So I don’t know if any of you are familiar with infant potty training, also known as “elimination communication” (this term totally cracks me up) but if you haven’t here is the info.
infant potty training is the practice of introducing your baby to the toilet or potty at a very young age — usually between birth and 4 months.
Some parents who do this avoid diapers completely by racing their baby to the nearest bathroom whenever they anticipate a poop or pee. Others use diapers on and off. By 18 months, in most cases, their children have “graduated” — that is, they know when they have to use the toilet and get themselves there successfully.
This by in large is an idea that I think is pretty silly. But to each his own. If you have the time and patience to keep that close an eye on your kiddos to know if they are about to relieve themselves, then more power to you.
But lately I have been thinking that this is a path I might start going down…at least a few steps. You see when my now four month son is about to poo (real technical term here) it is very clear. I can spot that face a mile away. So today as I watched him wrinkle his little nose up I had the desire to head to the bathroom and hold him over the toilet. This seemed like a totally normal reaction to me…It’s what I do when I get the urge. I didn’t…but that really started me thinking though, what the heck, why not. I don’t think I could ever be them mom that is aware enough to know if he’s about to pee…but even if I only catch that poop every once in awhile, by some point he’ll as least think that the porcelain thrown is a normal place to relieve oneself.
Another stagering statistic that I found that made me think this wasn’t such a crazy idea after all:
The average baby boy in the United States gives up diapers at 39 months and the average girl at 36 months…While the notion of potty training a very young infant seems radical to many American parents, it’s not a new idea. Prior to 1950, most children in the United States were toilet trained by 18 months. And today, most African, Asian, and European babies are trained well before their second birthday.
Now I know that all kids develop at different rates, but this seems a little crazy. I was very lucky that my daugher was easy to potty train, she practicly did it herself right after her second birthday. And yes, I know girls are easier to train than boys…but wow, 39 months seems like a very long time to be in diapers.
Wow, suddenly holding an infant over the potty doesn’t seem so crazy after all.
Just a little disclaimer: I am in no way passing judgment over what methods you use to deal with your childrens poop…you gotta do what best for you…they all get potty trained eventually no matter what method you use. I just find this all very fascinating.
