When highlighting the green options for diapering our wee babes one of the front runners… if not the front runner is EC or elimination communication. We live in a society that is obsessed with convenience, which is probably why the idea of Elimination Communication (or EC) has met with such mixed emotions.
What Exactly is EC?
The term “elimination communication” was coined by Ingrid Bauer after she had traveled throughout both India and Africa where diaperless babies (who did not seem to be having potty accidents) were the norm and not the exception. As a result she raised her own children with a limited use of diapers and started to share her methods with others.
In a nutshell, elimination communication is a method of toilet training in which the person caring for the child uses a mix of signals (timing, body language etc.) as well as their intuition to potty train the child. In short, by anticipating when the baby has to eliminate their waste, they can take them to an appropriate place to take care of this and cut down on or eliminate altogether the need for diapers. Supposedly, the more attuned to the child the caregiver becomes, the easier it is for them to be able to anticipate the child’s toilet needs, which all sounds good, but may cause some raised eyebrows regarding its viability as an alternative to diapers.
Does EC Work?
One of the primary reasons that diaperless babies are the rule and not the exception in countries such as India and Africa is that the baby is with the mother almost continually from birth on. The mother becomes very much attuned to her child, and it is pointless to put them in diapers if you can tell when they need to use the toilet.
So yes, the theory behind the method is sound. Unfortunately, when it comes to western societies the idea of a parent or dedicated caregiver being with the infant 24/7 is not as common as it in these other societies. In western societies it is far more common for the mother to go back to work within six weeks of the baby’s birth, so unless a mother (or father) stays home to raise her child or there is a dedicated caregiver who is willing to use the EC method, that EC training may only be practical in the evenings and/or weekends which can seriously slow down or even impede the progress of the method. But if you can manage it, successful elimination communication can be significantly beneficial to both the parent and the baby.
The Benefits of Elimination Communication
EC offers a broad range of benefits. First and foremost is the reduction in the number of diapers that you will need to purchase; a significant savings to you. But fewer diapers also means and this means savings to the planet in the reduction of diapers being sent to the landfills.
Then of course there is the elimination of the whole “rash” of problems that can be caused by traditional diapering including (but not limited to) diaper rash, urinary tract infections, yeast infections as well as difficult or resistant potty training.
And finally, EC enables an even deeper connection to be made between the infant and their caregiver. By practicing EC you are, in effect, practicing awareness of your child and their needs, an action that can bring you even closer together.
Should You Practice EC?
The choice of practicing elimination communication will depend to a great extent on the choices you make as well as the practicality. For many, full time elimination communication will not be an option as they are not able (for whatever reason) to stay at home full time with their child and most day care providers are not willing to go to this great of lengths when it comes to toilet training.
One of the easiest ways to get started to is to read a few books about the subject, like Diaper Free Baby. They are filled with real life stories so you can see what others had success with and what didn’t work as well. Attachment parenting forums are usually a good place to find EC moms online as well.
Even if you cannot practice full time EC, you can still take advantage of it whenever you are home with your child, and even though it may not be as effective as a potty training method when done part time, it can still provide an incredible bonding experience and reduce your reliance on diapers.
So what do you think? Worth a try?
I started trying EC with my daughter about 2 months ago (almost 7 mos now). For awhile I was catching 1-2 pees/day, but it’s slowed down a lot. I think I lost a bit of my initial vigor. It’s a big commitment and takes a lot of time. Even if you can’t commit to full time EC, it is still something to try whenever you think your baby might have to go. I just go ahead and give her the opportunity to go after naps and when I’m changing her anyway.
I also practice EC part-time, but is so nice to be able to feel connected with your baby….. my daughter is 15 months and sometimes she brings me all the way to the bathroom to tell me is time to go. It is also great that my husband got sucked in as well that sometimes he can catch her pees and poos!! I also do cloth.
My friend uses this method with her son with great success. She took me to a meeting about it where a bunch of mums do the same thing, but I’m still having trouble believe it could work for me. I think I’ll check Diaper Free Baby out of the library to read some of the stories in there and get more inspiration. It is appealing to me to get rid of diapers altogether. We do a mixture of cloth and disposable, but one is a hassle and the other is expensive/bad for the environment.
