Your child isn't stubborn. They aren't "unready."
There's a neurological reason potty training feels impossible - and it's not your fault.
It's called Sensory Erasure.
Here's what's happening:
Modern disposable diapers and pull-ups use Super Absorbent Polymers (SAPs) that wick moisture away in 0.3 seconds.
This technology is incredible for preventing diaper rash and keeping babies comfortable.
But it creates a massive problem for potty training.
Your child pees, and within 3 seconds, they feel completely dry again.
There's no wet sensation. No discomfort. No consequence.
In behavioral psychology, this is called an Operant Conditioning failure.
Operant Conditioning is how humans learn behaviors: Action → Consequence → Learning.
Touch a hot stove → Feel pain → Learn not to touch it again.
Pee in pants → Feel wet and uncomfortable → Learn to use the potty instead.
But when modern diapers and pull-ups erase the "feel wet and uncomfortable" part?
The learning loop is broken.
Your child literally cannot feel that they're peeing until they see the puddle on the floor.
And by then, it's already too late.
That's why the timer method doesn't work.
You're asking them to recognize an urge they physically can't feel.
That's why rewards don't work. There's no internal signal telling them to stop playing and use the potty.
To your child's sensory system, they feel identical to diapers. Same instant dryness. Same lack of feedback.
The solution isn't being more consistent. It's not waiting another 6 months.
The solution is restoring the sensory feedback signal your child's brain needs to actually learn.