Struggling when your toddler refuses to sit on potty? Discover why you shouldn’t worry—and how doing so is can hold your child back from potty training.
The potty.
For one reason or another, it’s become the source of power struggles between you and your usually cooperative toddler.
You tried everything, like frequent trips to the potty, watching videos and songs, and even confiscating items. Rewards and incentives don’t work either—he couldn’t care less about wearing “big kid” undies or getting stickers and stars.
He might even show many signs of potty readiness and knows what he’s supposed to do. But the few times you manage to convince him to sit on the potty, he still holds his pee the whole time (never mind that he pees in the diaper the minute he pulls them back on).
Let’s face it: potty training is enough to make you feel like a failure.
As silly as it may seem, many parents struggle when their toddler refuses to use the potty, or feel like they don’t know what they’re doing. It doesn’t help when you’ve tried everything, or when other kids seem at least interested in sitting on the potty.
Why you shouldn’t worry if your toddler refuses to sit on potty
So, what do you do when your child refuses to sit on the potty? When he might even be scared to use it all?
I can understand why parents feel stressed when their toddler refuses to sit on potty.
Perhaps you’re used to getting your toddler to comply on nearly everything else—except sitting on the potty. Some preschools require students to be potty trained, making you feel pressured to meet a deadline.
You might even feel misled by all the advice you’ve heard, from using potty charts to sticker rewards. That stress and pressure you feel is bound to rub off on him at some point, delaying the process even further.
But after three boys—one of whom broke out in tears even just mentioning potty training—I’ve learned that worry and stress is the last thing you need when potty training your child.
That rewards like stickers and stars can only work so far, and that even if you think you’ve “backed off,” you’re still putting pressure on your toddler in ways you may not realize.
When my toddler pooped in his diaper just minutes after refusing to even try sitting on the potty, I knew this was one area I couldn’t—and shouldn’t—try to control.
Take a look at these five compelling reasons you shouldn’t worry if your toddler refuses to sit on potty — and what to do instead:
1. Your toddler will see potty training as a bad thing
We sometimes think that the more we talk about using the potty, the more our kids will finally take to sitting on it. And when they refuse, it’s like we can’t just let it go—we go on and on, to the point where we’re losing our tempers and the kids are crying.
The result? Kids will have a negative association with sitting on the potty. They know it’s a point of contention for you, and may even put up a fight because it’s a sure-fire way to get a reaction. Or they start to resent using the potty because it feels like the source of all your arguments.
You may be trying to get your toddler to sit on the potty, but the added stress only pushes him away farther.
What to do: Back off from getting your toddler to sit on the potty. And truly back off—sometimes we think we’re not talking about it much, but we’re still tense, anxious, or snappy. To completely avoid all power struggles, set a date for one week where you won’t mention sitting on the potty once.
Get tips on what to do when your 4 year old won’t poop on potty.
2. Using the potty is one thing your toddler can control
Unlike most household functions—the time to sleep, chores to do, even what to wear—using the potty is one of the few things your toddler has complete control over. You literally can’t make her body suddenly pee or poop, no matter what.
No wonder you end up with power struggles over sitting on the potty.
You might feel a loss of control, even threatened, at realizing there are things about your toddler you have no choice over. Meanwhile, he feels frustrated at the pressure to do something he may simply not be ready or willing to do.
It’s a lose-lose situation.
What to do: Give her that choice to decide when to sit on the potty. Choices empower kids* because, in a world mostly driven by adults, they feel ownership of something, and in this case, something important: their bodies. Let go of the need to control what “should” happen and let it unfold on its own.
Struggling with raising a strong-willed child? Join my newsletter and download my PDF, 5 Tips to Raising a Strong-Willed Child to discover 5 ways to nurture and work with—not against—your child’s inner spirit and strong personality:
3. You can’t compare your toddler to other kids
Many parents will point to their older kids and say, “I potty trained his older sister when she was two years old! I don’t know why he refuses to sit on the potty.”
Perhaps you see other toddlers in play dates who’ve already ditched diapers for undies, or worry that your toddler is already “getting up there” in age and still needs a pull up.
