Tag: Elimination Communication

Elimination Communication, Potty Independence, Potty Training

Is There a “Right” Time to Potty Train?

ruthanndrummond

Just as there is never a perfect time to get married, or the perfect time to have a baby, you may never feel like there is a perfect time to potty train.

Our cultural messaging leads us to be apprehensive of the potty training process to begin with (I’ve written about that, here). We fear doing it the “wrong” way, and sabotaging the process. We fear pressuring our kids or causing them any kind of trauma or damage. We worry our kids aren’t “ready.” We dread others’ opinions and advice (Don’t leave it too late!; don’t push it too early!) Add in our complicated lives, our over-extended schedules, and our constant connectedness through technology, and it’s no wonder parents are putting off potty training until later and later with each passing year.

So, when is the “right” time to start your child’s journey to potty independence? The interesting thing is that the answer depends entirely on you, and not your child.

Your child is ready to begin their journey now, no matter their age or abilities. For young babies, this will likely be through Elimination Communication to start, but toddlers as young as 18 months (and in some cases, younger) are fully capable of potty training. It doesn’t matter if they “show interest.” It doesn’t matter if they can “sing the ABC song.” It doesn’t matter if they can verbalize at all.

In just 2 generations, Western culture has forgotten its entire history of successfully potty training children by 18mth of age, but this is actually still the norm throughout most of the world. Read about the Myth of Readiness, if you are interested in this topic.

So, if our children are ready, what’s stopping us from doing this right now? Well, we are – the parents. It’s our stress, our worry, our investment in keeping every scheduled activity under the sun, our fear of failure and our lack of confidence and clear purpose in the process. Successful potty training requires dedication and focus, and an attitude shift that prioritizes your child’s toilet learning over other things in your life… for a very short time. In reality, it’s a tiny blip in your relationship with your child, that will give the gift of toilet independence for life.

If you are waiting for the perfect time to potty train, it may never come. You, the parent, have to make it the right time to potty train. You have to decide that teaching your child to take care of their personal hygiene needs, ditching the mess and waste (not to mention, expense!) of diapers, and completing this important right of passage is important enough to you and your child that you will make it a priority. You, the parent, have to let go of any stresses that are holding you back. You, the parent, have to proceed with clarity and confidence, becoming a teacher and guide for your child.

So, when should you start? The earlier the better, as long as you can wrap your head around the importance of the task and the commitment it requires. A casual attitude from the parent will result in a casual attitude from the child. You can have the same success in 12 days as you would have in 12 months – all without causing any damage to your child or using any coercive methods. It’s all in the attitude with which you approach it!

Give yourself permission to trust in your child’s ability as a learner, and in you as a teacher. Give yourself permission to prioritize this process for a short time, even if it clashes with your scheduled activities. Give yourself permission to take the process seriously, and to set clear boundaries for your child so they can take it seriously, too. Toddlers feel more secure and freer to explore within known limits and established expectations – give them the gift of that security. And once you’ve wrapped your head around all of that… go for it. Begin now!

Now, is the right time to start!

Elimination Communication, Potty Independence, Potty Training

Feeling Lucky!

ruthanndrummond

turkey on potty

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

This Thanksgiving, I want to take some time to remember how lucky I am. I am lucky to have two amazing little boys; they warm my heart, make me laugh, and tickle my soul every day (…most of the time 😉) and I couldn’t imagine my life without them! I am lucky to have an amazing partner – he’s a wonderful Dad who is involved in every aspect of our children’s lives, a loving and supportive companion who keeps me going when I’m low, and he really contributes his half to the running and nurturing of our family. I am lucky to have the extended family we have – my boys are so lucky to be growing up with four loving grandparents, and lots of wonderful aunts, uncles and cousins. I am lucky to have friends who always lend an ear when its needed, and who enrich our lives and help us out so much day-to-day. And I am lucky for all the amazing and interesting people who I teach; they each add something new to my understanding of the complexity and uniqueness of individual life contexts, and how important those are to the ways we learn and approach tasks in our lives. I am truly thankful to be so lucky in all of this.

I am also thankful that I happened upon some information on Elimination Communication before my first son was born, and that I had the time and resources I needed to research it more. I am thankful that I had the confidence and determination to commit to practicing it, even though it’s unusual in North American society. And I am thankful for all of its results: that it brought me closer to my boys and deepened our communication; that it kept my boys in touch with their own bodies and elimination needs, helping to empower them in the process; that it helped our family reduce its environmental impact through fewer cloth diapers washed and fewer disposable diapers thrown out; that it helped our family to save money on diapers and laundry; and that it led to our first son being potty trained in a stress-free organic process that was finished by 21mths (our second son is in progress at 16mths – I’ll have to report back!).

I am also thankful for my Go Diaper Free training – for being qualified to consult for and coach Elimination Communication and Non-Coercive Potty Training and for being in a position to help children and their families reach toilet independence faster and without pressure, no matter when they are beginning.

And, of course, I am thankful for all of you – My Go Diaper Free Family! And I want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving!

What makes you feel lucky or why are you thankful?

Elimination Communication, Potty Training

Teaching & Learning in the Potty Process

ruthanndrummond

September. It’s the start of Autumn; a time of transition. For many people it’s back to a regular routine. It’s back to school, too: back to teaching and back to learning. What better time could there be to begin your family’s journey to toilet independence?

If you have (or care for) a baby 0-18mth, elimination communication is an amazing way for you and your baby to teach and learn from each other. It focuses on finding ways to communicate about elimination needs, and on learning to listen to and tune into each other in new and profound ways. For toddlers and preschoolers (18mth+), potty training is the unlocking and mastering of a whole new set of skills – an empowering right of passage.

