potty training begins....

We've had a potty chair at our house for several months now. In fact, it's my husband's potty chair from when he was a little boy. Payton has sat on the potty and 'made something happen' twice now, but that was weeks ago and I think it was a fluke of nature, nothing thought-out and planned. We originally started rewarding going potty with a Dora sticker -- what 2 year old girl doesn't want a Dora sticker? Well, my 2 year old daughter isn't motivated currently by a Dora sticker, let alone any sticker for that matter! I heard moms all over the place tell me about sticker charts and how their child was motivated by stickers....well, not my child, at least not right now. So, we've had to up the anty. We've gone to chocolate chips. Now, I know that all the 'professionals' will say that you should NOT reward good behavior with food, let alone candy, but that's what is motivating to my daughter, what can I say?

So, we've begun the "chocolate treats". She received 3 chocolate chips for sitting on the potty the first time. Nothing happened that time, but I was trying to demonstrate to her what great goodness that chocolate brings when you sit on the potty and go pee-pee or poopie. Well, she's now resorted to sitting on the potty, saying "hear my poops?" and then asking for chocolate treats. Everytime she passes gas now (which seems often), she asks, "Did you hear my poops?" and then runs into the kitchen asking for her 'chocolate treats'. I think I've created a MONSTER!

Payton is only 27 months, so I am really not in a hurry, but when she stands in the living room, in her diaper, looking at me with her face beat red saying, "I have to go poopie", I figured it was time to start pushing the potty chair. They say kids will learn to go potty when they're ready. I wish there was a magical button that would tell moms when the right time to push/encourage use of the potty, instead of racking my brain wondering if I've missed the window...