When I started to get antsy about my son’s disinterest in sitting on the potty, his pediatrician reminded me, “No one goes into kindergarten wearing a diaper.”
As tempting as it is to worry about whether our kids will ever stop using diapers, the truth is, they will. Some might be later than others, but all this stress and anxiety truly is useless when you realize the inevitability of using the potty.
What to do: Stop comparing your toddler’s potty training progress (or lack of it) to anyone else’s. And if you feel pressured because of preschool requirements, reconsider whether that preschool is even a good fit or understands child development.
Learn more about the dangers of comparing kids to one another.
4. Timing has no effect on future success or current abilities
As parents, we can sometimes be competitive, don’t you think? We love to share that our babies started walking at 10 months or reading by three years. We check off these milestones with a sigh of relief—one less thing to worry about.
Because we all know what happens when they don’t hit those milestones: we worry.
And for some reason, we always have this elusive “future” harping on our backs. As if one missed or delayed milestone might mean a tarnished future, or one more thing that might hold them back.
You probably already see how silly it is, right? In hindsight, when your toddler sits and uses the potty has no bearing on his future success. No adult brags about how early they started potty training—no kindergartener talks about it, either.
And you won’t find any correlation between how soon or how easily a person potty trained and how smart or talented they are. It’s simply not a factor in the future, so it certainly shouldn’t cause you to worry in the present.
What to do: Let potty training happen on its own, and remind yourself that when your toddler stops wearing diapers has no bearing on his abilities.
Learn what to do when your toddler won’t poop on the potty.
5. Potty training should feel easy
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Want a simple trick to see whether your toddler truly is ready to potty train? It should feel easy.
Yup, potty training, including getting him to even sit on the potty, should feel effortless. And when it’s not—when you’re stressed, worried, or arguing with him—that’s your clear sign he’s not ready.
Here’s why: when your child decides and is physically and psychologically ready, potty training won’t take a long time or feel so stressful. It certainly won’t be a battle between you two, and instead seems to happen on its own, and quickly at that, too.
Sure, you’ll deal with messes and accidents, and there may be times when even your “ready” toddler puts up a fight. But you’ll notice a drastic difference between trying to potty train a toddler who’s not ready, and one who is.
What to do: If you struggle with potty training at all, hold off—even for a few weeks—and ask your toddler again down the line.
And check out Potty by Leslie Patricelli, a hilarious children’s book to encourage your child to sit on the potty:
Conclusion
My toddler tended to poop after every meal, so after dinner one night, I asked him, “Want to sit on the potty?”
This time… he actually complied. It was the first time he sat on the potty with his diaper off, and for a full 25 minutes, too.
Prior to that, I—like many parents—worried because I couldn’t even get him to sit on the potty, much less actually use it. But it was when I let go of those worries that potty training became much easier.
The added pressure only encourages kids to see potty training as a bad thing, a point of contention and source of arguments. Using the potty is one of the few things we adults have zero control over our kids—the quicker we realize this, the better for all.
We also can’t compare our kids to others, or worry that potty training predicts their future success (or is a sign of their current abilities). And finally, potty training should be easy and effortless. Any time you feel resistance is a sign it’s simply not yet time.
All the past worries of whether my toddler would ever take to the potty were gone—all because I let go of any stress or worry. And I’m happy to say that after three boys and despite their initial resistance, not one entered kindergarten wearing a diaper… just as their pediatrician predicted.
Get more tips:
- Secrets to Fix Potty Training Accidents
- How to Get Your Toddler to (Finally) Poop in the Potty
- Potty Training Books for Toddlers to Ease Their Anxiety
- How to Potty Train Twins: The Ultimate Guide
- How to Potty Train Gradually
*Source: Psychology Today
5 tips to raising a strong-willed child
Struggling with raising a strong-willed child? Join my newsletter and download my PDF, 5 Tips to Raising a Strong-Willed Child to discover 5 ways to nurture and work with—not against—your child’s inner spirit and strong personality:
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