[heartsleeve71]

I saw a mom who's 4 mos old goes on the potty which led me to look this up and its very possible, just wondering if anyone has tried and if it was really hard?

[miamor]

joonzgirl had an article link about the dangers of this. hopefully she can find the link for you!

It's called Elimination Communication. And it's not training the baby, it's training the parent to recognize when the baby needs to go to the bathroom and then taking them. I've had friends that have done it and if they are out and about and can't get to a toilet quick enough, they have had baby pee in the grass, in a sink, etc. It doesn't make sense to me and it's not something I would do. Why not just wait until your child is actually ready?

[KMH]

I have read some about it in Mothering magazine...you can read their articles online. It isn't something I felt was very practical for our family, so we never tried it.

[Purrrrrrr]

I've heard it's quite popular in Japan and China nowadays, but I can't see it happening for most babies until they're at least walking. I guess it's a good way to start teaching kids about the potty and to not be scared of it, but I can't see it being practical.

[alwayssmile]

Elimination Communication is not the same thing at early potty training at all. It wasn't for our family, but it works out well for others. I know there's a section about it in Beyond the Sling. It really is all about the parent recognizing the baby's potty cues and responding to them.

[heartsleeve71]

the more i read the more i know this wouldn't work out for us, cause we are on the go too much but I'm amazed and didn't even know it was possible. It just amazed me!

[ashj_1218]

I have a friend who ECs with her 7 month old. He goes on the potty by timing (after meals, after naps, before bed, first up in the morning) and remains dry most of the day. She says it is easy. But like others mentioned, it is not for me. I don't want to be trained to take my child to the potty. I'll just wait til they can do it themselves. Plus, after I read that article about the potential downfalls, it just doesn't seem like a positive thing to potty a child early. It is fascinating..but not my cup of tea.

[joonzgurl]

Here is the link that was mentioned before: Steve Hodges, M.D.: A Doctor Responds: Don't Potty Train Your Baby

[HappyHippy]

It's EC or "natural infant hygeine". We actually do it. I started at 9 months with ds1 and newborn with ds2. It works well for us. You learn the cues for when they need to go, just like when they need to eat. For ds2 he would kick his legs when needing to poo and move his arms when needing to pee (in a certain way, as most babies are constantly moving). I did keep a cloth diaper on them, but they were dry most of the time in the day. I didn't worry about when going out because I would just use the cloth diaper. If ds2 would get upset and want to use a potty then I'd just take him to one.