I hear that kids train faster when they get to see other kids use the potty so maybe you'll get lucky and the boys will inspire each other.
We've been working on potty training a long time, but we're not quite there yet. The problem is the kiddo has a bottomless bladder. She wears underwear all day and just holds it until she's in a diaper for nap or nighttime. We've got several scheduled potty stops during the day, but she hasn't yet figured out how to release her bladder on demand.
I second the suggestion to make the potty accessible. I have one in the main room. It makes it easier for the kid to make it to the toilet when she feels the urge, plus 1) I can watch her while I'm still doing something else, 2) if she starts to have an accident, there's a chance I can get her to the toilet for part of it so she gets rewarded, and 3) if she starts to have an accident, it's a shorter distance for me to take her and therefore a smaller area to clean up. I have a second potty in the bathroom. Any time I use the bathroom, she comes in and sits on her potty. Any time husband goes to use the bathroom, I tell her what he's doing.
We've done several stints where I spent several consecutive, intense days trying to pump her full of juice and putting her on the toilet at regular intervals, but she wasn't magically "potty trained in three days". She knows that pee/poop are supposed to go in the toilet, but she hasn't figured out the warning signs. She's better at recognizing poop signs.
My latest push is that I bought her some new cups (
The First Years Take and Toss Straw Cups - 5-Pack 10 oz - Neutral - Learning Curve - Babies "R" Us). I'm hoping the newness of them will make her drink more and the fast-flow straw should also help. I also bought some pineapple juice because I read that it's a natural diuretic. I'm at the stage where I think getting her to drink more is about the only thing I can do. The more times she has to pee during awake hours, the faster she'll figure out the signs. I think once she can pee on demand, she'll pee before her nap, and we'll be able to skip the naptime diaper.
If any pee/poop makes it into the toilet, even if she started it somewhere else, she gets a reward. I use M&Ms. Actually, mini M&Ms because then she thinks she is getting more. I don't want to get in the habit of using food as a reward, but I figured just this one case won't hurt, and maybe the serotonin boost would help. Stickers wouldn't really work with her given her personality. She gets over-the-top praise as well. If husband is home, he makes sure to participate in the praise. I don't explicitly reward her just for sitting on the toilet, but implicitly, she gets praise, time with me, sometimes some iPad time, sometimes we'll read a book, sometimes songs, whatever. I also bring it up at other times during the day, and praise her again for sitting on or using the potty.
My kid is obsessed with the kitchen timer so sometimes I'll set it for a few minutes and give it to her. She intently sits on her toilet waiting for the timer to beep so she can push the stop button. I use this especially when she's getting antsy because antsy on the potty usually means she's got a full bladder and is fighting letting it go.
If she's sitting on the couch, I make her sit on a towel. I also take a towel for her to sit on in the grocery cart.
We had a little book about Fuzzy Bear that someone gave us. It came from the Target dollar spot. We did a little role playing with her doll.
My daughter is still in a crib. I think she'll probably be in a nighttime diaper until she's out of the crib since nighttime access to the potty involves not just waking up and recognizing the need, but getting Mommmy's butt out of bed to come get her. :-)
That's about all I can think of in our potty training adventure. Sorry for rambling.
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