Elimination communication
Encyclopedia
Elimination communication (EC) is a toilet training
practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's
need to eliminate waste. Caregivers try to recognize and respond to babies' bodily needs and enable them to urinate and defecate in an appropriate place (e.g. a toilet). Caregivers either use diaper
s (nappies) as a back-up in case of misses, avoid the use of them altogether, or do a mixture of the two. EC emphasizes communication between the caregiver and child, helping them both become more attuned to the child's innate rhythms and control of urination and defecation. The practice can be done full time, part time, or just occasionally. The term "elimination communication" was inspired by traditional practices of diaper-less baby care in less industrialized countries
and hunter-gatherer cultures
. Some practitioners of EC begin soon after birth, although it can be started with babies of any age.
and Africa
, where she noticed that most mothers would carry their diaperless babies constantly, yet she saw no elimination "accidents" as would be expected in industrialized countries where babies wear diapers almost continuously from birth. Subsequently, she raised her own children with minimal use of diapers, and eventually began to share her approach with other mothers and caregivers — initially through Internet-based parenting support groups and eventually through her book and website.
Prior publications introducing Western
parents to this ancient practice include the booklet Conscious Toilet Training, by Laurie Boucke (1979), book Trickle Treat: Diaperless Infant Toilet Training Method, by Laurie Boucke (1991), a pamphlet entitled Elimination Timing, by Natec (1994), and the more extensive Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living, by Laurie Boucke (2000). Boucke was influenced by an Indian friend who taught her how mothers in India care for babies without diapers, and she adapted it to fit her Western lifestyle. Boucke later co-produced an in-depth DVD entitled Potty Whispering: The Gentle Practice of Infant Potty Training (2006) and co-authored articles for medical journals.
While the terms elimination communication and infant potty training have become synonymous, many caregivers who practice EC do not consider it to be a form of "training," per se. EC is viewed primarily as a way to meet the baby's present needs and to enhance attachment and communication in general. In that sense, EC is often likened to breastfeeding
. "Toilet mastery is, of course, an inevitable consequence," writes Bauer, "Yet it's no more the goal of Natural Infant Hygiene than weaning is the goal of breastfeeding." (2001, p. 217)
Today, one often hears the terms natural infant hygiene, infant potty training, "nappy free" and "elimination communication" used synonymously.
every 10–20 minutes, sometimes very regularly, which makes timing extremely useful. Older babies may still be very regular, or may vary in timing based on when they have last eaten or slept. As infants get older, the time between eliminations will increase. By six months, it is not uncommon for babies to go an hour or more without urinating while awake (babies, like adults, rarely urinate during a deep sleep). Timing varies radically for defecation
, as some infants may have several bowel movements a day, while others may only have one every few days. Parents report that some babies as young as three months will appear to hold all their bowel movements until they are held in a particular squat position, as long as this is offered regularly enough. Parents also offer the potty at various times according to routine, e.g. after a feed, after waking, just before bath or bed. In the west, infant potty training historically relied on timing as the main method of training.
for "potty". Later they may learn a word as part of their early acquisition of language.
place. This is especially useful for infants who may not recognize public toilets or unfamiliar receptacles as a "potty." Common sound cues include "psss psss" for urination, and "hmm hmm" (grunting) for defecation. Older babies (late starters) may respond better to more word-like cues. Cues do not have to be auditory; the act of sitting on the potty itself can serve as a cue, or the sign language for "toilet" can be a cue. The American Sign Language sign for "toilet" involves forming a hand into the letter "T" (a fist with the thumb inserted between the first and middle fingers) and shaking the hand side to side from the wrist.
Toilet training
Toilet training, or potty training, is the process of training a young child to use the toilet for urination and defecation, though training may start with a smaller toilet bowl-shaped device...
practice in which a caregiver uses timing, signals, cues, and intuition to address an infant's
Infant
A newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
need to eliminate waste. Caregivers try to recognize and respond to babies' bodily needs and enable them to urinate and defecate in an appropriate place (e.g. a toilet). Caregivers either use diaper
Diaper
A nappy or a diaper is a kind of pant that allows one to defecate or urinate on oneself discreetly. When diapers become soiled, they require changing; this process is often performed by a second person such as a parent or caregiver...
s (nappies) as a back-up in case of misses, avoid the use of them altogether, or do a mixture of the two. EC emphasizes communication between the caregiver and child, helping them both become more attuned to the child's innate rhythms and control of urination and defecation. The practice can be done full time, part time, or just occasionally. The term "elimination communication" was inspired by traditional practices of diaper-less baby care in less industrialized countries
Developing country
A developing country, also known as a less-developed country, is a nation with a low level of material well-being. Since no single definition of the term developing country is recognized internationally, the levels of development may vary widely within so-called developing countries...
and hunter-gatherer cultures
Hunter-gatherer
A hunter-gatherer or forage society is one in which most or all food is obtained from wild plants and animals, in contrast to agricultural societies which rely mainly on domesticated species. Hunting and gathering was the ancestral subsistence mode of Homo, and all modern humans were...
