On 19 Nov 2003 08:37:37 -0800, (Cathy Weeks)
wrote:

My daughter is almost two, and all of a sudden has started asking to
sit on the potty. She prefers to do it fully clothed, and while one
of her parents are sitting on the toilet, but I figured it was time to
start reading up on the topic.

This absolutely sounds like she is going to lead her potty training,
although don't expect it to happen too soon. My youngest did the same
thing at around 22 months, beginning with sitting on the potty clothed
and progressing to removing her diaper and sitting, but producing
nothing in the potty for quite a while.

We just let her be and do what she wanted (which was harder than it
sounds at the stage where she was constantly stripping off and having
accidents on the floor) and one day she managed to pee in the potty,
to her (and our) great excitement, and it was like a light went on.
She was just shy of 30 months and was daytime trained for both pee
and poop from that day on.

So I say yes, child led training can definitely happen and if you're
going that route I don't think you need a book... just let your child
do her own thing and provide the opportunity (available potty which
she may sit on whenever she choses) and support (encourage without
initiating, else it ceases to be led by her). The only book I ever
read on training was the one about "training in less than a day" which
had me bottle feeding peeing dolls and filling DD (my eldest) with
endless cups of juice - all to no avail. She found the doll play
amusing but wasn't interested in reproducing it herself until she was
ready, just before her 3rd birthday.

--Lisabell
Mom to Gabriella (5) and Michaela (3.5)