What About Starting Potty Training Early with Elimination Communication?

Posted by in No-Cry Potty Training

A child can be put on the toilet even as infant, and in some cultures this is routinely done.  A small percentage of American and Canadian parents have adopted this practice, called elimination communication (EC). Before you sign up thinking your life just got a whole lot easier, you need to know that EC is not potty training. This is a way to manage a child’s waste, that is a long-lasting, gentle, gradual system that is used instead of diapers. This will replace the frequent diaper changes with frequent visits to the potty.

Tuva, 8 months

Parents will read their baby’s body language and sound cues for this method.  And when she is ready they will put her on a small, specially designed pot when they think it is time for her to eliminate.  The parent manages the child’s elimination process until the child is physically capable of total independent toileting – which usually happens at the magical age span from two and a half years old to four.

 

If the idea of replacing diapers with a program of watching your child’s signals and placing her on a potty to eliminate appeals to you, then look up on of the many books on the topic of elimination communication, also called infant potty training. In The No-Cry Potty Training Solution, we’ll approach toilet training from the more common toddler-readiness approach.