Toddlers resist potty training because toddlers are so used to wearing and using diapers and they find it bothersome to have to stop what they are doing to go to the potty.
Toddlers have been using diapers for peeing and pooping since birth and over the years they have gotten used to just going in their diapers.
Toddlers don't understand why they would actually need to stop what they are doing and then run to the toilet to use it, instead of diapers.
Toddlers also resist potty training because the toddlers are seeking their own independence as well as control over their own bodies.
Being held back by genuine fears is also another common reason toddlers resist potty training and toddlers are also sometimes afraid of the toilet or even the flushing sound.
Even the feeling of the poop falling away from them, instead of mushing up inside a diaper is another valid reason that toddlers resist potty training as they fear they are losing a part of themselves.
For many toddlers, the discomfort, unfamiliar routine the fear of the flushing sound of the toilet can make the use of a toilet feel very overwhelming for toddlers.
Toddlers often also fear falling in the toilet, fear the loud and unpredictable flushing sound or even fear the sensation of the poop splashing back.
Also when it comes to toddlers, saying "no" is one of the few ways of toddlers being able to assert their independence.
And if the toddler feels pressured or lectured, the potty then quickly becomes a battleground for power.
A toddler may also resist potty training if they are constipated or having a painful bowel movement.
And diapers are also a very familiar security blanket for toddlers as some toddlers and children, just simply prefer the diapers and convenience of going pee or poop whenever and wherever they please without needing to stop what they are doing.
Diapers today are so comfortable that the toddler or child does not really feel the wetness like they do in cloth diapers.
And so when toddlers wear disposable diapers, the pee in wicked away from the skin quickly and the toddler or child has no incentive to get out of the diapers.
I found that if I waited until my kids were at least 3 to 3 and 1/2 the potty training went much smoother and they tended to potty train within a few days to a month at the latest.
When I tried before age 3 to 3 and 1/2 it was a power struggle with lots of accidents and so waiting allowed them enough time to mature and actually get the concept better on using the toilet.
Most kids who start early at potty training like by 18 months to 2 years old, continue to have accidents and need reminders to go to the toilet until they are around 3 and 3 and 1/2 anyway.
And in that case, they are not truly potty trained.