ELIMINATION COMMUNICATION

Elimination communication is based on the fact that babies know when they need to go to the bathroom. A parent can take advantage of this fact and, using things like cues and timing, allow the baby to eliminate in the toilet.

Method
To begin, start by observing your baby’s signs. You will notice that, before they eliminate they do certain things. Signs can include facial expressions, unexplained fussiness, squirming, etc.

When watching your baby, you will also notice that they eliminate at certain specific times, such as after meals, when they wake up in the morning or after their nap.

Once you notice your baby is about to eliminate, take them into the bathroom, remove their diaper and hold them over the toilet. Make a ssss sound if it is for urination, or an mmmm sound if it is for a bowel movement. This is to let them know that this is an acceptable place to relieve themselves. Eventually, they will learn to associate these “cue sounds” with elimination and will make the sound to let you know that they have to go.

Answering Objections

“It’s the parent who gets trained.”

Whether you are changing diapers or using elimination communication, you are going to have to deal with your baby’s elimination needs one way or the other. It might as well be this way as opposed to changing diapers for two years, then trying to toilet train your child when he or she is at their most oppositional stage.

“I can’t see myself doing this all the time.”

Elimination communication doesn’t have to be practiced full time. Even if you can only do it once a day or at some other regular interval, the infant still responds very well to it.

“What if you’re in a situation where you can’t get the child to a toilet?”

Elimination is very adaptable to different situations, such as in the car or out in public. However, if you can’t get the baby to a toilet or some other acceptable place, don’t worry. EC is like a bus. If you miss one, you catch the next one.

For more information on the adaptability of elimination communication, visit
Diaperfreebaby.org