What to do - potty training?

[NoraRobertsismyguiltypleasure]

We have been talking and reading about using the toilet/potty for a few months with our DD (2.5yrs), she now is willing to sit on her potty or little loo seat and likes to have a couple of stories. A couple of times she has wanted to wear her pants, so duly popped them on for a morning/afternoon only to have no effort made to try and get to the toilet/potty or tell us she needs to go. No problem, she's not ready, just went back to nappies. Today she wanted to wear pants, so we did, but after an entire day of pant wearing (and some running around in the garden wearing nothing at all) she again has made no effort to use the potty and just peed wherever and then told me she's 'leaked'. I am not making a fuss, just put clean clothes on and say try and tell me before you go next time. Tonight she has said she wants to wear pants tomorrow too, but it seems to me she simply isn't ready, so what to do? Back to nappies or give it another couple of days trying pants?

Agree with Desperately. You need to prompt her to go.

I think when you do go for it, you do have to spend the first few days putting them on the loo or potty every ten minutes! They have to learn to connect that sensation in their bladder with understanding that means they need a wee. We're months in and I still have to remind DD to go sometimes or point out that she's jiggling and holding herself - though at least she now doesn't wet herself, she just holds it in until she's ready to burst...

See, that's a bit of a problem in that I prompt, but she just says no she doesn't want to or she sits for a bit and then does the wee 5 min later on the floor!

Maybe I will stick with it a couple more days and try to be a bit more enthusiastic in my prompting, so she wants to sit.

Oh, asking didn't work for us at this stage - we literally had to put her on the toilet, if we asked her she always said no.

Yes they're never 'ready' in the sense of just going when they need to go. Even my 3.5 year old who's been trained for 9 months now still needs a prompt now and again and will often hold until he's bursting.

For the first few days at least you have to monitor it and make sure you get them to the potty at regular intervals. I used to set a timer on my phone with 'the potty song' and encourage him to go whenever the timer went. He didn't always go but at least it helped me keep track and if he refused to go and then had an accident I could say to him, 'remember we heard the potty song but you didn't want to go? So let's make sure we try to go next time' etc.

Ok, thanks for the advice - I'll keep going as she seems to be into the idea.

We used to have potty races, so when I asked if she wanted to go and she said no, I'd say "great, that means I get to win". Worked every time! She'd race to the potty just to beat me, but she's got a v competitive streak!