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.
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.