Potty training is one of the most stressful parts of parenting a small child. We were fortunate to fall on a method that worked like a charm with both of our children.
The way we did it was to spend a week in hardcore potty training with them. We read books about the potty, we go pick out underpants, we talk potty with everyone, we watched potty movies, we sit on the potty every 20 minutes while were home and we were home as much as possible. We celebrate the victories, we clean up the accidents cheerfully. Everything we do for a week is potty. All potty, all the time.
Then, we drop it.
Life goes back to normal. Diapers are back in use. We go out and do things. We don't mention potty at all. After a couple-ish weeks of no potty I start to offer underpants in the morning when we are dressing for the day. It took my daughter 3 months to take the underpants and it took my son about a week to take them. After that, they were both trained.
I think the "magic" in our method is that they are in control of their own potty learning. They decide when they are ready and we just provide the things they need to learn how to do it and to recognize when they are ready. There's no pressure, no power struggles, just a decision on their part to do it.
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