Toilet Training Still!

You need to totally stop using the pull-ups and you will have to put her in underwear consistantly. Yes, she will have several accidents, but this is part of the process. I know how frustrating that is as I just got done potty training my 2 year old son. There are training underpants that have an extra layer in them, not diaper like, they are cloth, that may help minimize the mess, but the having accidents is really a short phase and the pants are expensive. You also need to be firm that she go on the potty.

The pull-ups work, you just have to use them correctly. I trained my 27 mth. daughter using pull-ups in just one week. I told her she could not go pee-pee on Dora. If she did, I put a diaper back on her. She did not like that. So, I give her another chance and put the pull-up back on her. I take her potty as soon as she gets up, right after she eats, about five minutes after she has a drink, and through out the day I take her potty whether she tells me no or not. At first she wasn't so cooperative. Sometimes she would sit on the potty and hold it in to be stubborn. I would just leave her there until she went pee-pee. I gave her a cup of juice or water in a special cup(so she would drink it) then she went. When she went pee-pee, I praised and praised, no sticker or bribe. After dealing with that a few times, she came around. It takes her two seconds to jump up on the potty and go pee-pee now. She wears underwear now most of the time, but when I put the pull-up on she doesn't go in it unless it is naptime or bedtime. That is what I use them for and I don't have to worry about her having accidents.

We are training our 2yr old now and she responded very well to just staying bare-bottomed for a few days and then wearing her "big girl underwear"...she's so proud of them. She was bare for the weekend, now has been wearing underwear for a few days. Sometimes she'll wear pants over them, but sometimes she just wants to wear the underwear so she can see them and show us, because she's so proud of them and being a big girl. I know it sounds silly, but I think layers of clothes to get through just makes it harder to get to the potty and sit down in time. Is your daughter interested in her big girl underwear? Let her pick some out at the store with a fun character on them.

We were way too generous with the bribery at first. Our daughter is responding much better now that there are special stickers that she puts on a Sesame Street chart hanging above her potty....she gets one only when she actually goes, they're not just for sitting on the potty and trying. She even put a chart up for her baby, so that she can show her baby how to use her potty too. When Daddy comes home from work, she shows him how many special stickers she's earned. We got the chart in the Sesame Street Potty Book coloring book at Target.
The bare-bottomed technique that I've heard about is to just bring her to the potty every 20 or 30 min and have her sit down for a minute. The advice that we got from friends was to just keep her in underwear while she's interested and excited about it. Don't keep going back to pull-ups or she will use them.
Good luck

C.,

I agree with Amy completely. I own a childcare center and have potty trained hundreds of kids. I have had mom's come in saying their kids want no part of potty training so with their permission we begin the process and within a few days the most a week it is done. We do not use pull-ups we use cloth training pants as Amy suggested. Accidents are part of the process, however once they have a few accidents they do not like the feeling and will get the hang of it quickly. We also do not ask if they have to go we just take them to the potty as a group every hour. It works like a charm. I personally was not a fan of walking around naked I didn't want them to get used to that and then not be able to get underwear on them. I think Target sells the training cloth underwear. Pull-ups are expensive and a waste of time. Good luck!!

Pullups are a waste of time and money because they kids just treat them like diapers anyways. I used the bare bottom approach with my kids and my daughter did the same with my grandkids. Works well with a few accidents.

Rewards keep the process fun so it's ok to offer a m&m or two for success. It's not a bribe it's a reward for doing a good job.

My son was very similar -- almost there, then the birth, then only goes when naked... I agree completely ditch the pullups now -- rather use up what you have, make your child aware that these will be the last ones as you wean them away. I would jsut let her go bare in the house for a few hrs a few days and talk through it, keep doing what you are doing. Keep it positive but make sure she understands you are serious! When I became serious about it and *unhappy* about accidents he became serious and *unhappy* about accidents. I know these times can be stressful, try to relax and keep it up, sounds like you are doing great!