. Some practitioners of EC begin soon after birth, although it can be started with babies of any age.
Origins
The terms elimination communication and natural infant hygiene were coined by Ingrid Bauer and are used interchangeably in her book, Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene (2001). Bauer had traveled to IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, where she noticed that most mothers would carry their diaperless babies constantly, yet she saw no elimination "accidents" as would be expected in industrialized countries where babies wear diapers almost continuously from birth. Subsequently, she raised her own children with minimal use of diapers, and eventually began to share her approach with other mothers and caregivers — initially through Internet-based parenting support groups and eventually through her book and website.
Prior publications introducing Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
parents to this ancient practice include the booklet Conscious Toilet Training, by Laurie Boucke (1979), book Trickle Treat: Diaperless Infant Toilet Training Method, by Laurie Boucke (1991), a pamphlet entitled Elimination Timing, by Natec (1994), and the more extensive Infant Potty Training: A Gentle and Primeval Method Adapted to Modern Living, by Laurie Boucke (2000). Boucke was influenced by an Indian friend who taught her how mothers in India care for babies without diapers, and she adapted it to fit her Western lifestyle. Boucke later co-produced an in-depth DVD entitled Potty Whispering: The Gentle Practice of Infant Potty Training (2006) and co-authored articles for medical journals.
While the terms elimination communication and infant potty training have become synonymous, many caregivers who practice EC do not consider it to be a form of "training," per se. EC is viewed primarily as a way to meet the baby's present needs and to enhance attachment and communication in general. In that sense, EC is often likened to breastfeeding
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
. "Toilet mastery is, of course, an inevitable consequence," writes Bauer, "Yet it's no more the goal of Natural Infant Hygiene than weaning is the goal of breastfeeding." (2001, p. 217)
Today, one often hears the terms natural infant hygiene, infant potty training, "nappy free" and "elimination communication" used synonymously.
Benefits
According to "The Diaper-Free Baby" by Christine Gross Loh, EC offers a large range of advantages. Because EC lessens families' reliance on diapers, this helps reduce the number of diapers sent to landfill, and is cheaper. ECed babies are free from the problems of conventional diapering: diaper rash; diaper change battles; not being able to explore this area; vulnerability to urinary tract infections; potentially delayed or difficult potty training. Gross Loh also reports that EC creates a unique and wonderful bond between babies and caregivers. Parents report that the squat or ‘potty’ position that parents tend to hold their baby in order to go seems to be very comfortable for babies. Just as for a laboring mother, the position helps to relax the pelvic floor muscles. This seems to help babies who are suffering from mild constipation. Some babies find defecating to be an unsettling process, especially when they are eating solid food. With EC, parents feel they can offer emotional and physical support.Criticisms
Conventional potty training advice is based on the research by T Berry Brazelton who introduced the idea of the "readiness approach". He writes that "widespread acceptance of readiness and independent toileting have since been supported by clinical experience and resulted in agreement that a child should be ready to participate in toilet training at approximately 18 months of age and be trained completely by 2 or 3 years old." He argues that trying to toilet train before this age could be coercive and therefore psychologically damaging. Brazelton acknowledges that EC is both possible and desirable, but he believes it is difficult to perform in Western society. In particular he cites a mother's return to work as an obstacle to EC. He also argues that parents should not be made to feel guilty if they cannot communicate with their babies in this way. Anecdotal evidence from parents suggest that EC is not as convenient as conventional diapering.Components
The main components of EC are timing, signals, cueing, and intuition.Timing
Timing refers to identifying the infant's natural timing of elimination. Newborns tend to urinateUrination
Urination, also known as micturition, voiding, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection of urine from the urinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans the process of urination is under voluntary control...
every 10–20 minutes, sometimes very regularly, which makes timing extremely useful. Older babies may still be very regular, or may vary in timing based on when they have last eaten or slept. As infants get older, the time between eliminations will increase. By six months, it is not uncommon for babies to go an hour or more without urinating while awake (babies, like adults, rarely urinate during a deep sleep). Timing varies radically for defecation
Defecation
Defecation is the final act of digestion by which organisms eliminate solid, semisolid or liquid waste material from the digestive tract via the anus. Waves of muscular contraction known as peristalsis in the walls of the colon move fecal matter through the digestive tract towards the rectum...
