After 18 MONTHS of my 3.5yo refusing to cooperate, we finally turned a corner. Stopped forcing it, let him set the pace, and suddenly last week he's like "I want to use the potty now." He's not perfect but he's dry most days and ACTUALLY WANTS TO USE IT. This is the first time I understand why people say don't force it. We were fighting so hard for nothing.
This is the way. Forced potty training just makes them dig in their heels. The second we backed off with ours it was like a switch flipped. Congrats on making it through that marathon.
"He's not perfect" - LOL yes they will still have accidents for like another year probably. But that shift from refusing to willing is HUGE. That's when the real training actually starts.
18 months is BRUTAL. Seriously impressed you had the patience to stop forcing it instead of just powering through. That's the whole battle right there.
How old was he when you finally backed off? We're at month 9 and about to lose it
The patience required for 18 months is insane. We did the same thing - let him lead - and yeah last week was the breakthrough too. It's like they have to be ready on their own timeline. Can't force readiness.
lol the 'not perfect' part is key. everyone acts like once they start using the potty it's all good but honestly my kid had regressions for like 2 more months
Curious - when you stopped forcing it, did you just stop mentioning it entirely or did you keep it casually available? We tried the forcing angle and it was a nightmare
This is actually the best advice I've seen on this. We've been fighting our 3yo for months and everyone keeps telling us to just push harder. The backing off thing makes so much sense
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18 months is brutal though. When you say "stopped forcing it" - what did that actually look like? Because we're at month 9 with our 3yo and I'm losing it.