I’ve read about EC, but when I mentioned it to a friend who is a kindergarten teacher, she said that it wasn’t good because the closing muscle isn’t developed yet and that the child would misdevelop in that sense. Just mentioning it, I myself haven’t got any children yet and don’t have any experiences with EC. Also, I suppose it is different when you watch the child to see if it has to go to the bathroom rather than trying to get the child to actively eliminate…
We did partial EC with our first daughter, starting at 9 months old. My mom, who took care of her during the day, started it because our daughter was constipated and she had her squat to make it easier. We then bought potty seats for the toilets and we almost always were able to have poop-free diapers. It took another year or so for her to learn to pee in the toilet too. She wasn’t fully potty trained until a little after 2 1/2, but I loved not having to deal with poop for a long time, and we hardly had any diaper blowouts because she usually went on the toilet. We now have a newborn and I considered ECing her early, but I think it’s rather difficult to put a newborn on the toilet and have to support her head and body since she can’t sit up yet; I think it would be too hard on my back/shoulders. We cloth diaper, so diaper usage is not a problem for us. I think I’ll start ECing when she can sit up on her own.
I did EC with my first and by 3 months she would almost never poop in her diaper. By 18 months she was out of diapers except at nap and bedtime. My second I did EC and found it a lot harder to be consistent so she would poop on the potty and pee but not regularly. Around a year I found it hard and almost gave up. By 18 months she would sit on the potty and we would read books which was fun but she would never pee or poo. If she needed to go she would ask to have her diaper on and then she would go. Then at 23 months her big sister showed her how to pee outside and and she did it and that was it. We had three days of diapers and anytime she wanted to go we would go outside and then she didn’t have to sit on the potty. Soon after this she would go on the potty/outside/and on the big potty. Done diapers completely, even at night.
It is so worth the time, just don’t get obsessed. This is a great website and helped me with my questions. http://www.tribalbaby.org/
I’m planning to start as early as possible as well. Till then we’re gonna use Moltex and cloth diapers. But I believe that I will have enough time with my baby at home to catch the signs and to start quite early. Best of luck to other families as well!
I’ve been doing partial EC with my nearly 15 month old for the past several months. We have never “caught” anything, though!
I would say it’s successful even so — she very much knows when she needs to go, knows what the potty is for, and even brings the potty to me or tries to sit on it before peeing/pooping even though she hasn’t managed to connect all the dots yet. Just this morning, she was naked in the house and crouching to look at a toy; I could see that she was needing to poo and instead of going where she was, she took the time to walk over to the potty. She pooped next to the potty instead of in it, but hey-ho! Progress!
It helps that I am laid back about it, and we have laminate wood flooring. I try to give her at least an hour of naked time every day, especially during these warm months. If she potty trains earlier, great. If not, at least I’ve laid the foundation of toileting in her mind.
If we ever have another child, I would love to try EC from the very beginning. I have a friend with a six month old, and while she uses cloth on him, he barely ever wets it. Her two year old is not only dry in the day, but at night as well!
I’ve been doing partial EC with my nearly 15 month old for the past several months. We have never “caught” anything, though!
I would say it’s successful even so — she very much knows when she needs to go, knows what the potty is for, and even brings the potty to me or tries to sit on it before peeing/pooping even though she hasn’t managed to connect all the dots yet. Just this morning, she was naked in the house and crouching to look at a toy; I could see that she was needing to poo and instead of going where she was, she took the time to walk over to the potty. She pooped next to the potty instead of in it, but hey-ho! Progress!
It helps that I am laid back about it, and we have laminate wood flooring. I try to give her at least an hour of naked time every day, especially during these warm months. If she potty trains earlier, great. If not, at least I’ve laid the foundation of toileting in her mind.
If we ever have another child, I would love to try EC from the very beginning. I have a friend with a six month old, and while she uses cloth on him, he barely ever wets it. Her two year old is not only dry in the day, but at night as well!
I feel like this article misses the point of EC. The goal is not to potty train early but to communicate with your baby about their elimination needs. Have you read Diaper Free Baby?
I think the goal of EC depends on the person/parent utilizing this method. While the communication aspect may be the attached parent’s motivation, it may be different for a parent seeking mostly to eliminate the need for diapers. I see communication as a method or a means of EC not necessarily the goal.
Fair enough. BTW I just wanted to add that as I was falling asleep last night I was worrying about the possible perceived tone of my comment. I meant the last part in a curious way not a scoffing way. I hate how typing doesn’t reflect intonation.
this is the way to go!
i did my first baby with EC he was diaper free by 10 months (i only ever changed 3 poopy cloth diapers in 7 months).
my 2nd was a real pooper and with recovering from a c-sec my health was in bad shape…i skipped the EC but had him trained at 22months before baby 3 arrived.
baby 3 is well on his way to being diaper free at only 3 1/2 months.
I think having a good potty station helps, a bjorn potty chair for infants (you have to support baby) or just hold them over a sink or toilet.
Babies are smart! Its us Westerners who are lazy but actually make things harder for ourselves in the long run!