My 3 year old is not potty trained yet... HELP!?
I have a little girl who will be 4 years old on March 3rd (only 2 months away!). She is still not potty trained. I have tried several things... I've tried buying her special panties, potty chairs, rewards, etc. The problem I'm having is that she does wonderfully if I tell her every hour to go to the bathroom. She'll get on the potty, go pee, and I praise her. However, if we're out in public, or if I'm busy around the house and forget to tell her to go to the bathroom, she will just go in her panties. She never warns me that she needs to go. Instead, AFTER she goes, she tells me "I need to go potty...". Is there a reason she does not tell me she needs to go potty? Obviously she's aware of it when she goes because she gets wet... I suppose I just feel like at 4 years old she should be fully potty trained. What do I do???
She may not be able to recognize the feeling of urgency. Another common explanation is that she gets busy as well and negelcts to go to the bathroom. My five year old has been potty trained for a long time, and he still waits until the last minute to go to the bathroom. She may also like the attention of you helping her, particularly if you're pretty busy. This could be fixed by giving her more attention. You could also try to periodically ask her if she needs to go.
Right now, you're within the normal range of potty training, but on the upper end. Mentioning this to her doctor may lead to some useful information as well. Does she have symptoms of a UTI? Perhaps there is some other medical problem responsible.
Don't worry just yet, but mention it to her doctor. 