Elimination Communication: Is the Diaper on the Endangered List?

The Potty Revolution

Elimination communication (EC) is a practice by which a caretaker trains a baby to reduce or eliminate his need for diapers. As radical as it sounds, it has been proven to work in many cultures, such as third world countries where disposable diapers are not available. There is now a growing western trend to use EC on infants long before the usual age of “potty training”. It has slowly gained recognition in the U.S. after being featured on popular television programs like “Good Morning America” and in magazines such as “Parenting” and “American Baby”.

Author Ingrid Bauer coined the term “elimination communication”. Her book, Diaper Free! The Gentle Wisdom of Natural Infant Hygiene, was written after she had traveled to countries such as India and had noticed that many of their children did not wear diapers. Even stranger, these babies did not seem to be having any “accidents”. Their methods would be learned by Bauer who, in turn, raised her children with minimal use of diapers and passed that knowledge onto others.

The process of EC is based around reading a baby’s cues. Much of Dr. William Sears’ Attachment Parenting” philosophies apply to EC. Close physical and emotional bonding with a baby allow for a caregiver to better read the cues of an otherwise speechless child. The four fundamentals of EC are: timing, signals, cueing, and intuition. Those combined make it easier for a caregiver to place baby over a toilet to “eliminate”.

Timing is all about the physical schedule in which an infant needs to urinate or defecate. Typically, a newborn will urinate every 10-20 minutes. This is a time of their lives in which babies are very regular with their urination. As they get older, around six months of age, babies may urinate every hour while awake. While sleeping, urination may not occur at all. Timing is more difficult with bowel movements, however. Some babies move their bowels several times a day, while others only do it every other day.