Forget stamps and stickers and potty songs, the answer all along was M&Ms.
I tried rewarding Eloise with an M&M after she used the potty just once and since then she has filled nearly three potty charts with stickers, worn less diapers and had only a few accidents. It makes sense, if I knew that someone would give me a chocolate every time I use the bathroom I'd be agreeable to the idea too.
We made leaps and bound with potty training while on vacation last week (potty came too, of course) and Eloise has become more aware of needing to go and letting us know right away so we can rush to the bathroom. She even woke up a few mornings with a dry diaper and went right to the potty for a pee. Her timing is not always great - the urge to pee often happens when we're eating dinner or just about asleep at bedtime - but she has learned that I will rush off from whatever we're doing to get her on the potty.
Number twos are more difficult and Eloise often just sits there and says, "it's so hard, Mama," before giving up for the time and going back to playing. But when she does go she is so proud of herself and even a little surprised that she managed to do 'that' in the potty. We make an especially big deal about poos, cheering, high fiving and Eloise earns two M&Ms.
Do I feel good about bribing my child with candy to get her to use the potty? Not really. But it just works so well! Chris initially bristled at the idea of feeding our toddler chocolate before her breakfast or after she brushed her teeth, but my feeling is meh, if it's going to get her potty trained, can a little chocolate be that bad?