, as some infants may have several bowel movements a day, while others may only have one every few days. Parents report that some babies as young as three months will appear to hold all their bowel movements until they are held in a particular squat position, as long as this is offered regularly enough. Parents also offer the potty at various times according to routine, e.g. after a feed, after waking, just before bath or bed. In the west, infant potty training historically relied on timing as the main method of training.
Signals
Signals are the baby's way of informing a caregiver of an elimination need. Some babies signal very clearly from the beginning, while others may have very subtle signals, or no signal at all. These signals vary widely from one infant to another, and include a certain facial expression, a particular cry, squirming, a sudden unexplained fussiness, as well as others. Babies who are nursing will often start delatching and relatching repeatedly when they need to eliminate. For defecation, many babies will grunt or pass gas as a signal. As babies get older their signals become more conscious and babies often point to, or look at, a caregiver or potty to indicate need. Older babies can learn a gesture or baby signBaby Sign
Specialized sign language is sometimes used to communicate with infants and toddlers. While infants and toddlers have a desire to communicate their needs and wishes, they lack the ability to do so clearly because the production of speech lags behind cognitive ability in the first months and years...
for "potty". Later they may learn a word as part of their early acquisition of language.
Cueing
Cueing consists of the caregiver making a particular sound or other cue when the baby is in an appropriate place to urinate or defecate, in order to develop two-way communication. At first, the caregiver can make the cueing sound when the baby is eliminating, to develop an association. Once the association is established, the cue can be used to indicate to the baby that he or she is in an appropriate pottyToilet
A toilet is a sanitation fixture used primarily for the disposal of human excrement, often found in a small room referred to as a toilet/bathroom/lavatory...
place. This is especially useful for infants who may not recognize public toilets or unfamiliar receptacles as a "potty." Common sound cues include "psss psss" for urination, and "hmm hmm" (grunting) for defecation. Older babies (late starters) may respond better to more word-like cues. Cues do not have to be auditory; the act of sitting on the potty itself can serve as a cue, or the sign language for "toilet" can be a cue. The American Sign Language sign for "toilet" involves forming a hand into the letter "T" (a fist with the thumb inserted between the first and middle fingers) and shaking the hand side to side from the wrist.
Intuition
Intuition refers to a caregiver's unprompted thought that the baby may need to eliminate. Although much intuition may simply be subconscious awareness of timing or signals, many parents who practice EC find it an extremely reliable component.See also
- Attachment parentingAttachment parentingAttachment parenting, a phrase coined by pediatrician William Sears, is a parenting philosophy based on the principles of the attachment theory in developmental psychology. According to attachment theory, the child forms a strong emotional bond with caregivers during childhood with lifelong...
- Infant potty training method
- Dunstan Baby LanguageDunstan Baby LanguageDunstan Baby Language is a claim about infantile vocal reflexes as signals, in humans. The claim is that across cultures and linguistic groups there are five sounds, each with a meaning, that are used by infants before the language acquisition period. The hypothesis was developed by Australian...
- Toilet trainingToilet trainingToilet training, or potty training, is the process of training a young child to use the toilet for urination and defecation, though training may start with a smaller toilet bowl-shaped device...
External links
- DiaperFreeBaby - international support organization for caregivers who practice EC
- EC Simplified - A Website, book, audio, and videos dedicated to teaching parents how to begin using Elimination Communication by DiaperFreeBaby Mentor, Andrea Olson, MA.
- Nappy Free Baby - UK information and support site with contact details for local support groups
- Natural Infant Hygiene - Ingrid Bauer's article summarizing EC
- Infant Potty Training - Laurie Boucke's Infant Potty Training website in 10 languages
- International Board for the Study, Research and Promotion of Assisted Infant Toilet Training - Supportive pediatricians, medical journal articles and research
- Part Time Nappy Free - A Free Online Guided Tour of EC and Support for Easing Into Part-Time Baby Pottying...
- The Potty Whisperer
- Tribal Baby - From full time nappies to nappy free - Practical tips and strategies for practicing EC
- Nappy Free - An Australian shop with EC information.