 weeks she's been training, she's been accident free for 2 of them. Basically, we gave her choices, a visual way of seeing her own process, and the responsibility. The hardest part for me was not stressing out! Which can be tough when she's playing on the couch and hasn't peed in 2 hours....