Elimination Communication: Benefits And How To Get Started
Identifying a baby’s elimination cues offers several advantages worth the effort.
Jenn Chu is the owner and operator of Little Ones Welcome in San Francisco. She offers services in her private practice, and virtually. Her focus is on the health and wellbeing of the individual. She specializes in women's care with an emphasis on conception, pregnancy, birth, postpartum, and pediatric support.
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Rohit Garoo is a writer-turned-editor with over 9 years of experience in content writing, editing, and content marketing. He did his bachelors in Science at St. Xavier's College, Hyderabad, and masters in Business Administration at Osmania University.
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In This Article
Elimination communication (EC) is based on the idea that a baby’s cues and natural timings should be followed to identify their need to pee or poop. While most parents cannot wait for their kids to be potty trained and diaper-free, according to experts, the best way to get rid of diapers is through EC. It is also known as diaperless toilet training. This method follows the principle of helping babies use a toilet from an early age.
EC is not a new trend; it was regularly practiced about three to four decades ago in the US. Read this post to know more about elimination communication, its benefits and drawbacks, and how to get started with it.
What Is Elimination Communication?
Also known as natural infant hygiene, elimination communication is based on the idea of identifying a baby’s natural timings and cues to understand their need to defecate and urinate (1) (2). Once the caregiver or parents are able to identify these cues, they can coordinate the baby’s bowel movements in a toilet rather than in a diaper.
How Is Elimination Communication Different From Potty Training?
Elimination communication is not about training the child or parent. It is about parents learning and using cues to identify when babies want to relieve themselves.
On the other hand, potty training involves teaching babies to use the toilet. It is initiated when the baby is old enough to eliminate on their own in the toilet without the use of diapers. Babies usually undergo potty training after they turn two years old. Therefore, some experts recommend getting babies out of diapers before the age of two.
When And How To Start Elimination Communication?
There is no right time to start with elimination communication. Some parents start practicing it as early as birth, while others wait for seven to nine months or even later. This technique requires commitment from parents and attention towards the baby’s behavior after meals or after an activity like a walk. Some parents practice it full-time, while others do it part-time. Part time or full time EC can be done successfully. Let us understand how one can start with EC.
- Initiate with monitoring: Lay the baby down without a diaper on a waterproof mat so that you can start to learn their signals. Some babies relieve themselves shortly after a meal or after waking up. Notice your baby’s natural potty timings. and signaling. This is a great way to help babies recognize their own cues as well.
- Introduce cues: When you see your baby relieving, introduce an audio cues, such as a “pss” sound for pee and a “hmm” sound for poo. Babies will start to recognize those sounds and associate them with their go-to time. For some babies, just the act of sitting on the potty can be enough to get a baby to go.
- Go about your day: Babies are born communicating with us. Do observation time regularly to keep with your ever changing and growing baby.
What Does The EC Method Entail?
Elimination communication is about taking and giving signals. It is primarily based on four aspects:
- Timing: Babies do not have bowel movements at random times throughout the day. They usually relieve themselves after being fed or waking up. Keeping a log or record can help you identify these specific times. When you start understanding the baby’s timings, you can take them to the pot at those times and hold them up for their business.
- Signals: Apart from timing, signals play an important role in this technique. Observe repetitive signals when the baby is about to poop. These signals may include crying, twisting, and wriggling. Your baby may also give you a fixed look, have a red face, and even grunt, pass gas, or strain (3).
- Audio cues: Parents can also introduce audio cues, such as “pssst” or “shh,” when the baby urinates so that the baby can eventually relate these sounds at potty time.
- Intuition: As a parent, you know your baby best. Often times, your instinct tell you when your baby wants to relieve themselves, so trust yourself.
Things To Keep Handy For Elimination Communication Training
Before initiating EC training, consider your lifestyle, time constraints, budget, and parenting goals. You may need the following things for EC training.
- Portable baby potty: Some babies prefer to sitting on a baby potty to eliminate the poop. A floor potty that can grow with your child is recommended as the baby can also use it when they are older and ready to ditch the diapers completely.
- Leg warmers: Leg warmers or thigh socks can be a nice touch, especially if living in a cold climate. Leg warmers keep the baby warm and comfortable, and they do not get in the way of EC like pants can, especially while taking the baby to the potty.
- Potty-friendly clothing: Dress your baby in clothes that can be removed quickly and easily as soon as the baby gives pooping or peeing signals. You can also consider nightwear that opens at the bottom or clothes that are crotchless.
- Record book/ log/ journal: It may help to record the observations (cues/signals) and timings of your baby’s bowel movements in the initial days to understand your baby’s biological clock. Just keep in mind these can change daily.
- Baby bag: When traveling, you might have want to carry a mini potty with you and have extra clothes for you and baby if there is a miss. A diaper bag is helpful to keep everything handy — the portable potty, diapers, tissues, extra set of clothes, etc.
- Diapers (as a back-up): Carrying a few extra diapers as a back-up is receommended. Diapers are a great tool to use as a back up when you miss your babies signals or are out and about and unable to offer the potty to your baby.
- Help books: There are several books about elimination communication you may want to read.
What Are The Benefits of Elimination Communication?
- Fewer rashes and infections: When babies wear soiled or unsoiled diapers for a long time, their skin may get irritated. However, when babies are free from diapers and associated rashes and urinary tract infections, their skin is healthier, and they are happier!