If you don’t have time to read this whole post, I would encourage you to take a look at the video of my younger son demonstrating how he gets to and sits on a potty. He takes delight in the process and shows that even very young toddlers (he’s 15mth) can learn to take themselves to a potty without force, coercion, or trauma:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpK2rxHo7l0

Some of the confusion surrounding potty training in today’s society is the pervasive idea that children must wait to begin their toilet learning until they have somehow met a set of “readiness” requirements. That, one magical day, a child will spontaneously show interest in using a potty or toilet for the first time, and from that point on the road to a potty-trained child should be straightforward and fairly easy. This is nonsensical, for two reasons:

It presumes that your child is not ready to learn.

To not be ready to learn new things, one must either be lacking physical or developmental ability, or one must be missing the prerequisite information. Neither is true.

A common myth that is parroted about the parenting and medical communities is that babies up until 18mth do not have awareness of when they eliminate, and do not possess sphincter control. As the mom of a baby who began pooping in a potty at 3 weeks old, never pooped outside the house (or a house we were visiting) after 4 months old, and had his last poopy diaper ever at 11 months old, I can confidently tell you that babies are born with sphincter control and awareness of when they eliminate. The issue arises when we rely exclusively on diapers for elimination needs. This teaches babies that the appropriate place to eliminate is in their diaper, that they will never be required to hold their pee or poop, and when disposables are used, it takes away the sensation of wetness that helps babies to stay attuned to their own bodies and when they pee.

As for prerequisite information – how could there be any? This is one of our very basic needs. From the day we are born, we need to pee and poop. You don’t have to know anything more than that to be ready to learn when and where to do it!

It presumes that toilet learning must be child-led and initiated, rather than parent-led and taught.

Potty training doesn’t have to be an anxious waiting game. Children don’t spontaneously show interest in a potty. They can watch and mimic their role models, looking for ways to be more grown up (which relies on parents teaching their children through modelling and active engagement in the potty process), or, as is all-to-common, they can feel peer pressure to use a potty or toilet like their friends do in childcare or preschool settings, and then seek to fit in with their friends.

Toilet learning can begin now, no matter how old your child is. They have the ability, they have the prerequisites. All they need is the teacher – and that’s you!

There’s a common myth that scares parents into waiting indefinitely: that early potty training will cause psychological damage to your child. If that were the case, it would be scary! What isn’t explained is the caveat. The issues arise when potty training is forced. Who being forced into something doesn’t experience some degree of psychological damage, never mind a baby or young child! Starting young (whether at 1 day or 18mth+) doesn’t mean the process is in any way forced. If you honour your child’s abilities, respect their desire to learn, and step into the role of their teacher, toilet learning can be a natural and organic process beginning at any age, without fear of causing damage.

If you didn’t view it above, here is a video of my younger son demonstrating just a little of the teaching in our house. At 15mth, he gets himself onto the potty on his own, and is delighted by the process!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpK2rxHo7l0

Elimination Communication, Potty Independence, Potty Training

Beginning the Journey to a Potty Independent Child

ruthanndrummond

I am so excited to be in a position to helpEC at 4wks families embark on their own journeys to potty independence! My own family’s adventure began a little over three years ago, when my first son was 2 weeks old. I had stumbled across information on Elimination Communication while researching diaper consumption, and was instantly fascinated by the idea. Everyone I spoke to thought I was completely crazy when I would talk with enthusiasm about babies who used potties from birth, and when I became pregnant and was obviously determined to give it a try, I knew that they secretly thought I would fail and give it up.

Then, on my first day of trying it out, at only 2 weeks old, I caught our first pee, and was hooked! At 11mth we changed our last-ever poopy diaper, and at 14mth we packed away IMG_3144 pickdaytime diapers for good. Although we hit some pretty rough (so, so rough!) bumps on the road, our little guy was completely potty trained at 21mth.

I watched as my new mom friends struggled with the idea of potty training, especially at a young age. It was evident that societal pressure was telling them that it was “too early” to start, and that somehow their child (probably around 3 years old) would show magical “signs of readiness,” which would be their cue to start. Because of these inhibitions, I watched parents experience anxiety over whether or not their child would be potty trained in time for kindergarten, because they were being told their children weren’t “ready yet.” And frankly, it was awful to watch. It was awful for the children to be denied the opportunity to take control of their own hygiene needs, and it was awful for the parents to experience so much fear, anxiety, and guilt over the potty training process. I knew I had to help, and I completed the Go Diaper Free Certified Coach Training Program so that I would have the tools to do so.

Now I have worked with newborn babies beginning their Elimination Communication journey, with young toddlers who are potty training much earlier than the societal norm, and with preschoolers who didn’t start until after their third birthday. No matter the age, I am so proud to help babies and children (and their families) reach toilet independence.

So, when’s the right time to start? That depends entirely on potty indpendentyou! Your child is ready when you are ready, whether at 1 day old or at 3+yrs. No one’s journey is in any way invalid, and no one should ever experience guilt, fear, or anxiety over their child’s potty learning. Parenting is hard enough already, without adding on that stress!

In my [extremely biased!] opinion, I think the best time to start is NOW, whatever the age of your child. It is never too early (or too late!) to help a child to recognize their own bodily signals and to teach them to eliminate in potties and toilets, rather than soiling themselves. This can be done either through Elimination Communication (for babies 0-18mth), potty training (toddlers and preschoolers 18mth+), or a combination of both. If you, as a parent, are feeling ready (and no worries if you aren’t – there’s a lot of cultural conditioning that parents have to combat here!), this journey can start NOW!