Two Year Old Ready for Potty Training

at home I would definitely switch her to cloth training pants (like underwear but with more padding). I REALLY think diapers/pull ups set us back with potty training. My daughter ended up having a "potty party" (we even had a cake) after 3 days with clean panties. her cousins came over and she got panties and it was a blast, and for us- it helped a lot,

It is a slow process... my daughter still has off days after months of being "trained" and for her it seems that once she has ONE accident- the rest of the day is blown- ugh. But most days she does good. For my daughter- peeing is easy, and pooping is not.

Whatever you do, don't get upset with her, even if she has 5 accidents one day. I know everyone says it- but I got angry a few times (well- its frustrating!) and every time I did it took like 2 days to get her back on track again.

Of course even long after she seems trained, keep praising her! My daughter still needs that feedback - but now can go potty, by herself 99% of the time (although if she starts squirming I do need to remind her to go sometimes)

Good Luck
-M.

You daughter may just need a little more direction from you until her new potty habit is well-established. When my grandson was becoming a potty-user, he did pretty well but was often caught by surprise because he was so engrossed in his play. So we set the kitchen timer for every 40 minutes or so, and insisted that he try when the time rang. He eventually learned that if he got to the bathroom in time, he didn't have to obey the timer.

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/potty-training-tips.html

It sounds to me like she is ready to potty train because she doesn't want to sit in it anymore, the problem is that she doesn't know what to do instead. You need her to recognize the sensation that she has to go before she goes. I used a 3 day method that involves focusing just on her for an entire day (send the hubby and son off to have a boys day or something). Do lots of fun stuff and stick to her like glue and offer plenty of liquids. Don't make her sit on the potty, just watch her and when she starts to go move her to the potty immediately and tell her pee pee goes in the potty. After 2 or 3 times she'll either get there herself or, more likely, she'll freeze and just yell potty. By the end of the day you'll have 10-15 seconds of warning. My son pretty much got it by the end of the second day and we haven't had many accidents since (8 months ago). Good luck!

Just put her on the potty about every hour when she is home with you and reward her with a tiny treat (one M&M or one choc chip) just for sitting for a few minutes.