- Fewer diapers: EC will reduce the number of diapers and create less waste for parents to deal with. Even if you use cloth diapers, you’ll likely have fewer diapers for washing, eventually saving water and energy. This is also a conscious effort towards protecting our environment. Interestingly, EC is natural, produces no landfill or ocean waste, and is free!
- Economical: You will save a lot more money after cutting down on diaper usage.
- Stronger bond with your baby: You will learn to distinguish between various activities of your baby and will be able to understand their requirements and needs. Understanding their behavior helps in better communication.
- Quicker transition to potty training: Elimination communication does not teach babies to defecate but teaches them where to defecate. Therefore, this step helps in learning and adapting to potty training faster.
- Respite for parents: EC not only helps save diapers and keep your baby’s skin healthier, but also reduces the burden on parents to change and deal with diaper waste.
- More comfort for the baby: Since parents monitor babies throughout the day for cues, and change diapers immediately if they miss a cue, it eliminates babies sitting in their own pee or poop unnecessarily.
What Are The Drawbacks Of Elimination Communication?
- Time: Initially, EC training can take some time getting used to, and learning how it works, but many parents report less time practicing EC in the long run than it is changing a diaper, especially poopy diapers.
- Logistics: Some working parents may not be able to allocate their time on weekdays to practice EC. This practice can be skipped on weekdays and continued on weekends. EC is very flexible and can be worked into any lifestyle.
- Isolation/ Social acceptance: Many parents you meet will be dependent on diapers and may even discourage you from continuing to practice EC. You might also face many queries and random reactions. You can ignore them, and just remind them this is what works best for your family.
- Messiness: Learn to understand from inevitable mistakes that will happen while identifying cues from the baby. You might encounter a pooped diaper from time to time, and that is okay. EC is not about perfection, but about teaching you baby that pee and poop go in the toilet.
- Inconvenience: Your baby may not poop or urinate when in an unfamiliar environment, while teething or otherwise, and carrying all the accessories for EC may feel like a lot in the beginning, but EC can be practiced part time or full time.
At What Age Can You Start The EC Method Of Potty Training?
Parents can decide at what age they want to start EC training. Some parents prefer full-time EC, while others may prefer part-time EC, which involves using diapers at night, during naps,when outside, or just as a backup to prevent accidents. It is never too early to start EC. If your little one is between 18 and 24 months, a mixture of potty training and EC may be better
How To Get Started With Elimination Communication Potty Training?
- Be observant: Being observant during observation time is of the utmost importance while practicing EC. Parents need to monitor cues from babies, and keep an eye out for babies natural timing. It is also recommended to maintain a record/ notebook initially, to keep a log of their behavior pattern.
- Keep a potty handy: You can either take the baby to the potty or bring a portable potty to the baby. It is advisable to practice EC using the potty as it will be helpful for you and can help in the future for initiating potty training.
- Carry your baby: Holding your baby in a classic EC position over the sink or toilet is best.
Do You Need To Buy Any Diapers While Practicing EC?
As discussed earlier, EC can be practiced full-time or part-time. Therefore, your requirement for diapers can very well change according to what you practice. However, it is always recommmended to have backups, like diapers on hand. Interestingly, it is believed that with EC, diaper usage eventually decreases with consistency and age.
You can consider elimination communication if you wish to connect with your baby, spend less on diapers, and do your part in saving the environment. There is no right time or right approach to go for it. Some parents may start at birth, while others wait for a few months. Similarly, based on their lifestyle choices and goals, some parents may practice full-time EC, while others may do it part-time. As with parenting, you may feel frustrated at times; therefore, consider your resources and support system while making a choice and finding support when you need it.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Does elimination communication really work?
Although it largely depends on how you plan and work it out with your baby, most parents say that elimination communication works in potty training babies. Furthermore, research findings suggest that this technique could be associated with reduced crying spells (significantly reducing baby cries for no apparent reasons) and comforting babies with colic (3) (4).
2. Is elimination communication Montessori technique?
Yes, elimination communication falls along the lines of Montessori training techniques, as it is a natural form of toilet training based on following the child’s cues (5).
Elimination communication is a smart and effective way to ease into the process of potty training. It is an economical technique that is light on your pocket, can save your baby from diaper rashes, and save your time changing those dirty diapers. So, if you are looking for alternatives to diapers, elimination communication may be a suitable choice that you can start at any age, depending on your understanding of your baby’s habits. The technique may be implemented differently by different parents since some may not be available all the time. Nevertheless, this is a method that, when done correctly, can prove to be quite useful and easy.
Key Pointers
- Elimination communication is based on identifying a baby’s natural timings and cues to understand their need to defecate and urinate.
- You may practice it as early as birth; however, many wait for seven to nine months or even later.
- Benefits of elimination communication include fewer rashes and infections, fewer diapers, economical, and a stronger bond with your baby.
References
2. Practicing EC; DiaperFreeBaby
3. Jordan, G. J.; Elimination communication as colic therapy; Medical hypotheses (2014).
4. Jordan, G. J. et al., Elimination communication contributes to a reduction in unexplained infant crying; Medical hypotheses (2020).
5. Toilet Training the Montessori Way; Montessori Parenting.
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